Pay & Benefits

Annual Leave provides authorized absence from work with pay and is commonly used for vacations and other personal time off from work. Most new, full-time DCSA employees earn:

• 4 hours of annual leave for each two-week pay period (13 days each year) during the first 3 years of service
• 6 hours of annual leave per pay period (20 days per year) for years of service 4 through 15
• 8 hours pay period (26 days per year) after 15 years of service

Part-time employees with an established bi-weekly work requirement earn annual leave on a pro-rated basis (e.g., one hour of annual for each 20 hours in a pay status for employees with less than 3 years of service). Your initial annual leave accrual rate will be set based on any previous periods of creditable service. You can carry over up to 240 hours (30 days) of unused annual leave from year to year and can "cash it out" when you retire or resign from federal service.

Sick Leave allows an authorized absence from work with pay for illness or injury; medical, dental, or eye exams and treatment; pregnancy and childbirth. Full-time employees earn 4 hours of sick leave each pay period. Employees can accrue an unlimited number of sick leave hours. Unused sick leave can increase your monthly annuity at retirement. An employee is entitled to use up to 104 hours (13 days) of sick leave each leave year for family care/bereavement purposes.

New Year’s Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Washington’s Birthday (President’s Day)
Memorial Day
Juneteenth
Independence Day
Labor Day
Columbus Day
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day

Court leave is an authorized absence for employees called by a federal, state, or municipal court as a juror or as a witness in a case where a government entity is a party. Personal leave will not be charged, and there will be no loss of pay in such circumstances.

The Federal Employee Paid Leave Act provides up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for birth or placement (adoption or foster care) of a new child during the 12-months after the event.

Employees can request up to 12 workweeks of unpaid FMLA leave during any 12-month period for:

• The care of a spouse, son, daughter, or parent who has a serious health condition.

• A serious health condition of the employee that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of their position.

• A qualifying exigency arising from the fact that the spouse, or a son, daughter, or parent of the employee is on covered active duty in the Armed Forces, or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty.

Under the VLTP, an employee may donate annual leave directly to another employee in DCSA or another Federal agency who has a personal or family medical emergency. To be eligible to request donated leave, an employee must be experiencing a medical emergency, exhaust all annual and sick leave and expect to be in a LWOP status for 24 hours or more. There is no limit on the amount of donated annual leave a leave recipient may receive from the leave donor(s), but each donor can contribute no more than half of the annual leave they will earn year in the leave year. Any unused donated leave must be returned to the leave donor(s) when the medical emergency ends.

Employees must become a Leave Bank member in order to be considered to receive donated leave under the Voluntary Leave Bank Program. To become and remain a Leave Bank Member, an employee must make an application during a leave bank open season or within 60 days of entry on duty and each calendar year must donate not less than the amount of annual leave you normally accrue in a pay period (i.e., 4, 6, 8 hours). To be eligible to request donated leave, an employee must be experiencing a medical emergency, exhaust all annual and sick leave and expect to be in a LWOP status for 24 hours or more. Decisions on leave requests submitted will be decided by a Leave Bank Board.

The Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHB) provides a wide range of health insurance plans and coverage options. DCSA pays about three-fourths of the health insurance premium. Your share of the premiums can be paid with “pre-tax” dollars, so you take home more of what you earn. For additional information, visit https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/.

Dental and vision benefits are available to eligible employees on an enrollee-pay-all basis. This program allows dental insurance and vision insurance to be purchased on a group basis, which means competitive premiums and no pre-existing condition limitations. Premiums for enrolled federal and postal employees are withheld from salary on a (pre-tax) basis. For additional information, visit https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/dental-vision/.

DCSA shares the cost of Basic group life insurance through the Federal Employee Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) program. The Basic coverage amount is an employee’s annual salary rounded up to the next $1000 plus another $2000. Employees pay two-thirds of the premium cost and DCSA pays the other third. FEGLI Optional insurance can be added to increase your coverage amount. For additional information, visit https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/life-insurance/.

