On January 1, 2021, the Senate voted to override President Trump’s veto of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a vote of 81-13. This followed a 322-87 vote earlier that week in the House of Representatives. As a result, the FY 2021 NDAA became law. 

The final bill includes many FMA priorities we supported throughout the legislative process. Of major significance, the bill allows federal workers to carry over additional leave into 2021 due to the exigencies of the Covid-19 pandemic, by raising the cap 25 percent. FMA worked tirelessly with legislators to address this issue since May 2020. On Tuesday, January 5, the Office of Personnel Management issued guidance on implementing this provision. To see this guidance, please click here or check the announcements section on the front page of www.fedmanagers.org.

Additionally, the compromise NDAA bill extends paid parental leave to feds who were initially inadvertently left out last year, including Title 38 and Title 49 employees. FMA supported the initial creation of paid parental leave, as well as the technical fix included in this year’s bill.