travel comp time pay

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Travel Time

Time spent traveling during normal work hours is considered compensable work time. Time spent in home-to-work travel by an employee in an employer-provided vehicle, or in activities performed by an employee that are incidental to the use of the vehicle for commuting, generally is not "hours worked" and, therefore, does not have to be paid. This provision applies only if the travel is within the normal commuting area for the employer's business and the use of the vehicle is subject to an agreement between the employer and the employee or the employee's representative.

Webpages on this Topic

Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act - Answers many questions about the FLSA and gives information about certain occupations that are exempt from the Act.

Coverage Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Fact Sheet - General information about who is covered by the FLSA.

Wage and Hour Division: District Office Locations - Addresses and phone numbers for Department of Labor district Wage and Hour Division offices.

State Labor Offices/State Laws - Links to state departments of labor contacts. Individual states' laws and regulations may vary greatly. Please consult your state department of labor for this information.

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Overtime, Comp Time, and Credit Hours

This Handbook page provides a brief overview of overtime, comp time, and credit hours.

There are several factors which affect how you could be compensated for working extra hours. One is your salary: if your salary is at - or close to - the maximum GS salary ($183,500 in FY23). Another factor is whether you are an , external, exempt or non-exempt employee .

You should obtain supervisor approval prior to working extra hours. And, your supervisor should understand your specific situation prior to approving overtime.

The guidance below is only a high level overview. You and/or your supervisor can reach out to PeopleOps anytime with questions about your specific situation.

Overtime and Comp Time

Overtime and comp time can be approved by your supervisor no matter what type of work schedule you have.

Overtime is when you are paid for extra hours that you work, whereas comp time is when you receive hours of leave instead of pay. To determine the maximum number of comp time hours that you can accrue per pay period, please use the , external, TTS-only, Bi-weekly Comp Time Cap Calculator .

You should use your accrued comp time before using Annual Leave. However, if the end of the leave year is approaching, your supervisor can approve your Annual Leave requests first if you are in danger of losing Annual Leave because of “ Use or Lose .”

Comp time expires one year (26 pay periods) after it is earned. When you reach the expiration date, what happens depends on whether you are an , external, exempt or non-exempt employee :

• If you are exempt: you will forfeit the leave.
• If you are non-exempt: you will be paid out the hours (at the overtime pay rate that was in effect when you earned the hours).

If you leave GSA, your comp time will follow the parameters above: either forfeited or paid out, depending on your exemption status.

Credit Hours

Note: Credit hours are only available if you are on a flexible work schedule .

You can be approved for credit hours if you want to voluntarily work additional hours to your normal/approved schedule. If you are required to work additional hours, you will receive overtime or comp time.

• You can have up to 24 credit hours accrued, at any given time.
• The hours will rollover from one pay period to the next, and they never expire.
• Credit hours cannot be converted to cash, unless you leave GSA (then they will be paid out).

Credit hours example

You are on a Gliding schedule , and you work 8 hours every day. You are not required to stay late, but you are in a productive headspace and want to work an extra hour to finish your project. You can talk to your supervisor and ask to work 1 more hour, therefore receiving 1 credit hour. You will need to request the 1 hour in HR Links, and your supervisor will need to approve it.

Religious comp time

You can request an adjustment to your work schedule for religious observances, instead of taking leave. Document your request to your supervisor, via email, in advance of the time you’ll need to miss, along with the schedule of the time you will work outside of normal hours to compensate.

Note: religious comp time does not follow the salary cap rules that are outlined in the beginning of this document. Anyone can request religious comp time, regardless of their salary and what type of work schedule they are on.

Travel comp time

When you travel in connection to TTS, the time you spend traveling may be regular time, overtime, or travel comp time, depending on when the travel occurs.

You’ll complete overtime and comp time requests after you travel because you may encounter delays. Keep a copy of your travel itinerary to help you remember your trip.

Refer to the , external, TTS-only, Compensation for Government Travel slidedeck to determine the breakdown of your hours. This slidedeck is only open to GSA employees. Please contact your Timekeeper or an HR Specialist at your agency with questions.

Note: travel comp time does not follow the salary cap rules that are outlined in the beginning of this document. Anyone can request travel comp time, regardless of their salary and what type of work schedule they are on.

Entering the overtime, comp time, and/or credit hours you will be working into HRLinks

Entering your hours is a two step process.

Step 1 - Submit a time request in HRLinks

You need to enter your overtime, comp time, or credit hours into HRLinks. To determine the maximum number of comp time hours that you can accrue per pay period, please use the , external, TTS-only, Bi-weekly Comp Time Cap Calculator . Your supervisor will be notified to approve the hours requested.

• Click on the Employee Time Requests tile
• Select Additional Time Requests
• For Overtime , you will need to select a reason you worked overtime.
• Select Additional Time Type
• Enter Start Date and End Date
• Enter Requested Hours
• Enter Comments
• Click Submit

You’ll receive emails after submitting the request, and after it is approved. There is a step-by-step guide to submitting time requests .

Step 2 - Update your timesheet

Currently, HR Links is not connecting Comp/Credit/Overtime hours to your timesheet. This means you will need to manually add the hours you earned to your timesheet on the day(s) when you earned them. You’ll do this after your supervisor has approved the hours in step 1.

There is a step-by-step guide on adding the hours to your timesheet . Reach out to , external, TTS-only, #people-ops if you need assistance.

Using the comp time and/or credit hours you’ve earned

You will submit a leave request , just like you do for other types of leave. When searching in HR Links for the leave type to request, the codes and leave names are:

• 041 - Comp Time Used
• 037 - Credit Hours Used
• 047 - Religious Comp Time Used
• 043 - Travel Comp Time Used

OPM Resources

• , external, Adjustment of Work Schedules for Religious Observances
• , external, Overtime Fact Sheet
• , external, Comp Time Fact Sheet
• , external, Credit Hours Fact Sheet

Handbook.tts.gsa.gov

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Pay Administration

Questions and answers, what is compensatory time off for travel.

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Under the FLSA, when must nonexempt employees be paid for travel time?

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations require employers to pay for travel time in some circumstances. Generally, time spent traveling is compensable, unless it is normal home-to-work commute time, or when travel requires an overnight stay and the time spent traveling as a passenger falls outside of the employee's normal work hours.

When pay is required, the time spent traveling is considered hours worked and must be included when determining overtime pay obligations. 

Home-to-work travel. Normal commuting time to an employee's regular worksite is not treated as hours worked under the FLSA.

Home to work on a special one-day assignment in another city . When an employee must travel out of town for work but returns home the same day, all the time spent traveling during the day is compensable, regardless of the employee's regular work hours. However, an employer may deduct the time the employee would have spent commuting to his or her regular work location.

Travel that is all in a day's work. Time spent traveling to and from different worksites during the day is work time and must be paid.

Travel away from home. When travel requires an overnight stay, any time traveling as a passenger that falls within the employee's normal work hours is compensable, regardless of what day of the week the travel takes place. Time spent traveling to an airport terminal or train station is considered commute time and is not treated as hours worked, but the time spent waiting at the terminal until arrival at the destination is compensable when it falls during normal work hours.

For example, if Meg normally works Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and she is required to travel by plane on a Sunday for business in another state, her travel time on Sunday between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. is compensable.