FSAFEDS allows you to save money for health care expenses with a Health Care or Limited Expense Health Care FSA. Think of it as a savings account that helps you pay for items that typically aren’t covered by your FEHB Plan, the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP), or other health insurance coverage. FSAFEDS also offers an account for families with young children or elder care expenses — the Dependent Care FSA. This account allows you to set aside money to pay for your day care expenses. The minimum election for all accounts is just $100 and carryover has been adopted for health care and limited expense health care FSAs. For additional information, visit https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/flexible-spending-accounts/.

The FLTCIP provides long-term care insurance to help pay for costs of care when enrollees need help with activities they perform every day, or you have a severe cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer's disease. Most employees must be eligible for the FEHB Program in order to apply for coverage under the FLTCIP. It does not matter if they are actually enrolled in FEHB — eligibility is the key. Certain medical conditions, or a combination of conditions, will prevent some people from being approved for coverage. You must apply to find out if you are eligible to enroll. For additional information, visit: https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/long-term-care/.

Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) is the retirement plan for those entering federal service under a permanent appointment. FERS benefits are portable and allow employees to take an active role in securing their futures. FERS is a three-tiered plan comprised of the Basic Benefit Plan, the Social Security Benefit, and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). FERS employees receive an automatic 1% DCSA contribution to the TSP starting immediately after entering duty. DCSA matches employee contributions dollar for dollar on the first 3% and 50-cents on the dollar for the next 2%, up to a total of 5% including the automatic 1%. For additional information, visit https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/fers-information/.

Establishes an annuity amount based on an employee's age, years of federal service as of the effective retirement date, and average highest salary attained over a 3-year consecutive period. After you retire, you will receive monthly annuity payments for the rest of your life. Disability benefits and benefits for survivors of federal employees and retirees are also provided.

Payments made from the social security fund at retirement are based on an employee's age, type of benefit applied for, and earnings history from social security-covered wages.

The TSP is a tax-deferred retirement savings and investment plan similar to 401(k) plans offered by private employers. Employees participating in the TSP can choose from several investment plans, including government securities, common stock funds, bond index funds, small capitalization stock, and international stock funds. You may elect to contribute any dollar amount or percentage (1 to 100) of your basic biweekly pay, but your annual dollar total cannot exceed the Internal Revenue Code's annual elective deferral limit. TSP accepts rollovers from other 401(k)/qualified retirement plans.

Employees with an approved Civilian Fitness and Wellness Program (CFWP) agreement are authorized to use up to one hour of paid administrative leave per day for fitness/wellness activities (including travel/hygiene), limited to three days per week. To participate, employees must work at least four regular hours on that day, with the fifth hour being used for CFWP. With supervisor approval, employees may participate in CFWP in conjunction with their lunch period. Employees may participate at the start or end of their scheduled tour of duty day. Employees may not carry unused hours from one week over to the next week. CFWP participation must be suspended for the pay period if an employee is earning overtime, comp/travel time, and credit hours.

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a confidential, prepaid voluntary benefit available to employees and their household members. EAP services are offered by DCSA through Magellan Healthcare, our third-party administrator according to Federal and State Laws.

EAP offers a variety of services at no costs to include counseling, self-care programs, coaching, legal/financial/identity theft resolution services, senior care services, work-life resources and much more. Magellan is available 24 hours a day and 7 days per week.

DCSA offers workplace flexibility by providing several work schedule options to improve work-life balance. Specific offerings are based on mission requirements and seek to enhance workforce efficiency and foster emergency preparedness.

Eligible employees can enroll to receive a monthly transit pass subsidy or reimbursement for some or all of their commuting expenses. Employees within the National Capital Region (NCR) must apply through DoD’s MTBP Office in the Washington Headquarters Services (WHS). For more information visit: http://www.whs.mil/mass-transportation-benefit-program DCSA also has an MTBP program for employees who use mass transit outside of the NCR.

DCSA's incentive and performance awards encourage and reward high productivity and innovation, as well as recognize special acts and service beyond the requirements of the job. Recognition includes cash awards, performance bonuses, performance pay increases, time-off awards, and honorary awards.

At DCSA, learning and development are the keys to employee success and mission accomplishment. DCSA is committed to improving workforce performance to advance the agency’s mission and strategic objectives through career-long learning. DCSA employees can expand their expertise through continuous learning opportunities, professional development and certification, leadership training, coaching, and other programs that ensure they continue to grow and develop professionally.