OPM's Administrative Leave Rule: Paid Leave for Deferred Resignations and RIF Notices, and Fewer Ways to Take a Resignation Back

Bottom line

The Office of Personnel Management on Monday published a final rule that writes its deferred resignation and reduction-in-force leave policies into regulation ^[1]. Agencies may keep employees on paid administrative leave for weeks or months while they wait to separate, and they may refuse to let someone who took that leave withdraw the resignation ^[1]. Most of this is already OPM policy; the change is that it becomes binding regulation on November 18 ^[1].

What happened

The rule. FR Doc. 2026-21320, “Administrative Leave for Workforce Realignment and Other Purposes,” amends three parts of title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations: the administrative leave rules in part 630, the RIF notice rule in 5 CFR 351.806 and the resignation rule in 5 CFR 715.202 ^[1]. OPM proposed it on June 29 and received 30 comments, from individuals, one agency, two unions and three employee advocacy groups ^[1]. The final version adds two changes in response, described below ^[1].

The law it sits on. The Administrative Leave Act of 2016, section 1138 of Public Law 114-328, limits an agency to placing an employee on administrative leave for no more than 10 work days in a calendar year ^[2]. Its sense-of-Congress findings say administrative leave “should be used sparingly” and that “data show that there are too many examples of employees placed in administrative leave for 6 months or longer” ^[2]. The same law told OPM to issue regulations on “acceptable agency uses of administrative leave” ^[2]. OPM’s first set came in December 2024 ^[1].

OPM’s reading. OPM’s position is that the 10-day cap governs leave for investigative purposes only ^[1]. Leave for voting, blood donation and emergency closures remains outside it, and OPM places the new workforce realignment uses there too ^[1]. Several commenters argued that this makes the statutory limit optional ^[1]. OPM disagreed and made no change ^[1].

What the rule lists. A new paragraph, 5 CFR 630.1403(c), names 11 acceptable uses ^[1]. Three matter most to readers of this memo:

• Extended leave for employees who sign a written agreement to separate on a future date, including deferred resignation, buyouts (VSIP) and early retirement (VERA) ^[1].
• Leave between a RIF notice and the RIF separation, when the agency finds it is in the Government’s best interests ^[1].
• Extended leave under a settlement agreement for an employee facing documented allegations of poor performance or misconduct who agrees to resign ^[1]. No final finding is required; the allegations must be documented ^[1].

OPM’s own limits apply to the first and third. The current one, from OPM’s July 2025 policy template, is 12 weeks per instance beginning in calendar 2026 unless OPM and OMB jointly approve a higher threshold ^[1]. OPM states that a six-month threshold was approved for restructuring-related deferred resignation agreements that took effect in fiscal 2026 ^[1].

New prohibitions. Agencies may not use administrative leave for poll workers or poll observers, for anything sick leave covers absent OPM or presidential approval, or for investigations once the 10-day cap is reached ^[1]. OPM concedes that the poll worker ban reverses its own earlier policy allowing limited leave for nonpartisan poll service ^[1].

Two changes from the proposal. After favorable comments, including from both unions, OPM added physical fitness activities as an acceptable use, with no minimum or maximum hours ^[1]. It also added a definition of “sole and exclusive discretion,” a phrase the rule uses repeatedly and which the proposal had not defined ^[1]. The definition says that discretion “may not be limited or conditioned by any agreement” ^[1].

The cost dispute. Commenters cited an estimate of at least $11 billion for the 2025 deferred resignation programs and a separate figure of about $4.5 billion in pay and benefits for employees who were not working under those agreements ^[1]. OPM projects no costs or savings from the rule itself, because it codifies policies already in force ^[1]. It also says 2025 deferred resignation separations cut the workforce by over 6 percent and that the leave cost less than 3 percent of total basic payroll ^[1].

The Partnership for Public Service wrote in July that the proposal “appears contrary to both the spirit and letter of section 1138 of Public Law 114-328” ^[3]. It urged OPM to work with Congress on severance and on the $25,000 buyout cap instead ^[3]. OPM’s answer is that the 2016 law delegated the question of acceptable uses to it, and that leave an employee accepts as part of a voluntary agreement is not what the law was written to stop ^[1].