So, if Meg arrives at the airport on Sunday at 3 p.m. and at her destination at 8 p.m., the employer is required to pay her only from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., the hours that correspond with her normally scheduled work hours.

Alternatively, if Meg drives herself or others at the direction of the employer rather than traveling as a passenger, all the time spent driving is compensable work time, regardless of Meg's normal work hours.

Driving at the direction of the employer . When employees are required to drive themselves or others, all driving time is compensable. However, when an employee is traveling to an overnight stay and has the option to use public transportation (i.e., airplane, train, bus, etc.) but chooses to drive his or her own vehicle instead, the employer can either choose to pay for all time spent traveling or pay only the travel time that occurs during normal work hours, regardless of what day of the week the employee travels (CFR 785.40). If an employee volunteers to drive others in his or her own vehicle to the overnight stay, an employee's time could be unpaid for those travel hours outside the normal work hours.

Worked performed while traveling. An employee must be paid for any time he or she is performing work. This includes time spent working during travel as a passenger that would otherwise be non-compensable.

For example, Meg normally works Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. She arrives at the airport on Sunday at 3 p.m. and at her destination at 8 p.m. Generally, the employer is required to pay her only from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.; however, if Meg works on a presentation during her flight until 6:30 p.m., her employer would need to pay her from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Some states have travel-time laws that are more generous than the federal FLSA.  

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• 6.550.2.1.1  Background
• 6.550.2.1.2  Authority
• 6.550.2.1.3  Roles and Responsibilities
• 6.550.2.1.4  Program Management and Review
• 6.550.2.1.5  Program Controls
• 6.550.2.1.6  Definitions
• 6.550.2.1.7  Related Resources
• 6.550.2.2.1  Maximum Earnings Limitations
• 6.550.2.2.2  Overtime General Provisions
• 6.550.2.2.3  Authorization of Overtime Pay
• 6.550.2.2.4  Determining Hours of Work
• 6.550.2.2.5  Shelter in Place
• 6.550.2.2.6  Time Spent Traveling
• 6.550.2.2.7  Substitution Rule
• 6.550.2.2.8  Title 5 Overtime
• 6.550.2.2.9  Computation of Overtime Pay for FLSA Exempt (not covered) Employees
• 6.550.2.2.10  Compensatory Time Off in lieu of Overtime Pay for FLSA Exempt (not covered) Employees
• 6.550.2.2.11  Overtime under the FLSA
• 6.550.2.2.12  Effect of Temporary and Emergency Work on FLSA Coverage
• 6.550.2.2.13  Computation of Overtime Pay for FLSA Nonexempt (covered) Employees
• 6.550.2.2.14  Compensatory Time Off in lieu of Overtime Pay for FLSA Nonexempt (covered) Employees
• 6.550.2.2.15  FLSA Claims and Compliance
• 6.550.2.2.16  Payment of Compensatory Time Off in lieu of Overtime Pay upon Transfer or Separation from Federal Service
• 6.550.2.2.17  Night Pay Differential
• 6.550.2.2.18  Pay for Holiday Work
• 6.550.2.2.19  Administratively Uncontrollable Work
• 6.550.2.2.20  Pay for Sunday Work
• 6.550.2.2.21  Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP)
• 6.550.2.3.1  Compensatory Time Off for Travel - Creditable Travel Time
• 6.550.2.3.2  Forfeiture of Compensatory Time Off for Travel
• 6.550.2.3.3  Prohibition Against Payment for Unused Compensatory Time Off for Travel
• 6.550.2.3.4  Compensatory Time off for Travel - Premium and Aggregate Pay Caps
• Exhibit  6.550.2-1  Overtime and Compensatory Time Off in lieu of Overtime under Title 5 and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Table
• Exhibit  6.550.2-2  Night Pay Differential Table

Part 6. Human Resources Management

Chapter 550. pay administration, section 2. premium pay under title 5 and the fair labor standards act (flsa) and compensatory time off for travel, 6.550.2 premium pay under title 5 and the fair labor standards act (flsa) and compensatory time off for travel, manual transmittal.

September 22, 2021

(1) This transmits the new IRM 6.550.2, Premium Pay Under Title 5 and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Compensatory Time Off for Travel.

Material Changes

(1) This new IRM incorporates a Program Scope and Objectives subsection as required by IRM 1.11.2, Internal Management Documents (IMD) System, Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) Process.

(2) Premium pay and compensatory time off for travel policies are relocated to this IRM from IRM 6.550.1, Pay Administration (General), and subsections may have updated names, numbers, references, hyperlinks and/or terminology.

(3) IRM 6.550.2.2.1(3) adds corrections to an underpayment of premium pay in a previous calendar year are treated as such for applying the annual cap.

(4) IRM 6.550.2.2.1(4) adds premium pay remains capped at the biweekly limitation when other premium payments are subject to the annual limitation.

(5) IRM 6.550.2.2.2(3) expands on overtime thresholds including adding the substitution rule for leave without pay taken in the same workweek as overtime worked.

(6) IRM 6.550.2.2.2(7) adds Exhibit 6.550.2-1, Overtime and Compensatory Time Off in lieu of Overtime under Title 5 and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Table.

(7) IRM 6.550.2.2.3(4) adds the requirement for an employee to notify management of the number of overtime hours worked using established business unit procedures.

(8) IRM 6.550.2.2.5 adds a new subsection called Shelter in Place to address an employee’s compensation for situations that require management to restrict an employee to the agency’s premises.

(9) IRM 6.550.2.2.7 adds a new subsection called Substitution Rule to address work performed outside of the TOD that must be substituted for an equal amount of nonpaid leave.

(10) IRM 6.550.2.2.16 adds a new subsection called Payment of Compensatory Time Off in lieu of Overtime Pay upon Transfer or Separation from Federal Service to address situations where the employee separates from Service.

(11) IRM 6.550.2.2.17(2)(h) clarifies that employees on a flexible work schedule, working regularly scheduled compensatory time off, may earn night pay differential.

(12) IRM 6.550.2.2.17(5) clarifies the payment of night pay differential for employees working a flexible work schedule.

(13) IRM 6.550.2.2.17(7) adds Exhibit 6.550.2-2, Night Pay Differential Table, to aid in determining entitlement to night pay differential.

(14) IRM 6.550.2.2.18(2) adds reference to holiday pay and links to IRM 6.610.1, IRS Hours of Duty.

(15) IRM 6.550.2.3(2) adds language to aid in making a determination under what legal authority an employee may be compensated for time spent traveling.

(16) IRM 6.550.2.3(3) adds language that, to the extent possible, an employee will not be required to travel during non-duty hours.

(17) Subjects about compensatory time off for travel are now available in a job aid found on the IRS Source.

(18) IRM 6.550.2.3.4(5) adds the retention standard for compensatory time off for travel documentation.

Effect on Other Documents

Effective date.

Robin D. Bailey Jr. IRS Human Capital Officer

Program Scope and Objectives

Purpose: This IRM provides Servicewide policy, standards, requirements and guidance relating to the administration of Premium Pay and Compensatory Time Off for Travel. This IRM must be read and interpreted in accordance with pertinent law, Government wide regulations, Treasury Human Resources Directives, as well as applicable case law. The material in this chapter is organized generally with the order of regulations contained in 5 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 550 and 5 CFR Part 551. This guidance may be supplemented periodically by interim policy guidance from the IRS Human Capital Office.

