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1. What is the purpose of this directive?
2. Is this a new FHWA directive?
3. What are the authorities governing this directive?
4. What are the key definitions used in this directive?
5. What is the enhanced leave service credit?
6. Can enhanced leave service credit be granted with other hiring incentives?
7. What are FHWA requirements for enhanced leave service credit?
8. What is the process for requesting and approving enhanced leave service credit?
9. What are the service period requirements?
10. What happens if the employee does not complete the service period?
11. What are the record keeping requirements?
12. What are the reporting requirements?
13. Where can I get additional information on enhanced leave service credit?

1. What is the purpose of this directive? This directive establishes the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) policy and procedures for requesting, granting, and approving enhanced leave service credit for non-Federal work or military work. The FHWA is committed to using this flexibility as necessary to acquire and retain a high-quality workforce consistent with law, regulations and funding availability as described in the parameters outlined in this directive.

2. Is this a new FHWA directive? Yes. This is a new FHWA directive.

3. What are the authorities governing this directive?

   1. Title 5, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 6303(3).

   2. Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 630.205.

   3. Departmental Personnel Manual (DPM), Chapter 630.205, Creditable Service for Annual Leave Accrual.

4. What are the key definitions used in this directive?

   1. Authorized agency official. For purposes of this directive, this refers to the Executive Director, Associate Administrators, Chief Counsel, the Chief Financial Officer, Directors of Field Services, Federal Lands Highway Division Engineers, the Director of Innovative Program Delivery, the Director of Technical Services, Division Administrators, Division Engineers, and Office Directors.

   2. Designee. A Headquarters level GS-15 Manager within the Office of Human Resources.

   3. Enhanced leave service credit. This is a hiring incentive that grants annual leave service credit to a newly hired employee for non-Federal work or military work directly related to the position being filled.

   4. Selectee. An individual chosen from a pool of qualified applicants to fill a vacant position.

   5. Selecting official. Supervisor or manager authorized to make a new hire selection.

   6. Service period. The timeframe that the employee must work with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to permanently retain the enhanced leave service credit.

5. What is enhanced leave service credit? Enhanced leave service credit is a hiring incentive that grants annual leave accrual credit to a new employee for non-Federal work or military work experience, not otherwise creditable for determining annual leave credit, directly related to the position being filled.

6. Can enhanced leave service credit be granted with other hiring incentives? Yes. Enhanced leave service credit for non-Federal work or military work experience may be granted separately or in conjunction with a recruitment incentive or an advance-in-hire rate. The determination to offer enhanced leave service credit with another hiring incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis by an Authorized Agency Official, with final approval by the Director, Office of Human Resources (HAHR).

7. What are the FHWA requirements for enhanced leave service credit? In general, the FHWA requirements reflect the guidelines as established by the Office of Personnel Management and DOT.

   1. Eligibility. Enhanced leave service credit may only be offered to individuals appointed to their first Federal appointment or to individuals being reappointed after a break in service of at least 90 days. The request and approval of this flexibility must be done prior to the selectee’s appointment.

      (1) Current Federal employees are not eligible to receive enhanced leave service credit.

      (2) Eligible service credit may only be granted to employees for non-Federal work or military work experience that is directly related to the position being filled.

   2. Crediting Eligible Periods of Service. The amount of non-Federal work experience approved for enhanced leave service credit is at the sole discretion of FHWA, not the selectee. The FHWA is not required to grant enhanced leave service credit for any periods of qualifying work.

      (1) Eligible full-time non-Federal work or military work experience will be counted in terms of years and months. Enhanced leave service credit may not be granted for any periods of work that is creditable under other leave regulations related to prior Federal service, uniformed service prior to honorable discharge, and/or or uniformed service prior to retirement from the military.

      (2) Enhanced leave service credit for less than full-time periods of work will be calculated based on the number of hours and percentage of time the selectee actually performed the work. Example: Selectee A worked 20 hours per week from June 5, 2009, until June 4, 2010, performing duties directly related to position being filled. The selectee is eligible for up to 6 months of creditable service in this instance.

      (3) The maximum number of years that may be credited for enhanced leave service credit is 15 years.

      (4) Enhanced leave service credit is used solely for the purpose of determining the rate at which a new employee will earn annual leave. It does not apply to the employee’s service computation date for retirement purposes.

