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Special Leave Accrual Based on COVID-19 Leave Restrictions

MILPER Message Number 20-186.

1. This message will expire 1 May 2021.

2. Purpose: Provide guidance to commanders and
other Army leaders regarding Special Leave Accrual
(SLA), also known as leave carryover, as it will effect
Soldiers on 1 October 2020, the beginning of fiscal
year (FY) 2021.

3. Eligibility for SLA.
a. Soldiers with 60 or fewer days of accrued leave
on 30 September 2020 do not meet criteria for SLA.  
However, their entire accrued leave balances will
carry over on 1 October 2020.

b. Soldiers with more than 60 days, but no more
than 120 days of accrued leave on 30 September
2020 are eligible for SLA.  Their full accrued leave
balances will carry over on 1 October 2020, even if
previously earned SLA protection is scheduled to
expire on 30 September 2020.

c. Soldiers with more than 120 days of accrued
leave on 30 September 2020 will lose all accrued
leave in excess of 120 days on 1 October 2020.  
By law, the maximum amount of leave a
Servicemember may carry over into a new FY is
120 days.  No statutory authority allows carryover
of more than 120 days, so there are no exceptions
to this policy.

d. Leave earned after 30 September 2020 is not
SLA protected, unless earned during an eligible
deployment (usually to a hostile fire pay (HFP) or
imminent danger pay (IDP) area).  Leave is not
tax-exempt unless it is earned in an HFP/IDP area.

4. Requesting SLA. There are no application
procedures, because the Defense Finance and
Accounting Service (DFAS) will automatically grant
SLA to Soldiers on 1 October 2020, based on their
accrued leave balances on 30 September 2020.

5.  Expiration of SLA.  All leave in excess of 60
days carried over on 1 October 2020 will expire on
1 October 2023, unless additional SLA is earned in
eligible deployments ending after 30 September
2020.

6.  Monitoring SLA.
a.  SLA will be noted in the Leave and Earnings
Statement (LES) beginning 31 October 2020.  It will
appear in the LES Remarks section as “CZ leave
carryover bal” along with the expiration date.  SLA
is exhausted and will no longer appear on an LES
when the accrued leave balance is reduced to 60
days or less, or when the expiration date is passed.

b.  SLA and ordinary leave are tracked on a Last In
First Out (LIFO) model.  This means that the most
recently earned leave is the first leave subtracted
from leave accounts.

c.  Soldiers should check their LESs every month, to
ensure leave is deducted after it is used and to track
if leave usage has either reduced or exhausted the
SLA carryover balance.

7.  For additional information regarding SLA please
go to the HRC Leave and Pass Special Leave
Accrual web pages at:  https://www.hrc.army.
mil/content/Leaves%20and%20Passes, and at https:
//www.hrc.army.mil/login?redirectURL=https:%2F%
2Fwww.hrc.army.mil%2Fasset%2F22595. Log in
may be required. This is a link to DFAS pages
regarding Military pay entitlements, and instructions
on how to read an LES: https://www.dfas.
mil/MilitaryMembers/payentitlements/aboutpay/.

8.  For clarification of this guidance, contact unit
personnel/S-1 offices.  Unit G-1/S-1 personnel
officials may raise concerns to the following
contacts; email communication is preferred.

a.  HQDA DCS-G1 (DAPE-PRC), Military
Entitlements & Compensation, Ms. Sherry Simmons-
Coleman at email:  usarmy.pentagon.hqda-dcs-g-1.
mbx.dape-prctravel@mail.mil.

b.  U.S. Army Human Resources Command (AHRC-
PDP-P), TAGD Soldier Programs and Services
Division, Ms. Larraine S. Nobes at email:  usarmy.
knox.hrc.mbx.tagd-leave-and-pass-policy@mail.mil.  
Toll Free 1-888-276-9472, DSN 983-9500.

Download the official MILPER Message >>