Audience: Unless otherwise indicated, the policies, authorities, procedures and instructions contained in this IRM apply to all business units. Bargaining Unit (BU) employees should review negotiated agreement provisions relating to subjects in the IRM. Should any of these instructions conflict with provisions in the negotiated agreement, the agreement prevails.

Policy Owner: Human Capital Officer.

Program Owner: Policy and Compliance (P&C).

Program Goals: This IRM is designed to provide IRS guidance relating to Premium Pay and Compensatory Time Off for Travel regulations found in 5 CFR Part 550 and 5 CFR Part 551.

Primary Stakeholders: HCO, Talent Acquisition and HCO, HR Shared Services (HRSS).

IRM 6.550.2, Premium Pay Under Title 5 and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Compensatory Time Off for Travel, replaces guidance previously contained in IRM 6.550.1.1, Pay Administration Under Title 5 and the FLSA - General Provisions and 6.550.1.10, Compensatory Time Off for Travel.

Laws: Title 5, United States Code (USC), Government Organization and Employees at: http://uscode.house.gov

§5542 - Overtime rates; computation

§5543 - Compensatory time off

§5545 - Night, standby, irregular, and hazardous duty differential

§5545a - Availability pay for criminal investigators

§5546 - Pay for Sunday and holiday work

§5547 - Limitation on premium pay

§5550b - Compensatory time off for travel

§6101 - Basic 40-hour workweek; work schedules; regulations

§6123 - Flexible schedules; computation of premium pay

§6128 - Compressed schedules; computation of premium pay

Regulation: Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/ECFR?SID=48e607ea83e9e1153545d6fbe5a3c168&

Part 550 - Pay Administration (General)

Subpart A - Premium Pay Subpart N - Compensatory Time off for Travel

Part 551 - Pay Administration under the Fair Labor Standards Act

Part 610- Hours of Duty

Delegation of Authority: Delegation Order 6-12, Absence and Leave, at IRM 1.2.2.7.8.

Delegation of Authority: Delegation Order 6-23, Delegations of Authority to Accomplish Pay Administration, at IRM 1.2.2.7.13.

Roles and Responsibilities

The Human Capital Officer is the executive responsible for this IRM and overall Servicewide policy for premium pay and compensatory time off for travel.

The HCO, P&C is responsible for developing and publishing content in this IRM.

The HCO, HRSS is responsible for administering the payment of premium pay covered in this IRM, providing systems, tools, and all related instructions to accomplish proper recordation on official source documents from which an employee is paid (e.g., time and attendance (T&A) documents and personnel action requests (PAR).

Specific information and instructions on T&A reporting, approvals, and maintenance requirements are found in Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) MPC-02, issued by the Memphis Payroll Center, at: http://hco.web.irs.gov/PPS/SOP-UOG/MPC_02.html

All managers are responsible to use government resources efficiently and effectively, with minimum potential for waste, fraud and mismanagement. As such, they must administer policies covered in this IRM with integrity and in compliance with applicable laws, regulations and policies (e.g. overseeing the approval of overtime management, applications for annual maximum earnings limitation, and ensuring employees do not exceed statutory pay caps).

An employee is responsible to input their Time and Attendance (T&A) accurately, to review their Earnings and Leave Statements and Notifications of Personnel Actions (SF-50s) and to immediately notify their manager of any discrepancies.

Program Management and Review

This IRM provides policy and guidance for premium pay and compensatory time off for travel. P&C gauges effectiveness of premium pay and compensatory time off for travel policy based on feedback from customers and program owners about subjects contained in this IRM. During review and publishing of this IRM, sections are revised, added or deleted based in part on this process. P&C plays an integral role in program management, review and effectiveness by:

Supporting HRSS to deliver biweekly paychecks through prompt and accurate posting and processing of all T&A records.

Supporting HCO, Labor/Employee Relations and Negotiations to provide related support and expertise to service management, field and embedded labor/employee relations staff and all employees on premium pay and compensatory time off for travel.

Program Controls

P&C develops and deploys policies, materials and programs to increase Servicewide awareness and understanding of premium pay and compensatory time off for travel. Additionally, P&C collaborates with other HCO organizations and Servicewide stakeholders to support education and outreach activities as they relate to premium pay and compensatory time off for travel.

The following activities help ensure program success:

Conducting annual policy reviews;

Publishing educational articles such as Leaders Alerts and IRS Headlines; and

Maintaining accurate and up-to-date program websites.

Definitions

Administrative workweek: seven consecutive 24-hour periods designated within the IRS as beginning at 12:01 a.m. Sunday and ending at 12:00 midnight Saturday.

Compressed work schedule (CWS): a category of Alternative Work Schedules (AWS) that are fixed-work schedules where, for full-time employees, the basic 80-hour biweekly work requirement is completed in fewer than 10 workdays, e.g., 5/4-9 and 4/10. In the case of part-time employees, they complete the basic biweekly work requirement in fewer than 10 workdays and requires employees to work more than 8 hours on at least one day. Employees on CWS are not eligible to earn credit hours. See IRM 6.610.1, IRS Hours of Duty.

Criminal Investigator: a law enforcement officer as defined in 5 USC 5541(3).

Day: (for overtime purposes) any 24- hour period designated by an agency within the administrative workweek applicable to the employee.

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): provides minimum standards for wages, overtime entitlements, and administrative procedures by which covered worktime must be compensated.

Flexible work schedule (FWS): work schedules that allow employees to determine a schedule within established limits. IRS-approved FWS include flexitour with credit hours, gliding, and maxiflex. However, some of these FWS are not available to all employees. Employees on FWS are eligible to earn and use credit hours. All FWS include core hours and days and flexible hours/bands. See IRM 6.610.1, IRS Hours of Duty.

Holiday work: nonovertime work performed by an employee during a regularly scheduled daily TOD on a holiday. See IRM 6.610.1, IRS Hours of Duty.

Irregular or occasional overtime work: overtime work that is officially ordered or approved and is not part of an employee’s regularly scheduled administrative workweek.

Nightwork: regularly scheduled work performed by an employee between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

Official Duty Station (ODS): 50-mile geographic area surrounding an employee’s official worksite. The “post of duty” (official worksite) as noted on the most current Notification of Personnel Action, SF-50, is used by the employing agency to determine whether travel time is compensable as overtime pay under Title 5 and the FLSA.

Rate of basic pay: rate fixed by law and administrative action for a position before any deductions.

Rates of basic pay within IRS include the underlying GS rate, LEO special base rate, locality rate, underlying IR payband rate, IR locality rate and a retained rate.

Regular overtime work: overtime work that is officially ordered or approved in writing and part of an employee’s regularly scheduled administrative workweek, reoccurs on a regular basis, and/or is over an extended period of time.

Regular working hours: days and hours of an employee’s regularly scheduled administrative workweek. See IRM 6.610.1, IRS Hours of Duty.

Regularly scheduled administrative workweek: period within an administrative workweek, established in accordance IRM 6.610.1, IRS Hours of Duty.

Regularly scheduled work: work that is scheduled in advance of the administrative workweek under the agency’s procedures for establishing workweeks. See IRM 6.610.1, IRS Hours of Duty.