What it means for you

Employees who signed, or may sign, a deferred resignation agreement. The leave itself is not new. The resignation rule is. Under the revised 5 CFR 715.202(b), an agency may accept or decline a withdrawal request “in its sole and exclusive discretion,” and your “acceptance of benefits provided under a deferred resignation agreement” is listed as a valid reason to decline ^[1]. The agency must still state a reason, and avoiding adverse action proceedings still does not count ^[1]. OPM explains why: once paid leave has been provided, it says there is no authority to require repayment ^[1]. In other words, accepting the leave is, for practical purposes, the decision. The Partnership had asked OPM for a set window in which a deferred resignation could be withdrawn ^[3]. OPM declined to add one and left decision windows to each program’s design ^[1].

If you believe a resignation was coerced or based on agency misrepresentation, OPM states that the rule does not affect your right to appeal an involuntary resignation to the Merit Systems Protection Board ^[1].

Employees who receive a RIF notice. The duty-status presumption survives with new wording. The old rule kept you working “when possible”; the new one says “under ordinary circumstances” ^[1]. A new paragraph lets the agency place you on administrative leave for all or part of the notice period ^[1]. OPM’s examples include security or records concerns during a large reorganization and work that has ended ^[1]. Nothing in the leave rule changes retention registers, veterans’ preference or RIF appeal rights, OPM says ^[1]. Those were rewritten separately; the August 3 memo covered OPM’s RIF and RIF appeals rules. The emergency provision allowing forced annual leave when an agency lacks work or funds is unchanged ^[1].

Employees facing a performance or conduct case. A settlement may now include extended paid leave leading to resignation ^[1]. The Partnership argued such leave belongs under investigative leave, where it is tracked separately ^[3]. OPM kept it as administrative leave and says it will appear in the settlement and in payroll records ^[1].

Bargaining unit employees. OPM states that acceptable-use decisions cannot be made a mandatory entitlement “including through negotiated agreement” ^[1]. It also cites 5 U.S.C. 7117(a)(1): there is no duty to bargain over matters covered by a Governmentwide regulation ^[1]. Contract provisions that guarantee a set amount of administrative leave will be read against that.

Poll workers and fitness programs. Plan to use annual leave, comp time, credit hours or leave without pay for poll service ^[1]. Fitness leave depends on your agency’s policy; the rule permits it but does not require it ^[1].

Contractors. The rule applies only to federal agencies and federal employees ^[1].

• How the withdrawal rule applies to deferred resignation agreements already in effect on November 18. The rule does not say.
• Whether OPM will set a different Governmentwide leave limit for 2027 agreements ^[1].
• What the phrase “in the Government’s best interests” requires before RIF notice leave is approved. The rule leaves it to each agency ^[1].

Questions you’re probably asking

When does OPM’s new administrative leave rule take effect?

November 18, 2026. OPM published it in the Federal Register on October 19 ^[1].

Can my agency put me on paid administrative leave after a RIF notice?

Yes, for all or part of the notice period, if the agency decides it is in the Government’s best interests ^[1]. The rule still says that under ordinary circumstances an employee stays in a duty status during the notice period ^[1].

Can I withdraw a deferred resignation before my separation date?

You can ask, but the agency decides in its sole and exclusive discretion, and having accepted deferred resignation benefits such as paid leave now counts as a valid reason to say no ^[1]. The agency must still give you its reason ^[1].

How long can administrative leave last under a deferred resignation agreement?

OPM’s current Governmentwide limit is 12 weeks per instance, starting in calendar 2026, unless OPM and OMB jointly approve more ^[1]. OPM says a six-month threshold was approved for restructuring-related agreements that took effect in fiscal 2026 ^[1].

Can federal employees get administrative leave to work at the polls?

No. The rule prohibits administrative leave for poll workers or poll observers, partisan or not ^[1]. Leave to vote on election day is still listed as an acceptable use ^[1].

Does the 10-day limit on administrative leave still apply?

Yes, to leave for investigative purposes; the 2016 law caps it at 10 work days a calendar year ^{[1, 2]}. OPM reads the cap as not reaching the workforce realignment uses in the new rule ^[1].

What I’m watching

• November 18, 2026: the rule takes effect ^[1].
• No date set: any OPM or OMB notice raising or renewing the 12-week limit for calendar 2027 ^[1].
• No date set: revised agency administrative leave policies. The 2016 law directed each agency to bring its internal policies in line with OPM’s regulations ^[2].