Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-02-21
Emitted to Pay for Holidays
While on Absence From
Duty Without Pay.
TREASURY CONTROLLER
HOLDS ACTION IS LEGAL
Reverses Rul ing of p-uditor for State
DepartmGnt-$.O4.99 in Dis
allow ed Gedits Restored.


i"s oii'' e q, authorized absence from
"u'S 'itho ut pay are entitled 10 pay
i'' eery holiday that occurs in the
ooui Sc o. such authorized absence. This
- ihe slecision of the controller of the
seas'Iry. w. W. Warwick. made public
rda,,. 1t reve-ses ruling of the audi
Tor Cor the State and other depart
me nts and restores disallowed credits
sggregating s104.99 made to employees
of the government printing Office for
holidays intervening periods of au-
thorized absences without pay during
the fiscal year ended June 30. 1915.
| The rules of the government printing
| office provide that employees may be
/ granted leaves of absence without pay
! for period not exceeding sixty days
| each. While so absent they are subject
| to recall to duty at any time should
| the business of the office require or
justify their recall If they do not re-
| turn to duty at the end of the sixty
days authorized absence their names
are dropped from the rolls and they
are no longer carried as employees of
the office.
! For the sixty-day period covered by
| these rules" says Controller Warwick.
they are employees of the office and
| are entitled to the same right in the
employees on duty or on leave with pay.
Cover Sixty-Day Absence Only.
! Presumably the rules cover an abb
sence for sixty days only and bona
! fde return to duty at the end of the
sixty-day peiod. No extension of leaves
| is provided for. nor do the rules cover
a return to duty. not because of the
necessities of the Office but solely for
the purpose of establishing duty
statute with a view to securing another
grant of leave without pay. Further
grant under such circumstances is in
effect an extension of leave.
The statutes granting to employees
pay for holidays do not contemplate
that a person shall be carried for an
indefinite period as an employe and
yet render no service, or practically no
service. and receive no pay for other
days. Employees should not be paid
for holidays. except for such as occur
within the period of sixty days COW
cred by the rules. If they be granted
additional periods of leave without pay
in the discretion of the public printer.
under the rules and the statutes. their
status as employees for the purpose of
holiday pay ceases with the expiration
of the Sixty-day period provided for by
the rules and cannot lawfully be re-
established except by a bona fide return
to duty for reasons of official business
necessity
Reasons Assigned by Auditor.
The reasons assigned by the auditor
for the disallowance of these items is as
follows
where employe is absent without
pay on both sides of hholiday he is
not entitled to pay for the holiday. his
cfof
ton of work by him.
Commenting on this conclusion, Con-
troller Warwick says
This may be correct statement of
the rule as applied to per annum en-
ployes of the executive departments
whose right to pay for holidays depends
upon the presumption that they would
have rendered service on said days had
not the departments been closed: but the
employees under consideration are upon
an entirely different footing.
Their right to pay for these holida vs. |
depends not upon any presumption as |
to duty. but upon express provisions |
of law to the effect that employees such |
as these are entitled to pay for the |
holidays without rendering service
LAS was stated in the decision of this
office of February Is. 1915, these laws
are self-eNecuting, and if the employees
to which they refer are required to
toned they are entitled to double COM
pensation. The act of August l. 1914,
S1S5.O00 to enable the |
public printer to comply with the pro-
visions of the law granting HOLIDAYS
with pay to the employees of the
government printing office
Sees No Good Objection.
IF the persons to whom the paw
ments in question were made were in
fact per diem employees of the govern
ment printing office, not in suspension
Or absent without authority. when the
holidays paid for occurred. I see no
good reason why they are not entitled
o pay for such holidays. regardless of
whether they worked the day before or
he day after said holidays !,
with reference to the status of these +
ersons, the public printer states that t
ach of them was authorized leave '
f absence and continued on the rolls | n
18th the right and privilege of return .
lg to work al any time before the OK d
iration of the period for which ab- e
ence was authorized without further t
ction on the part of the public printer. v
nd that in this they are to be distin
uished from persons absent without |
le Office aud who are denied the privie
.ge of returning to work until the =
)ntract of employment is renewed by
ffirmative action of the public printer
giving his consent and approval to
lie resumption of duties