Suffered or permitted work: work performed by an FLSA non-exempt employee for the benefit of the agency, whether requested or not, provided the employee’s manager knows or has reason to believe that the work is being performed and has an opportunity to prevent the work from being performed.

Sunday work: nonovertime work performed by an employee during a regularly scheduled daily TOD on a Sunday. For this TOD, no more than 8 hours of work is Sunday work. If the employee is on a compressed work schedule, then the entire regularly scheduled daily TOD constitutes Sunday work.

Tour of duty (TOD): hours of a day (daily TOD) and the days of an administrative workweek (weekly TOD) that constitute an employee’s regularly scheduled administrative workweek.

Travel: for work purposes that an authorized agency official or otherwise authorized under established Servicewide policies approves.

Travel outside the duty station: more than 50 miles from the official duty station. Travel within the duty station is not creditable for compensatory time off for travel.

Workday: period between the commencement of the principal activities that an employee is engaged to perform on a given day, and the cessation of the principal activities for that day. All time spent by an employee in the performance of such activities is hours of work. The workday is not limited to a calendar day or any other 24-hour period (e.g., night or swing shifts).

Related Resources

IRS Source at: https://irssource.web.irs.gov/SitePages/Pay.aspx

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Pay & Leave Fact Sheets at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-administration/#url=Fact-Sheets.

The Office of Personnel Management Handbook for Alternative Work Schedules at:https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/reference-materials/handbooks/alternative-work-schedules/.

Information and Procedures for Compensatory Time Off for Travel at: https://irssource.web.irs.gov/Lists/Timekeeping/DispItemForm.aspx?ID=22&Source=https%3A%2F%2Firssource%2Eweb%2Eirs%2Egov%2FLists%2FTimekeeping%2FLeave%2Easpx&ContentTypeId=0x0100F2EAA53D1A6684428BC9F569CCCD3F64

Premium Pay

This section provides guidance for premium pay administration as stipulated under Title 5 and the FLSA. These provisions are codified in 5 CFR Parts 550 and 551 and apply to IRS employees, except for those identified below:

An employee covered by the Federal Wage System;

An employee outside the continental United States or in Alaska who is paid in accordance with local prevailing wage rates for the areas in which employed; or

A member of the Senior Executive Service (SES).

Maximum Earnings Limitations

The maximum biweekly and annual earnings limitations described below apply to all employees covered under this IRM chapter, except overtime pay for FLSA nonexempt employees per 5 CFR Section 551.501(d).

Biweekly maximum earning limitation:

Except as provided in (c) below, an employee may be paid premium pay under this subpart to the extent the payment does not cause the total of their basic pay and premium pay for any pay period to exceed the greater of: 1. The biweekly rate for either a GS-15, step 10 (including any applicable locality payment or special rate supplement); or 2. The biweekly rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule.

In applying the biweekly limitation under this section, premium pay of the types listed in (4) below must be paid before paying any other type of premium pay.

This paragraph does not apply to any pay period where an employee performs work in connection with an emergency or mission-critical work as discussed in (3) below.

Annual maximum earnings limitation for work in connection with an emergency or work critical to the mission of the IRS:

Any pay period where an appropriate authority determines that an emergency or mission-critical work exists, an employee will be paid premium pay under the annual limitation described in (c) below. As defined in 5 CFR Section 550.106, the Department of the Treasury is the appropriate authority for determination of an emergency. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue is delegated the authority to determine mission-critical work.

The determination under (a) above should be implemented as soon as possible. Premium pay under the annual limitation is effective on the first day of the pay period in which the emergency or mission-critical work began.

In any calendar year, where an employee performed work in connection with an emergency or mission-critical work, they must be paid premium pay to the extent that the payment does not cause the total of annual basic pay and premium pay to exceed the greater of: 1. The maximum rate for GS-15 in effect on the last day of the calendar year (including a locality-based comparability payment or a special rate supplement); or 2. The rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule on the last day of the calendar year.

Any payment made in the current calendar year that corrects an underpayment of premium pay in a previous calendar year must be treated as being made in the previous calendar year for the purpose of applying the annual cap.

Premium payments capped on a biweekly basis otherwise an annual limitation applies.

The following types of premium pay remain subject to a biweekly limitation when other premium payments are subject to an annual limitation under (3) above: 1. Standby duty pay under 5 USC 5545(c)(1); 2. Administratively uncontrollable overtime pay under 5 USC 5545(c)(2); 3. Availability pay for criminal investigators under 5 USC 5545a.

An employee must receive the types of premium pay identified in paragraph (a) of this section before receiving any other type of premium pay.

Overtime General Provisions

The Title 5 and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provide statutory guidance in determining the applicability and computation of an employee’s overtime payment and compensatory time off in lieu of overtime payment.

The IRS is responsible for determining whether employees are covered under the provisions of the FLSA under 5 CFR Part 551, subpart B. The duties documented in the employee’s position description determine whether an employee is FLSA exempt (not covered) or FLSA nonexempt (covered). FLSA coverage is stated on the employee's Standard Form 50 (SF-50), box 35, as E (exempt) or N (nonexempt).

Title 5 rules (5 CFR Part 550) do not cover nonexempt employees for overtime pay but do cover exempt and nonexempt employees in all other aspects of pay administration.

An employee who works a full-time, part-time or intermittent TOD is eligible for overtime pay.

Except as provided below, overtime is work performed that is officially ordered or approved in writing in excess of 8 hours in a day or in excess of 40 hours in an administrative workweek.

See IRM 6.550.2.2.7, Substitution Rule, to address what is considered overtime if an employee uses leave without pay (LWOP) or absence without leave (AWOL).

Flexible Work Schedules (FWS): After applying the Substitution Rule, paragraph (3) above defines overtime but does not include hours that are worked voluntarily, including credit hours or hours that an employee is “suffered or permitted” to work which are not officially ordered in advance.

Compressed Work Schedules (5/4-9 and 4/10): After applying the Substitution Rule, overtime is all work performed that is officially ordered or approved in excess of the compressed work schedule. For example, an employee on a 5/4-9 compressed work schedule ordered to work 1 hour of overtime on a day that has a 9-hour daily work requirement will work 10 hours on that workday.

Part-time work schedules: An employee working a part-time schedule earns overtime for work performed that is officially ordered or approved in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a workweek. Time outside a part-time employee's scheduled TOD, but not in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week, are nonovertime hours of work compensated at the employee's regular rate of basic pay. For example, an employee with a 7-hour daily work requirement ordered to work an additional 2 hours will work 9 hours on that day. The first extra hour is considered a nonovertime hour and is compensated at the employee's regular rate of basic pay; the second hour worked is considered overtime since that hour is in excess of the 8-hour daily overtime threshold.

Credit hours voluntarily worked are not overtime hours.

Overtime work is scheduled and credited in 15-minute increments and is rounded up or down to the nearest 15-minute increment.

Overtime rate for an employee performing overtime work at night, a Sunday or a holiday is the same rate as for any other time.

Overtime for criminal investigators receiving law enforcement availability pay (LEAP) is covered under 5 CFR Section 550.181-187 and IRM 6.550.2.2.21, Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP).

See Exhibit 6.550.2-1 Overtime and Compensatory Time Off in lieu of Overtime under Title 5 and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Table, which outlines the key components of overtime and compensatory time for FLSA exempt and nonexempt employees.

