Are Federal Employees Required to Invoke FMLA to Use Accrued Leave for Medical Reasons?

We frequently hear from confused federal employees regarding the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and its requirements when dealing with a serious health condition and using accrued sick or annual leave. Many questions revolve around whether you must invoke FMLA before your supervisor will approve your use of existing leave balances.

This article addresses that key question: Are federal employees required to invoke FMLA to use accrued leave in connection with a serious health condition?

The short answer is no. Read on for the important context.

Use of Accrued Leave for Medical Reasons in Connection with a Serious Health Condition

If a federal employee has sufficient leave balances (sick leave (SL) or annual leave (AL) in lieu of sick leave), there is no requirement that the affected employee must first be approved under the FMLA prior to a supervisor approving the use of that accrued leave, regardless of the duration or frequency. In other words, the employee may use accrued leave for medical reasons.

Simply put, the request to use accrued leave is approved or denied under the authority of the leave approving official responsible for the employee, just like any "routine" unscheduled sick leave.

While it is true that many agency management officials may mention agency regulations, bargaining agreements, or even statutory law in denying a leave request and directing an employee to file for FMLA, the supervisor generally maintains ultimate discretion in whether to approve the use of accrued leave in connection with serious health conditions. This is true whether the leave is for a continuous period or intermittently used over an extended time (like for dialysis treatments), and regardless of whether FMLA has been invoked.

In our experience, once an employee requests significant leave for a health condition, many leave approving officials mistakenly apply the more rigid standards associated with Leave Without Pay (LWOP) requests, rather than a request to use already accrued leave.

OPM Guidance Supports Supervisory Discretion

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the agency with authority over federal Human Resources, provides guidance that supports this discretionary authority.

• In its Fact Sheet on Annual Leave, OPM notes that supervisors are responsible for the overall planning, coordination, and approving of their employees' annual leave.

• Concerning the use of annual leave instead of sick leave, OPM advises: "Although an employee may request annual leave for sick leave purposes, annual leave is subject to more discretionary supervisory approval and may be more easily denied." OPM even suggests that sharing the reason for the request "may want to share the reason for the request with the supervisor so that the request receives proper consideration to avoid the need to invoke FMLA." (Emphasis added).

Regarding sick leave, OPM states that an agency may require a medical certificate for absences in excess of 3 days. However, OPM immediately follows this by saying, "An agency may consider an employee's self-certification as to the reason for his or her absence as administratively acceptable evidence, regardless of the duration of the absence."

The key takeaway: Unless your agency regulations specifically remove this OPM-provided discretion, the leave approving official maintains the authority to approve all accrued leave requests for serious health conditions without requiring the invocation of FMLA.

Cautionary Note: Discretionary authority usually "cuts both ways." The simple fact that a supervisor can approve the leave request without FMLA also means they are under no obligation to approve your request, or they may request supporting medical information. You may need to invoke FMLA if your request is denied.

When You May Need to Invoke FMLA

While many supervisors should simply grant the requested accrued leave when possible, there are indeed times when an employee should invoke the Family and Medical Leave Act and seek its protection.

The primary benefit of FMLA is the elimination of agency discretion in denying leave.

Employees covered by and eligible for FMLA are entitled to request and receive up to twelve weeks of leave every year for their own serious health condition or that of a family member. Once an employee is in an approved FMLA status, the agency's discretion to deny accrued leave requested in connection with the FMLA condition is largely removed—the agency must approve the request.

This is especially critical when an employee is requesting Leave Without Pay (LWOP) or Advanced Leave, which are generally discretionary for agencies to grant. However, invoking FMLA removes that discretion and entitles an eligible employee to up to twelve weeks (480 hours) of LWOP, or guarantees the use of accrued sick and annual leave.

💡 Summation

A federal employee's request to use accrued leave in connection with a serious health condition does not require the employee to invoke the FMLA as a condition of leave approval. Your supervisor has the discretion to approve the request without FMLA. However, if a supervisor denies the leave request, or if the employee needs to request approved non-pay status (LWOP), invoking and obtaining eligibility for FMLA will ensure leave approval for the covered period.

We always recommend employees and supervisors consult agency-specific human resources guidance and review applicable policies in collective bargaining agreements for information specific to their agency.

The search results confirm that the information in the blog post aligns with OPM's public guidance, particularly regarding the need for "administratively acceptable evidence" for sick leave and the reference to an employee's "self-certification" being an acceptable form of evidence "regardless of the duration of the absence" (as found in the Sick Leave for Family Care fact sheet).

📝 OPM Fact Sheet Highlights: Leave and Supervisory Discretion

Annual Leave (General Information)

• Supervisory Role: "An employee has a right to take annual leave, subject to the right of the supervisor to schedule the time at which annual leave may be taken."

• Mutual Responsibility: Supervisors and employees are "mutually responsible for planning and scheduling the use of employees' annual leave."

• Discretion: The guidance confirms that the supervisor's role involves coordination and scheduling, supporting the idea of discretionary approval when it comes to the timing and granting of annual leave.

Sick Leave for Family Care or Bereavement Purposes

• Evidence: "An agency may grant sick leave only when supported by administratively acceptable evidence."

• Medical Certificate: "For absences in excess of 3 days, or for a lesser period when determined necessary by the agency, an agency may require a medical certificate or other administratively acceptable evidence."

• Self-Certification: Crucially, the guidance states: "An agency may consider an employee's self-certification as to the reason for his or her absence as administratively acceptable evidence, regardless of the duration of the absence." This supports the blog post's argument that a supervisor may approve extended leave without a medical certificate, absent a specific agency regulation removing this discretion.

These points reinforce the core message of the blog post: while agencies can require medical evidence and have management control over leave scheduling, the supervisor retains discretion that can allow for the use of accrued leave without automatically requiring the FMLA process.