SAIPAN — Governor David M. Apatang has given excepted service employees until December 31 to use compensatory administrative leave earned during the Super Typhoon Sinlaku emergency, pushing back a deadline that would have expired with the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Memorandum GOV2026-470, issued Tuesday to all department and activity heads, extends a benefit Apatang first authorized in May, when he granted one hour of paid compensatory leave for every hour excepted service employees worked during the administrative leave period of April 13 through May 8.
“Since I issued Memorandum GOV2026-270 … the Commonwealth has been further battered by Super Typhoon Bavi,” Apatang said in the memo.
He said some employees may be unable to use the leave before the fiscal year closes even as disruptions to lives and property in the community have continued.
The original May 8 memorandum covered excepted service employees who continued reporting for duty while much of the Commonwealth government was placed on administrative leave following Sinlaku’s April 13 landfall. Apatang said those employees worked through widespread power outages, communication disruptions, flooding and supply shortages to keep essential government functions running.
The compensatory leave was structured to close a gap in the Commonwealth’s personnel rules. Classified civil service employees are entitled by regulation to pay for hours worked on top of administrative leave pay, but the regulations governing excepted service employees do not authorize similar additional payments. The comp leave applies only to hours for which employees received no overtime, premium pay, hazard pay or other additional compensation.
All other conditions of the May memorandum remain in effect. Use of the leave requires scheduling and approval by the employee’s appointing authority, and the leave is not eligible for lump-sum payment upon separation from service.
The extension cites NMIAC sections 10-10-225 and 120-10-225 and the Conditions of Employment for excepted service employees.