Authorization of Overtime Pay

The authority to order or approve overtime, work on holidays, and overtime duty for which compensatory time off will be granted in lieu of overtime pay, is delegated to no lower than second-level managers as outlined in IRM 1.2.2.7.13, Delegation Order 6-23.

Officials authorized to order or approve overtime duty are guided by the principle that overtime, whether on a paid or compensatory time off basis, may only be used when necessary to accomplish the mission of the IRS and when funds are available.

Overtime work must be officially ordered or approved in writing by an authorized official as noted in (1) above. The written order and approval are maintained by the business unit in accordance with records retention requirements for T&A records.

Business units must establish their own internal procedures and documents for requesting, approving and maintaining overtime records.

An employee is responsible for notifying management of the number of overtime hours worked using established business unit procedures.

Determining Hours of Work

Time spent in preshift or postshift activities closely related to an employee’s principal activities and is indispensable to the performance of those activities is credited as hours of work if the total time spent is more than 10 minutes per workday. This time may not be aggregated over a pay period, a year or any other time period to meet minimum requirements under the FLSA (67 Federal Labor Relations Authority No. 76).

Time spent on paid leave or in a paid nonwork status, including holidays, accrued credit hours and compensatory time off taken, are deemed hours of work and do not reduce the amount of overtime pay to which the employee may be entitled.

Unpaid leave to include LWOP, AWOL and/or suspension is a nonpay status and is not considered as hours of work. See IRM 6.550.2.2.7 , Substitution Rule.

Include hours of night, Sunday or holiday work in determining the total number of hours worked in an administrative workweek.

Call-back overtime work is irregular or occasional overtime work performed on an employee’s nonscheduled workday, where they must return to the place of employment. The employee is paid a minimum of 2 hours of overtime, regardless of the actual time worked.

Stand-by duty is hours of work if, for work-related reasons, the employee is restricted to a designated post of duty and is assigned to a state of readiness to perform work, with limitations so substantial that the employee cannot use the time for personal purposes.

On-call status is not hours of work if the employee can leave a phone number or carry an electronic device for ease of contact; even if the employee is required to remain within a reasonable call-back radius or if the employee can make arrangements for another person to perform work that may arise during the on-call period.

Time spent in other activities including training, handling grievances, performing representational functions, receiving medical attention and performing charitable activities, is considered hours of work for FLSA nonexempt (covered) employees under the circumstances described at 5 CFR Section 551.423-426.

Shelter in Place

Emergency situations that require management to restrict employees to the agency’s premises are commonly referred to as shelter in place. This section provides guidance on the appropriate compensation for employees in common situations.

An employee on their regular TOD is provided administrative leave, see IRM 6.610.1.3, Administrative Leave and Dismissals.

Pursuant to 5 CFR Section 550.112(k), 5 CFR Section 551.401(a), and 5 CFR Section 551.431, an employee on scheduled overtime and the overtime is not cancelled is provided overtime pay (or compensatory time off) up until the time the building closed.

Pursuant to 5 CFR Section 550.112(k), 5 CFR Section 551.431, Comptroller General Decisions B-187181 and B-211007, an employee not on their regular TOD or on scheduled overtime that is detained beyond their TOD and who:

Did not continue working (e.g., went to cafeteria or lounge area) is not entitled to compensation. Time spent waiting is not primarily for the benefit of the agency and is not compensable.

Is directed to continue to work is eligible for overtime. A FLSA exempt (not covered) employee may be offered compensatory time off in lieu of overtime (See IRM 6.550.2.2.10, Compensatory Time Off in lieu of Overtime Pay for FLSA Exempt (not covered) Employees).

Is on an FWS and requests to continue working may earn credit hours.

Continues to work but was not ordered to or continues to work and is not on a work schedule that allows earning credit hours may or may not be eligible for compensation based on the applicable rules and regulations. Review each on a case-by-case basis.

This may be a case of “suffer and permit” overtime for FLSA non-exempt employees.

An employee detained beyond their TOD due to a shelter in place drill may be entitled to overtime or compensatory time off based on the employee’s coverage under the FLSA.

Time Spent Traveling

Home-to-Work Travel (Home-to-Work/Work-to-Home Commuting Time). Travel from home to the official duty station (ODS) and the ODS to home, is not hours of work and is not compensable. Similarly, such travel may not serve to decrease the hours of work in the administratively scheduled workday or workweek (5 CFR Section 550.112(j)(2) and 5 CFR Section 551.422(4)(b) and (d)).

Home-to-work/work-to-home commuting time includes: travel before or after the workday or between an employee's home and a temporary duty location (TDY) (e.g., a field worksite, taxpayer worksite, airport, or training location) within 50 miles of the ODS is not hours of work and is not compensable.

An employee may travel during their unpaid lunch or meal period during the workday. If the travel time extends beyond the length of the lunch period, the employee must account for more travel time used by charging leave, earned credit hours, earned compensatory time, leave without pay, etc. An employee may not extend their TOD to make up for the travel time used beyond the length of their lunch period.

A telework employee that is directed to travel into the ODS during the regularly scheduled workday is compensated with hours of work (the 50-mile radius does not apply).

When an employee travels, before or after the workday, directly from home to a temporary duty area (TDY) outside the limits (more than 50 miles) of their ODS, the time the employee would have spent in normal home-to-work/work-to-home commuting time must be deducted from hours of work.

When the agency offers an employee a mode of transportation but the employee chooses to use an alternate mode, or travels on a different day or time than that selected by the agency, the employee will be credited with the lesser of:

The actual travel time resulting in hours of work under this subsection or

The estimated travel time that would have been considered hours of work had the employee used the offered mode of transportation or the selected travel time. (5 CFR Section 551.422(c)).

For FLSA exempt (not covered) employees, as provided in 5 CFR Section 550.112(g), time in travel status more than 50 miles from the ODS using the most common route is considered hours of work if the travel:

Is within the regularly scheduled workweek (compensated with regular pay) or

Is outside the regularly scheduled workweek, (compensated with overtime or compensatory time off in lieu of overtime), if the agency orders or approves and meets one of the conditions below:

Involves performance of actual work while traveling (e.g., courier required to drive a delivery van to deliver mail);

Is incident to travel that involves the performance of work while traveling (e.g., courier driving an empty delivery van on return to duty station);

Traveling is under such arduous and unusual conditions that the travel is inseparable from work (e.g., travel on unusually adverse terrain or under severe weather conditions); or

Traveling rom an event that the agency in the executive branch of the Government (including the IRS) could not schedule or administratively control (e.g., training scheduled solely by a private firm).

For FLSA nonexempt (covered) employees, as provided in 5 CFR Section 551.422 and 5 CFR Section 551.401(h), time in travel status more than 50 miles from the ODS using the most common route is considered hours of work if the travel:

Is during regular work hours (compensated with regular pay).

Is outside regular work hours (compensated with overtime or compensatory time off in lieu of overtime), and

Requires the employee to drive a vehicle or perform other work while traveling;

Requires the employee to travel as a passenger on a 1-day round trip from the ODS; or

Requires the employee to travel on an overnight assignment away from the ODS during hours on a non-workday that correspond to the employee’s regular working hours.

