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UPDATE: Restoration of Forfeited Annual Leave in Conjunction with the 2005 Hurricane Response and Relief Efforts |
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The Office of Commissioned Corps Operations (OCCO) is pleased to announce that the electronic Commissioned
Officers Leave Tracking System (COLTS) has been updated to restore officers’ annual leave forfeited due to
their direct or indirect involvement in the 2005 hurricane response and relief efforts. |
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COLTS was updated in response to Manual Circular No. 381, “Annual Leave – Implementation of Special Leave
Accrual Policy,” dated 25 January 2006, and signed by the Assistant Secretary for Health, which authorized
the implementation of a special leave accrual policy to retain excess annual leave (for one year) for
officers who lost annual leave in 2005 due to the hurricane response and relief efforts. Based on the need
for all commissioned officers to maintain critical agency operations and backfill positions during the
time of deployments, the policy included all officers of the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health
Service (Corps) who were on extended active duty on or after 29 August 2005. Officers detailed to the
Department of Defense or U.S. Coast Guard follow the leave policy established for those services. |
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Corps officers who met the criteria and were on active duty on 31 December 2005, and who had accrued over
60 days of annual leave on 31 December 2005, now have the leave that was forfeited restored in COLTS.
These officers may carry forward up to 90 annual leave days until 31 December 2006. If on 31 December
2006, an officer has accumulated an excess of 60 days of annual leave, any and all leave over 60 days will
be forfeited and only 60 days of annual leave will be carried over to the 2007 leave year. No waivers
will be granted under this policy. |
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There remains a lifetime limit of 60 days of unused annual leave for which an officer may receive a lump
sum leave payment at the time of his or her separation or retirement from active duty. |
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Officers should check their leave records in COLTS to verify the leave carryover was completed correctly.
To access COLTS, log on to the ‘Secure Area’ of the Commissioned Corps Management Information System Web
site http://dcp.psc.gov/ and select ‘COLTS’ from the ‘Select Activity’ menu. Once in COLTS, select
‘Officer Personal’ and ‘Leave Activity Report’ to determine your current annual leave balance. Questions
regarding the leave reported in COLTS should be directed to the OCCO COLTS Administrator, Ms. Martha
Hall-Diallo, at 240-453-6039 or Martha.Hall-Diallo@hhs.gov. |
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