EXCUSED ABSENCES

For the purposes of this Agreement, excused absence is defined as an employee's absence from duty and duty station without loss of, charge to, or reduction of an employee's leave, pay, or benefits.

Employees may be allowed up to four (4) hours excused absence based on staffing and workload in connection with each blood or platelet donation. If proof of attendance is required, employees shall be notified in advance.

Employees may be granted excused absence for brief tardiness of up to one (1) hour when the employee provides acceptable justification.

Up to sixty-four (64) hours of excused absence, as requested by the employee, shall be granted for arrangements incident to a change in the employee's official post of duty, including initial assignments, and upon completion of initial qualifications training, regardless of whether or not the residence is being relocated. Excused absence may be granted up to two (2) years from the effective date of the permanent change of official post of duty. Employees may be required to provide justification for the use of this time. This Section is not inclusive of any time provided for "house hunting."

Terminal/En Route Academy Graduates

a. Upon graduation from initial training at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, terminal and en route employees shall be provided with the following options:

(1) The employees will be provided an airline ticket and given one (1) day of travel before reporting to the facility to which assigned. This is the authorized method of travel for purposes of applying for reimbursement under the FAATP; or

(2) The employees may elect to travel via a privately owned vehicle (POV). The employees will be granted excused absence up to the number of days indicated in Appendix G, for travel to the facility to which assigned. Excused absence is not granted for regular days off (RDO).

b. Employees who elect an airline ticket will be paid for travel expenses in accordance with the FAATP.

c. Employees who elect to drive their POV must do a cost comparison between the cost of the authorized method of travel and the actual expenses incurred while traveling via POV, as outlined in the FAATP, and will be reimbursed for whichever is less. Lodging and per diem will not be paid for non-travel days.

d. Upon the request of the employee, the Agency will approve the employee to swap his/her RDOs to maximize consecutive days of travel in a duty status. Not more than forty (40) hours of excused absence may be granted in a workweek.

e. Upon arrival at his/her destination, the employee must either report for duty the next scheduled duty day, or make arrangements for excused absence under Section 4 of this Article; and/or request leave under other provisions of this Agreement.

f. The amount of excused absence granted in Appendix G may not be increased at the local facility.

g. The granting of excused absence to enable an employee to travel to his/her new facility is in addition to excused absence that may be granted for pre- and post-moving arrangements as provided by Agency policy and Section 4 of this Article.

The Agency shall provide employees with seven (7) days of excused absence in a calendar year to serve as a bone marrow donor and thirty (30) days of excused absence in a calendar year to serve as an organ donor.

Annually, the Union sponsors a Communicating for Safety conference for the purpose of advancing aviation safety. The Parties agree that for the purpose of this annual conference, the following procedures shall apply:

a. Employees wishing to attend this conference on duty time must request release sufficiently in advance to allow the Agency reasonable time to determine whether or not the employee will be released.

b. Requests for excused absence to attend this conference shall be submitted to the Agency by the Union at the national level at least forty-five (45) days prior to the conference.

c. The Agency will not pay travel, per diem, tuition, or other related costs.

An employee must be granted funeral leave as needed and requested, not to exceed three (3) workdays, to make arrangements for or to attend the funeral or memorial service of a family member who died as the result of a wound, disease, or injury incurred while serving as a member of the Armed Forces in a combat zone. All permanent full-time or part-time, temporary for a year or more, and indefinite employees are eligible for funeral leave.

For the purpose of this Section, family member is defined as: spouse, and parents thereof; children, including adopted children, and spouses thereof; parents; brothers and sisters, and spouses thereof; and any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the deceased was such as to have been the equivalent of a family relationship.

Funeral leave is granted without loss of or reduction in pay, or leave to which the employee is otherwise entitled, or credit for time in service. Funeral leave is granted only from a regularly scheduled tour of duty, including regularly scheduled overtime.

The Parties recognize that the United States is a global aviation leader in terms of innovation, complexity, efficiency, and safety. Through partnerships, associations, and collaborative efforts, the Parties are working with the rest of the world towards the goal of achieving the highest standards of safety and efficiency globally.

Once annually, the Union may provide the name(s) of up to two (2) employees who are designated as members of standing committees of the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers Associations (IFATCA). Each designated IFATCA participant shall be granted up to one hundred twenty (120) hours of excused absence annually, provided the Union gives forty-five (45) days advance notice of the scheduled meeting(s).

Additionally, the Union may provide the name of the individual who is designated as the IFATCA representative on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Air Navigation Committee. Upon request, this individual shall be granted up to sixteen (16) weeks of excused absence annually. Requests for excused absences shall be made at least twenty-eight (28) days in advance. This representative will provide periodic updates to a designated Agency point of contact, if requested.

Employees returning from active military service in connection with the Global War on Terror (Operation Noble Eagle, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, or any other military operations subsequently established under Executive Order 13223) are granted five (5) workdays of excused absence before they return to work without charge to leave, upon notification to their employing agency of their intent to return to federal civilian employment. All employees who were activated for any such military service are eligible for this leave provided that:

a. the employee has served at least forty-two (42) consecutive days of active military service. Multiple periods of active duty service less than forty-two (42) days cannot be combined or accumulated to meet this requirement;

b. the employee is limited to five (5) workdays of excused absence within a twelve (12) month period. The twelve (12) month period begins on the first day of the excused absence.

The employee may not return to federal civilian duty and then take the five (5) days of excused absence at a later date. The five (5) days of excused absence must be granted as soon as the employee reports back for federal civilian duty or notifies the Agency of his/her intent to return. However, if the employee had already returned to federal civilian service prior to the issuance of the Presidential memorandum on November 14, 2003, or was not granted the five (5) days of excused absence for a second or subsequent deployment, he/she may take the five (5) days of excused absence at a time mutually agreeable to the employee and the Agency.

Employees shall be entitled to excused absence as set forth in 5 USC 6321.

In accordance with Agency directives, excused absence may be made available for other circumstances.