When travel is more than 50 miles from the ODS, an employee may be entitled to earn compensatory time off for travel outside regular duty hours when ordered or approved in advance of the travel and the travel time is not otherwise compensated as hours of work under another legal authority (e.g., availability pay, overtime pay (as described above)). See IRM 6.550.2.3 , Compensatory Time Off for Travel.

For travel on a holiday, see IRM 6.550.2.2.18 , Pay for Holiday Work.

Substitution Rule

In accordance with 5 CFR Section 550.112(d), the following substitution rules must be applied before an employee is paid at the overtime rate:

Daily substitution rule: For any period of nonpaid leave (e.g., LWOP, AWOL, furlough and/or suspension), in the same workday, an equal period of work performed outside the basic daily work requirement will be substituted before any remaining hours of work performed may be paid at the overtime rate on the basis of exceeding 8 hours in a day. For example: an employee is scheduled to work an 8-hour day. The employee takes two hours of LWOP at the beginning of their TOD, works the remaining 6 hours in their TOD, and then works 2 additional hours past their TOD. The 2 hours past their TOD are substituted for the LWOP and paid at the employees’ regular rate of pay.

Weekly substitution rule: For any period of nonpaid leave (e.g., LWOP, AWOL, furlough and/or suspension), in the same administrative workweek, an equal period of work performed outside the basic workweek requirement will be substituted before any remaining hours of work performed may be paid at the overtime rate on the basis of exceeding 40 hours in a workweek. For example: an employee takes 8 hours of LWOP on Monday and works 2 hours past their TOD on Tuesday and Thursday. The 4 hours worked on Tuesday and Thursday are substituted for the LWOP and paid at the employees’ regular rate of pay.

Any hours worked that are substituted for nonpaid leave (e.g., LWOP, AWOL, furlough and/or suspension) are paid at the employee's regular rate of basic pay.

In accordance with IRM 6.630.1, Absence and Leave, in these instances the employees’ T&A records must be reviewed for accuracy.

Title 5 Overtime

FLSA exempt (not covered) employees, who work full-time, part-time, or intermittent tours of duty are eligible for Title 5 overtime pay.

For information on the effects of performing temporary work or duties on an employee’s FLSA exemption status see IRM 6.550.2.2.12, Effect of Temporary and Emergency Work on FLSA Coverage.

Computation of Overtime Pay for FLSA Exempt (not covered) Employees

Overtime under Title 5 will be calculated and paid as provided by 5 CFR Section 550.112 and 5 CFR Section 550.113. Basic provisions follow.

The hourly rate of basic pay includes locality pay or special rates but excludes pay of any other kind (e.g., night differential or cost of living allowance).

For an employee whose rate of basic pay does not exceed GS-10, step 1, the hourly overtime rate is 1 1/2 times their hourly rate of basic pay, including locality or special rate but exclusive of any other kind of pay (e.g., night differential or cost of living allowance).

For each employee whose rate of basic pay exceeds the GS-10, step 1, the overtime hourly rate is the greater of 1 1/2 times the hourly rate of basic pay for GS-10, step 1 or the employee’s hourly rate of basic pay.

The overtime rate for an employee performing overtime work at night, a Sunday, or a holiday is the same rate as any other time; that is 1 1/2 times the hourly rate of basic pay.

Use of LWOP reduces the amount of overtime an employee may earn. See IRM 6.550.2.2.7, Substitution Rule.

Use of paid leave does not reduce the amount off overtime pay to which the employee is entitled.

Compensatory Time Off in lieu of Overtime Pay for FLSA Exempt (not covered) Employees

As provided by 5 USC 5543 and 5 CFR Section 550.114, an employee may request and be granted compensatory time off from their regularly scheduled TOD instead of receiving overtime pay for an equal amount of irregular or occasional overtime work. Overtime must be ordered or approved prior to compensatory time off in lieu of overtime work being performed. All hours worked must meet overtime rules before employees are granted compensatory time.

Managers may require and compensate employees whose rate of basic pay is above the rate for a GS-10, step 10, with compensatory time off instead of overtime pay for irregular or occasional overtime work.

Accumulation of compensatory time off may not exceed 80 hours at any time and must be used within 26 pay periods after it is earned or prior to separation from the IRS, whichever occurs first. Unused compensatory time off will be forfeited unless the employee meets one of the criteria below, in which case they will be paid for that unused compensatory time at the rate when it was earned:

The failure to take the compensatory time off is due to an exigency of the IRS, as determined by an SES member, and the use of that time was scheduled in writing before the 24th pay period after it was earned;

The employee separates from federal service or is placed in a LWOP status to perform service in the uniformed services; or

The employee separates from federal service or is placed in a LWOP status because of an on-the-job injury with entitlement to injury compensation.

Compensatory time off must be used before annual leave as long as this does not result in the loss of any accumulated annual leave. If the use of the compensatory time would result in the forfeiture of annual leave, then annual leave may be used.

Compensatory time off is earned and may be used in 15-minute increments.

The value of earned compensatory time off is included in applying the biweekly premium pay cap (See IRM 6.550.2.2.1 , Maximum Earnings Limitations. Thus, employees may not earn compensatory time off to avoid the biweekly premium pay cap.

SES employees are not eligible for compensatory time off.

Overtime under the FLSA

The coverage status of an employee under the FLSA is based on a review of the duties performed against the criteria stated in 5 CFR Part 551, subpart B. Determination of this status is part of the classification process.

Employees are presumed to be covered under the FLSA (i.e., FLSA (nonexempt)) unless the IRS determines that the employee clearly meets the exemption criteria.

The burden of proof rests with the agency that asserts the exemption.

FLSA determinations have no direct relationship to bargaining unit status.

Effect of Temporary and Emergency Work on FLSA Coverage

Effect of performing temporary work or duties on FLSA exemption status:

This guidance and the provisions at 5 CFR Section 551.211 apply when an employee must temporarily perform work or duties that are not consistent with the primary duties of their job for an extended period, that is, for more than 30 consecutive calendar days (i.e., the 30-day test).

Primary duty typically means the duty that constitutes the major part (over 50%) of an employee's work (5 CFR Section 551.104). However, a duty making up less than 50% of an employee's work may be credited as the primary duty for FLSA exemption purposes if that duty:

1. Constitutes a substantial, regular part of the work assigned and performed;

2. Is the reason for the existence of the position; and

3. Is clearly exempt work in terms of the basic nature of the work, the frequency with which the employee must exercise discretion and independent judgment, and the significance of the decisions made.

Except in the case of an emergency (see (4) below), an employee's FLSA exemption status should not change based on a snapshot of their work, but rather on an assessment of the temporary duties over a reasonable period of time (i.e., the 30-day test).

Effect on FLSA nonexempt (covered) employees:

An employee who temporarily performs work different than their primary duties remains covered by the FLSA for the entire period of the temporary work assignment; unless the employee's primary duties for the period of the temporary work are FLSA exempt (not covered) and performed consistently for more than 30 consecutive calendar days. This rule applies regardless of a change in geographic location.

When the employee meets the provisions above, the employee becomes FLSA exempt (not covered) for the entire period of the work or duties. IRS must recalculate the employee's total pay retroactive to the beginning of the period because the employee is not entitled to FLSA overtime but may be owed Title 5 overtime pay.

For a recalculation of overtime pay, submit an OS GetServices ticket.

