Title 5Government Organization and EmployeesRelease 119-73

§6337 Accrual of leave

Title 5 › Part PART III— - EMPLOYEES › Subpart Subpart E— - Attendance and Leave › Chapter CHAPTER 63— - LEAVE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - VOLUNTARY TRANSFERS OF LEAVE › § 6337

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Employees can earn sick and annual leave while using transferred leave, and they earn it at the same rate as if they were on regular paid leave. The law limits this to no more than 5 days of annual leave and 5 days of sick leave for any one medical emergency. "Paid leave status" means using regular sick or annual leave. "Transferred leave status" means using leave given to the employee under this part. Leave earned while in transferred leave status goes into a separate account. It cannot be used until it is moved into the employee’s regular leave account. That move happens at the start of the first pay period after the medical emergency ends as described in the law, or, if the emergency is still ongoing, once the employee has used all transferred leave. If the emergency ends in the special way the law describes, leave earned but not yet moved will not be credited, and any leave that had become available stops being available. More transfers of leave may still be made for a continuing emergency after this accrued leave is used up.

Full Legal Text

Title 5, §6337

Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)For the purpose of this section—
(1)the term “paid leave status under subchapter I”, as used with respect to an employee, means the administrative status of such employee while such employee is using sick leave, or annual leave, accrued or accumulated under subchapter I; and
(2)the term “transferred leave status”, as used with respect to an employee, means the administrative status of such employee while such employee is using transferred leave under this subchapter.
(b)(1)Except as otherwise provided in this section, while an employee is in a transferred leave status, annual leave and sick leave shall accrue to the credit of such employee at the same rate as if such employee were then in a paid leave status under subchapter I, except that—
(A)the maximum amount of annual leave which may be accrued by an employee while in transferred leave status in connection with any particular medical emergency may not exceed 5 days; and
(B)the maximum amount of sick leave which may be accrued by an employee while in transferred leave status in connection with any particular medical emergency may not exceed 5 days.
(2)Any annual or sick leave accrued by an employee under this section—
(A)shall be credited to an annual leave or sick leave account, as appropriate, separate from any leave account of such employee under subchapter I; and
(B)shall not become available for use by such employee, and may not otherwise be taken into account under subchapter I, until, in accordance with subsection (c), it is transferred to the appropriate leave account of such employee under subchapter I.
(c)(1)Any annual or sick leave accrued by an employee under this section shall be transferred to the appropriate leave account of such employee under subchapter I, and shall be available for use—
(A)as of the beginning of the first applicable pay period beginning after the date on which the employee’s medical emergency terminates as described in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 6335(a); or
(B)if the employee’s medical emergency has not yet terminated, once the employee has exhausted all transferred leave made available to such employee under this subchapter.
(2)In the event that the employee’s medical emergency terminates as described in section 6335(a)(3)—
(A)any leave accrued but not yet transferred under this section shall not be credited to such employee; or
(B)if there remains, as of the date the emergency so terminates, any leave which became available to such employee under paragraph (1)(B), such leave shall cease to be available for any purpose.
(d)Nothing in this section shall be considered to prevent, with respect to a continuing medical emergency, further transfers of leave for use after leave accrued under this section has been exhausted by the employee.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1993—Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 103–103 amended subsec. (c) generally and added subsec. (d). Prior to amendment, subsec. (c) read as follows: “(1) Any annual or sick leave accrued by an employee under this section shall be transferred to the appropriate leave account of such employee under subchapter I, effective as of the beginning of the first applicable pay period beginning after the date on which the employee’s medical emergency terminates as described in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 6335(a). “(2) If the employee’s medical emergency terminates as described in section 6335(a)(3), no leave shall be credited to such employee under this section.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1993 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 103–103 effective as of the 120th day after Oct. 8, 1993, or such earlier date as the Office of Personnel Management may by regulation prescribe, see section 6 of Pub. L. 103–103, set out as a note under section 6331 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

5 U.S.C. § 6337

Title 5Government Organization and Employees

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73