Title 5 › Part III— EMPLOYEES › Subpart E— Attendance and Leave › Chapter 63— LEAVE › Subchapter I— ANNUAL AND SICK LEAVE › § 6305
Workers who serve outside the United States for 24 months in a row can get extra leave. They get up to 1 week of leave for every 4 months abroad. They must use that leave in the United States or, if they live elsewhere, in U.S. territories or possessions, including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. That leave can build up for later use even though another rule (section 6304(b)) normally limits leave. It cannot be used as terminal leave or paid out in a lump sum. The President can also allow a chief of mission the same kind of leave for use in the United States and its territories, but that is not a full leave system and cannot be paid out as a lump sum. People working aboard oceangoing vessels on long voyages can get up to 2 days of leave for each 30 calendar days of service under Office of Personnel Management rules. That leave also builds up beyond the limit in section 6304(b) and generally cannot be paid in a lump sum. One exception: Military Sealift Command civil service mariners on temporary promotion aboard ship may be paid the difference between their temporary and permanent pay for unused leave accrued under this rule and section 6303 when the temporary promotion ends. Terminal leave for shipboard employees is allowed only in special or emergency situations under OPM rules. For Department of Defense shipboard employees, the accrual rate uses 7 calendar days instead of 30.
Full Legal Text
Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
5 U.S.C. § 6305
Title 5 — Government Organization and Employees
Last Updated
Apr 3, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60