Effect on FLSA exempt (not covered) employees:

An employee who temporarily performs work different than their primary duties remains exempt for the entire period of the temporary work assignment; unless the employee's primary duties for the period of temporary work are covered under the FLSA and performed consistently for more than 30 consecutive calendar days.

When the provisions above have been met, the employee becomes FLSA nonexempt (covered) for the entire period of the work or duties. IRS must recalculate the employee's total pay retroactive to the beginning of the period because the employee is not entitled to Title 5 overtime pay but may be owed overtime pay under the FLSA.

In emergency situations where human life, safety, property is threatened, and/or operations of an activity could be disrupted, and employees are assigned to temporary work in connection with that emergency:

FLSA exempt (not covered) employees' status is determined on a workweek basis and will retain their status if the employee's primary duties are defined as exempt. A FLSA exempt employee becomes FLSA nonexempt (covered) for any workweek in which the employee's primary duties for the period of the emergency are FLSA covered as defined in this section.

FLSA nonexempt (covered) employees remains nonexempt regardless of the duties performed.

Temporary changes to an employee's primary duties beyond 30 days that affect an employee's FLSA status (as described in paragraphs (2) and (3) above) must be documented through a Personnel Action Request (PAR) as a detail and reflected in the timekeeping system. Contact your organization's timekeeping system representative for specific instructions.

Computation of Overtime Pay for FLSA Nonexempt (covered) Employees

Overtime under the FLSA will be calculated and paid as provided by 5 CFR Part 551, subpart E. Basic provisions follow.

The hourly rate of basic pay includes locality pay or special rates but excludes pay of any other kind (e.g., night pay differential, cost of living allowance).

Generally, employees will receive overtime pay for all hours of work more than 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a workweek at a rate equal to 1 1/2 times their hourly rate of pay.

The maximum earnings limitations for overtime pay do not apply to employees covered under the FLSA.

The overtime rate for an employee performing overtime work at night, a Sunday, or a holiday is the same rate as any other time (i.e., 1 1/2 times the hourly rate of pay).

Use of LWOP, AWOL, furlough, and/or suspension reduce the amount of overtime an employee may earn. See IRM 6.550.2.2.7 , Substitution Rule.

Use of paid leave does not reduce the amount of overtime an employee may earn.

Compensatory Time Off in lieu of Overtime Pay for FLSA Nonexempt (covered) Employees

As provided by 5 USC 5543 and 5 CFR Section 551.531, an employee may request and be granted compensatory time off from their regularly scheduled TOD instead of receiving overtime pay for an equal amount of irregular or occasional overtime work. Overtime must be ordered or approved prior to compensatory time off in lieu of overtime work being performed. All hours worked must meet overtime rules before employees are granted compensatory time.

Employees may never be required to accept compensatory time off under any circumstances. However, they may voluntarily request compensatory time off.

Accumulation of compensatory time off may not exceed 80 hours at any time and must be used within 26 pay periods after it is earned.

Employees must be paid for any unused compensatory time off earned if they do not use it within the prescribed time limits (26 pay periods) at 1 1/2 times their hourly rate at the time it was earned.

FLSA Claims and Compliance

Statute of Limitations: 29 USC 255(a) imposes a 2-year statute of limitations, except in cases of willful violation where the statute of limitations is 3 years, for all claims under the FLSA.

Avenues of review:

As provided by 5 CFR Section 551.703, bargaining unit employee claims must be filed using the negotiated grievance procedure (NGP) as the exclusive administrative remedy. There is no right for further administrative review by the IRS or the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) unless the bargaining agreement specifically excluded matters under the Act from the scope of the NGP.

A non-bargaining unit employee may file a claim with the IRS via a OS GetServices ticket or with OPM Classification and Pay Claims Program Manager, Merit System Audit and Compliance, Office of Personnel Management, 1900 E Street, NW, Room 6484, Washington, DC 20415, but may not pursue both simultaneously.

Claims must follow the provisions of 5 CFR Part 551, subpart G.

Payment of Compensatory Time Off in lieu of Overtime Pay upon Transfer or Separation from Federal Service

An employee transferring between bureaus within the Department of the Treasury will carry any compensatory time off earned to the gaining bureau. The gaining bureau will credit the balance to the employee within the same pay period as previously credited with the losing bureau.

FLSA exempt (not covered) employees that transfer to another agency or separate from federal service before the expiration of accrued compensatory time off will forfeit any unused hours.

FLSA nonexempt (covered) employees that transfer to another agency or separate from federal service before the expiration of accrued compensatory time off must be paid at the overtime rate in effect when it was earned.

Night Pay Differential

Authorization of night pay differential:

Per 5 CFR Section 550.121, night work is regularly scheduled work performed by an employee between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.

An employee who performs regularly scheduled night work is entitled to a differential of 10% of his or her rate of basic pay.

An employee may not receive night differential while in training, except as provided by 5 CFR Section 410.402.

Entitlement to night pay differential:

An employee who regularly performs night work is entitled to night pay differential when requesting accrued religious compensatory time off, time-off award, military leave, court leave or when excused absence is granted.

Absence on holidays or in travel status: An employee is entitled to a night pay differential when excused from night work on a holiday and for hours in an official travel status, whether performing actual duty or not. Night pay differential is in addition to holiday pay and is not included in the rate of basic pay used to compute the holiday pay.

Absence on leave (8-hour rule): An employee will receive night pay differential for a period of paid annual (includes leave bank or donated leave) or sick leave only when the total amount of such leave, including night and day hours, is less than 8 hours in a pay period. An employee that takes 8 hours or more of paid leave within the pay period is not entitled to night differential pay while on paid leave.

Paid hours of absence charged to credit hours, compensatory time off, time off for religious observance, military leave, time-off award, court leave, administrative leave, continuation of pay under the Federal Employees Compensation Act program, weather and safety leave, and other such paid absences do not count in calculating the 8-hours of paid leave limit.

Overtime, Sunday and Holiday pay: Night pay differential is paid in addition to overtime, Sunday, or holiday premium pay and is not basic pay for any purposes. There is no entitlement for night differential pay for irregular or occasional overtime.

Credit hours: An employee may not receive night pay differential when earning or using credit hours under 5 USC 6122.

Compensatory time off: An employee may not receive night pay differential when earning or taking compensatory time off as provided by 5 USC 5543.

Compensatory time off for an employee covered by FWS: Is entitled to night pay differential for regularly scheduled overtime work when all of the following requirements are met: • Works a FWS; • Works regularly scheduled overtime; • Performs regularly scheduled overtime work during night hours; • Requests compensatory time off in lieu of regularly scheduled overtime.

An employee is not eligible for night pay differential when the employee takes compensatory time off.

Temporary assignment to a different daily TOD: An employee is entitled to night pay differential when they are temporarily assigned during the administrative workweek to a daily TOD that includes night work. 5 CFR Section 550.122(d) distinguishes this temporary change from a period of irregular or occasional overtime work in addition to the employee’s regularly scheduled administrative workweek.

Night pay differential may be earned in 15-minute increments.

Intermittent employees are not eligible for night pay differential.

Employees on a FWS that includes night work are not eligible to earn night pay if the flexible time bands plus core hours offer at least 8 hours of work time between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and the employee voluntarily chooses a start time that would end the work day after 6:00 p.m. or before 6:00 a.m.

