Awol Presentation

Addressing AWOL

What is AWOL?

Absence Without Leave:

• AWOL is a non-pay status that covers

an absence from duty which has not

been approved.

Why Address AWOL?

• AWOL is misconduct!

• Attendance issues are among the most common

challenges for federal supervisors.

• Employees’ failure to report to work as scheduled

can have a negative impact on an organization’s

ability to complete the mission.

AWOL Facts

• AWOL is an employee attendance issue.

• An agency may discipline an employee who is

AWOL.

•Remember, an employee is AWOL when:

• An employee is absent from their assigned place of duty;

• The absence was not authorized; and/or

• The leave requested by the employee has been properly

denied

AWOL and Administrative Case Law

The legal elements of AWOL

have been established through

decisions of the Merit Systems

Protection Board and the

Federal Circuit.

Addressing Attendance

Supervisors should:

• Establish written leave procedures for their

employees to follow.

• Address tardiness or leave abuse promptly.

• Document!

Recording AWOL

• AWOL can be recorded in fractions of an

hour – in accordance with the agencies’

payroll system.

• Notating AWOL in and of itself is not a

disciplinary action, however it could be the

basis for taking disciplinary action.

A Basic Approach to Unexcused Absences:

• Ensure employee is on notice of work

schedule

• Ensure employee was notified of policy and

procedures for excused absences

• Determine appropriate discipline based on

the circumstances of the case

Where’s Waldo?

• Employee remains on agency premises,

but not at the specified work location.

“an employee need not be

absent from the work site to

be found AWOL”

*Buchanan v. Department of Energy 247 F.3d 1333

(2001)

But the bus was late- again!

• The responsibility of arriving to work on

time is the employee’s!

“An agency is under no obligation to...