The “National Emergency by Reason of Certain Terrorist Attacks” (Presidential Proclamation of September 14, 2001) is deemed to be an exigency of the public business for the purpose of restoring annual leave forfeited under 5 U.S.C. 6304.

For any employee who forfeits annual leave under 5 U.S.C. 6304 at the beginning of a leave year because the agency determined the employee's services were required in response to the national emergency, the forfeited annual leave is deemed to have been scheduled in advance for the purpose of 5 U.S.C. 6304(d)(1)(B) and § 630.308.

Annual leave restored under 5 U.S.C. 6304(d) because of the national emergency must be scheduled and used within the time limits prescribed in paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) of this section:

A full-time employee must schedule and use excess annual leave of 416 hours or less by the end of the leave year in progress 2 years after the date the employee's services are no longer required by the national emergency. The agency must extend this period by 1 leave year for each additional 208 hours of excess annual leave or any portion thereof.

A part-time employee must schedule and use excess annual leave in an amount equal to or less than 20 percent of the number of hours in the employee's scheduled annual tour of duty by the end of the leave year in progress 2 years after the date the employee's services are no longer required by the national emergency. The agency must extend this period by 1 leave year for each additional number of hours of excess annual leave, or any portion thereof, equal to 10 percent of the number of hours in the employee's scheduled annual tour of duty.

The time limits established under paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) of this section for using restored annual leave accounts do not apply for the entire period during which an employee's services are required for the national emergency. When coverage under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section ends, a new time limit will be established under paragraph (c) of this section for all annual leave restored to an employee under 5 U.S.C. 6304(d).

An employee whose services were determined essential during the national emergency, but who subsequently moves to a position not considered essential, must make a reasonable effort to comply with the scheduling requirement in § 630.308(a). The head of the agency or his or her designee may exempt such an employee from the advance scheduling requirement in § 630.308(a) if coverage under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section terminated during the leave year and the employee can demonstrate that he or she was unable to comply with the advance scheduling requirement due to circumstances beyond his or her control.