How much time does your employer give you at Christmas? Scads of federal employees say they don’t get enough. In fact, More than 92,000 people signed a petition to give federal workers a 4-day Christmas weekend, according to Federal News Radio.
The petition on the “We the People” section of WhiteHouse.gov called for President Barack Obama to make Dec. 26 a federal holiday this year. Christmas Day falls on a Thursday, so making the following day a holiday would give feds a long weekend.
For all petitions on “We the People,” the President promises to take action if the petition receives at least 100,000 signatures within 30 days. The petition for Dec. 26 off needed 100,000 signatures by Wednesday.
A federal employee from Oklahoma launched the petition in October. The employee said an extra day off would boost feds’ morale, especially given pay freezes and furloughs in recent years.
As you might suspect, the story says a lot of people think this is a great idea. There are some, however, who aren’t tone deaf.
“Those Feds whining about not having the day off after Christmas give other Feds a bad name. Just use your annual leave and stop complaining,” chicagoman wrote.
So how much vacation time do federal employees receive? Check out this data from the GAO website:
Vacation / Leave
For the first 3 years of government service, employees earn 13 days of vacation each year. For 3 to 15 years of federal service, employees earn 20 days of vacation each year, and after 15 years of federal service, employees earn 26 days of vacation each year. Thirty days of annual leave may be carried over to the next leave year.Sick Leave
Regardless of the length of service, employees earn 13 days of sick leave a year. The amount of sick leave that may be accumulated is not limited.Other Leave
There are provisions for paid or unpaid leave to cover absences for maternity leave, military obligations, jury duty, and voting. GAO is covered by the provisions in the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Federal Employees Family Friendly Leave Act.