8. What is the process for requesting and approving enhanced leave service credit? Prior to the final offer being made to a selectee, the servicing human resources office (HRO) will assist the selecting official in preparing a request to grant enhanced leave service credit. The request will be submitted to the Director, HAHR, or designee, for approval. The request package will include a written justification from the selecting official; self-certification from the selectee using FHWA Form 1593, Statement of Relevant Non-Federal Service of the work and time periods during which qualified work was performed; concurrence from an Authorized Agency Official; and concurrence from a human resources official.

   1. Justification. The written justification prepared by the selecting official will include:

      (1) Total number of years and/or months for which credit is requested;

      (2) Start and end dates of the time period for which qualifying work was performed, and if the service was full-time or part-time;

      (3) The value the selectee will bring to the agency and how the selectee will support an Agency mission or program goal;

      (4) The reason the incentive is necessary to recruit the candidate; and

      (5) How the incentive impacts equity among current employees or other selectees being recruited by the organization (e.g. Federal-aid Division Office, Federal Lands Highway Division Office, Headquarters Office, etc.).

   2. Statement of Relevant Non-Federal Service. The servicing HR specialist will notify the selectee to complete FHWA, Form 1593, Statement of Relevant Non-Federal Service. This information is used by the selecting official, in consultation with the servicing HR specialist. This service listed by the selectee will be compared against their resume, verified, and used to determine the periods of non-Federal work or military work experience for which enhanced leave service credit is requested in the justification. Verification will be done prior to submission of the request to the Director, HAHR or designee.

   3. Approval. The Director, HAHR, or designee, will provide final written approval of all requests to grant enhanced leave service credit to a selectee.

      (1) Final written approval of the request to grant enhanced leave service credit to a selectee must be provided prior to the selectee’s official starting date.

      (2) A determination to grant enhanced leave service credit cannot be made retroactively.

   4. Offer Letter. The selectee’s official offer letter will include the number of years and/or months of enhanced leave service credit granted, the start and end dates of the timeframes for which credit is granted, and the start and end dates of the required service period that must be completed to permanently retain the enhanced leave service credit.

9. What are the service period requirements?

   1. Service Period. Selectees approved to receive enhanced leave service credit are required to work 12 continuous months with the DOT.

   2. Effective Dates. The service period will begin on the same day as the selectee’s appointment with FHWA.

   3. Extensions. Periods of leave without pay (except military service) will result in an extension of the required service period. The extension will be equal to the period of leave without pay.

10. What happens if the employee does not complete the service period?

    1. If an employee separates from FHWA before completing the required 12 months of continuous service and transfers to another Operating Administration within DOT, the employee will retain enhanced leave service credit granted for non-Federal or military work experience. Example: Jane accepts a position with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) after working only 9 months with FHWA. She will retain the enhanced leave service credit she received when hired by FHWA if she works at least 3 months with FTA.

    2. If an employee separates from FHWA to join another (non-DOT) Federal agency before completing the required 12-month work period, the employee will forfeit the enhanced leave service credit for future annual leave earnings. All annual leave accrued to the point of the separation from DOT will be transferred to the non-DOT agency with the employee. Example: Joe has accepted a position with the Department of Navy after working only 9 months with FHWA. He will forfeit the enhanced leave service credit he received when hired by FHWA. Joe will keep all leave that he accrued up to his last day with FHWA.

    3. If an employee separates from FHWA and Federal service before completing the required 12-month work period, the employee will forfeit the enhanced leave service credit for future employment. All annual leave accrued to the point of the separation from Federal service, will be paid out as a lump sum. Example: Jane separates from FHWA to accept a position in the private sector after being onboard for only 9 months. Jane will forfeit the enhanced leave service credit received when she was hired by FHWA. She will receive a lump sum payment for all earned leave upon separation.

11. What are the recordkeeping requirements?

    1. Each servicing HR office will maintain a record, electronic or hardcopy, of each determination that is sufficient to reconstruct the approval process. Each record will include a copy of the request justification and all supporting documentation.

    2. All records will be made available for review upon request from HAHR, the Departmental Office of Human Resource Management, and/or the Office of Personnel Management.

    3. Records must be maintained in accordance with General Records Schedule (GRS) 1, item 1.

12. What are the reporting requirements? HAHR will provide a written report to the Departmental Office of Human Resource Management on a quarterly basis on FHWA’s use of the enhanced leave service credit incentive.

13. Where can I get additional information on enhanced leave service credit? If you have additional questions regarding enhanced leave service credit, please contact your servicing HRO.