Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-11
WORKERS LEAVE
HELD NOT LEGAL
Federal Employees Fedora
ton Makes Claim After Ex-
tended Research.
MRS. LEAFIE e. DIETz

Government employees have no IN
herent legal right to 80 days annual
leave or so days of annual sick leave
which Is popularity credited to them,
and large numbers of employees never
receive the annual or sick leave to
which they are supposed to be entitled,
according to a research made by the
National Federation of Federal En-
ployes.
The research developed that large
percentage Of Federal employees receive
far less than the amount of annual
leave and sick leave to which 1t is popu-
larly supposed they are entitled. It
also was shown that bureau chief may
curtail because of urgency of public
business the annual or sick leave of any
employee down to the bareSt minimum.
There is wide disparity in the various
branches OF the service and even be-
tween various bureaus in the same Gov
eminent department as to the privileges
of employees for annual and sick leave,
the federation reported.
Discrepancies Claimed.
The extended research into all phases
of annual and sick leave has been I'M
dertaken by the federation, which has
just concluded a three-day meeting of
its executive council here. The results
of the research are now in the hands of
the printer and compilation will be
available in q few days. This compila-
ton, according to Luther @. Steward,
president of the federation, will show
amazing discrepancies IN the leave priv
ileges granted employees in the Federal
service.
Meanwhile Representative Addison
Smith Of Utah has introduced in the
House a standardized leave bill, with
which the federation is in hearty SYM
pathy and which 1t is pushing to the
utmost toward enactment.
At present, Mr.. Steward points out,
only employees of navy yard and Gov
eminent arsenals have the legal right,
by statute, to 80 days annual and so
days sick leave. All other Federal
employees, more than half million Of
them, and more than II 900 in Wash
ington, have not an inherent legal
right to this leave. II may or may not
be curtailed at the discretion of the
bureau chief or head of department,
just as Director Of the Census william
M Stuart curtailed annual leave
privileges at the Census Bureau few
days ago. The present status Of these
half million Federal employees, with
regard to annual leave, is on per
missiVe basis" and is not a legal right.
Furthermore,
a large proportion of the workers who
draw pay from Uncle Sam do not avail
themselves of their full leave per
missive" right.
For example, Mr.. Steward says the
employees of the Forest Service OF the
Department of Agriculture have by law
an annual leave privilege OF only 10
days.
we frequently find" he says, Gin the
field that Government employees In
work which demands their day-by-day
presence, do not take any annual leave
at all, finding themselves unable to do
so because of pressure of work, and I'M
able to find a substitute to continue the
work. Here In Washington substitute
can usually be found, or the work may
be doubled up to permit Of leave, but In
the smaller establishments scattered
over the country, leave frequently can
not be taken at all"
The Smith measure would make it a
legal right of any employe to take 80
days annual leave with full pay, ex-
elusive of Saturdays, Sundays and hol-
idayS, and would have the President |
such an order. In addition
the heads of departments and eStab- |
lishments would be authorized to grant |
once in any two consecutive leave years, |
in addition to the annual leave, not to |
exceeQ 81 Gays Oh DleuI1Idl leave % dD- |
sence with pay. Furthermore the I'M |
used portion of such annual and bien- |
NAL leave with pay, may be cumulative |
and may total not to exceed 40 days |
in any four years.
In the foreign services, such as that |
of the State Department or the Consul |
lar Service, the department heads |
would be authorized to grant In any |
one year, in addition to the annual 30 |
day leave, annual leave up to go days |
with pay, while the official station of |
the employee is outside the continental |
limits of the United States. This leave |
also would be cumulative, and would |
not exceed 100 days in three consecu-
tive years, or $50 days in four consecu-
tive years.
Sick leave would be reduced from so /
to 80 days, and ultimately to is days |
under the Smith measure, but would be |
cumulative up to 100 days, and tempo |
rary employees would be granted accrued |
annual leave and sick leave at the rate |
of two-and-one-half days and one-and-
one quarter days per month, respective
ly. The act is limited not to apply to
employees of the Postal Service, to the /
employees Of the Panama Canal or 10
light house keepers and crew Of haht |
ships Of The Light House SERVES !