The act of July 28, 1916, 39 Stat. 413, provides in part as follows:
That the Postmaster General shall not approve or continue any rule or regulation which terminates the employment of any employee by reason of absence on account of illness for a period of less than one year, * * *
The act of June 5, 1920, 41 Stat. 1052, as amended by the act of June 19, 1922, 42 Stat. 660, provides as follows:
Hereafter employees in the Postal Service shall be granted fifteen days' leave of absence with pay, exclusive of Sundays and holidays, each fiscal year, and sick leave with pay at the rate of ten days a year, exclusive of Sundays and holidays, to be cumulative for a period of three years, but no sick leave with pay in excess of thirty days shall be granted during any three consecutive years. Sick leave shall be granted only upon satisfactory evidence of illness and if more than two days the application therefor shall be accompanied by a physician's certificate.
The phrase "less than one year" used in the act of July 28, 1916, supra, fixes a period of time without reference to fiscal or calendar year, that is, the absence may begin and end at any time. During any absence of "less than one year" on account of illness persons in the Postal Service remain on the rolls and retain the status of "employees" as contemplated by the leave act of June 19, 1922, supra. Accordingly such authorized absence without pay of less than one year because of illness 'may be counted in computing the right to annual and sick leave, the status of "employee" not having been lost. The fact that during a portion of a fiscal year an employee is in a non-pay status because of personal illness does not defeat the right to leave granted by the statute for that fiscal year, nor require a prorating of the total leave to cover the portion of the year in a pay status.
In questions 1 and 2, assuming that the employee was not entitled to disability compensation, there would be available for the employee the full 10 days' sick leave of absence with pay and the full 15 days annual leave of absence with pay from July 1 of the second fiscal year although absent until the following January 1 because of illness. 27 Comp. Dec. 583; 2 Comp. Gen. 701. Being already away from duty on account of illness, the employee would be entitled to pay for a period of 25 days, exclusive of Sundays and holidays, beginning July 1 of the second fiscal year. The employee, of course, would not be entitled to any further sick or annual leave with pay during that fiscal year after return to duty January 1. 1 Comp. Gen. 245; 3 id. 20.
Sections 7 and 8 of the Employees' Compensation Act of September 7, 1916, 39 Stat. 743, provide as follows:
Sec. 7. That as long as the employee is in receipt of compensation under this Act, or, if he has been paid a lump sum in commutation of installment payments, until the expiration of the period during which such installment payments would have continued, he shall not receive from the United States any salary, pay, or remuneration whatsoever except in return for services actually performed, and except pensions for service in the Army or Navy of the United States.