Employees on a compressed work schedule (CWS) are entitled to night pay differential for regularly scheduled work performed during night hours (6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.).

See Exhibit 6.550.2-2 , Night Pay Differential Table to determine eligibility for night pay differential.

The timekeeping system does not automatically generate night pay differential. Therefore hours worked that are entitled to night pay differential must be entered under the appropriate time code and is the employee’s responsibility to immediately notify their manager and/or submit an OS GetServices ticket to P&PS to report any discrepancies.

Pay for Holiday Work

A full-time employee who performs nonovertime holiday work is entitled to their rate of basic pay for the holiday plus holiday premium pay at a rate equal to his or her rate of basic pay (i.e., double time), for each hour worked up to 8 hours, or the number of holiday hours an employee is entitled to under IRM 6.610.1, Federal Holidays. Per 5 CFR Section 610.407, an employee on a CWS that performs work on a holiday during the employees regularly scheduled TOD is entitled to basic pay for the applicable number of holiday hours (8, 9 or 10 hours), plus holiday premium pay at their rate of basic pay for the number of hours worked that are not in excess of the employee's CWS for that day (e.g., employee on a 4/10 schedule would be paid as noted up to 10 hours on the holiday).

A part-time employee regularly scheduled to work on a holiday and who is ordered to work on that day, is entitled to holiday premium pay for up to 8 hours (or up to the maximum number of nonovertime hours in their compressed work schedule).

An intermittent employee who is ordered to work on a holiday is not entitled to holiday premium pay but is entitled to regular basic pay for up to 8 hours worked on a holiday.

An employee ordered to work on a holiday is entitled to at least 2 hours of holiday premium pay for holiday work.

An employee who works overtime on a holiday is entitled to overtime pay at the normal overtime rate for the overtime hours worked. An employee is not entitled to the holiday premium rate for any overtime hours worked on a holiday.

An employee is not entitled to holiday premium pay while in training, unless the training takes place on a holiday and the employee would otherwise be performing regularly scheduled holiday work (5 CFR Section 410.402).

An employee may not receive holiday premium pay for travel on a holiday unless that travel qualifies as hours of work. See IRM 6.550.2.2.6(3)b.

Employees on military or court leave are entitled to holiday premium pay if the holiday work was regularly scheduled and if the employee would have been required to work on that day.

Night shift employees excused from regularly scheduled night work on a holiday receive their rate of basic pay plus night pay.

Employees with a regularly scheduled administrative work week that includes Sunday premium pay will only receive basic pay for holiday hours that fall on Sunday. Employees with a regularly scheduled basic work week that includes Sunday are entitled to Sunday pay and pay for holiday work, if they must to work during holiday hours. For guidance on Sunday work, see IRM 6.550.2.2.20 , Pay for Sunday Work.

Administratively Uncontrollable Work

Annual premium pay for this purpose will be paid as provided by 5 USC 5545(c)(2) and 5 CFR Section 550.151. However, an employee who receives law enforcement availability pay (LEAP) under 5 USC 5545a and 5 CFR Section 550.181-187 may not receive pay under this paragraph.

The authority to prescribe eligibility requirements and resolve questions concerning the payment of annual premium pay for administratively uncontrollable work and standby duty is delegated to the IRS Human Capital Officer. The authority may not be redelegated. See IRM 1.2.2.7.13, Delegation Order 6-23.

The authority to approve payment for administratively uncontrollable work is delegated to SES Executives (including those in an acting Director capacity pending OPM confirmation) and Streamlined Critical Pay Executives for employees within their Business Unit. This authority may not be redelegated. See IRM 1.2.2.7.13, Delegation Order 6-23.

Pay for Sunday Work

Employees are entitled to an additional 25% of their rate of basic pay for work performed during a regularly scheduled TOD that begins or ends on a Sunday. Intermittent employees cannot receive Sunday premium pay.

Per December 8, 2009 memorandum from OPM Director John Berry, part-time employees are eligible for Sunday premium pay (Fathauer v. United States).

Employees cannot receive Sunday premium pay for overtime hours.

Sunday premium pay may only be paid to employees who actually perform work on Sunday (i.e., no Sunday premium pay is awarded to employees on paid leave, holiday, military leave, court leave, administrative leave, weather and safety leave or taking accrued compensatory time off or credit hours).

Employees who have two separate basic tours of duty on Sunday are entitled to Sunday premium pay for work performed on each TOD (e.g., if an employee works 8 hours that begins on Saturday and ends on Sunday then works 8 hours beginning on the same Sunday and ends on Monday, the employee is entitled to 16 hours of Sunday premium pay).

Sunday premium pay is in addition to premium pay for holiday work or night pay differential. Each entitlement to premium pay is computed separately as a percentage of an employee’s rate of basic pay.

An employee is generally not entitled to Sunday premium pay while engaged in training. Exceptions to the general rule are listed at 5 CFR Section 410.402(b).

Employees must post 1 hour of annual leave or LWOP if they only work 7 hours on Sunday due to the commencement of daylight-saving time. See IRM 6.630.1, Daylight Saving Time, for more information.

Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP)

Employees who meet the definition of criminal investigator in 5 CFR Section 550.103 and who fulfill the conditions and requirements of 5 USC 5545a and 5 CFR Section 550.181-187, must receive availability pay for unscheduled duty in excess of the 40-hour workweek based on the needs of the IRS. Such payment will be administered as provided by the laws and regulations indicated in this paragraph and IRM 9.11.4.9, Law Enforcement Availability Pay.

The authority to certify that a criminal investigator is available to perform irregular and unscheduled duty and receive availability pay is in IRM 1.2.2.7.13, Delegation Order 6-23.

Compensatory Time Off for Travel - General Provisions

The IRS administers compensatory time off for travel in accordance with 5 USC 5550b and 5 CFR Part 550, subpart N. Refer to procedural instructions on the IRS Source at:https://irssource.web.irs.gov/Lists/Timekeeping/DispItemForm.aspx?ID=22 as they relate to:

Creditable travel time;

Request and approval of compensatory time off for travel; and

Crediting, use, and recording compensatory time off for travel.

This section applies to all IRS employees except the Commissioner, members of the SES, and employees on intermittent work schedules.

If an employee is eligible to receive compensation under another legal authority (e.g., overtime pay), the employee may not receive compensatory time off for travel. See IRM 6.550.2.2.6 , Time Spent Traveling, to determine any overtime entitlement.

Consistent with (1) above, to the extent possible, managers must not require employees to travel during non-duty hours. However, subject to the conditions outlined in this section, managers must grant compensatory time off for travel if the:

Employee must travel more than 50 miles away from their assigned official duty station (ODS); and

Travel time is not otherwise compensated as hours of work under another legal authority (e.g., availability pay, overtime pay (as described in IRM 6.550.2.2.6 , Time Spent Traveling)).

Compensatory Time Off for Travel - Creditable Travel Time

The following requirements must be met to be eligible for consideration:

Manager must order the employee to travel outside of regular working hours for the benefit of the government;

Travel must be outside of the employee’s official duty station (defined as more than 50 miles for the purpose of this section);

Time spent in a travel status must not be otherwise compensable hours of work under any other legal authority (e.g., availability pay, overtime pay); and

Following management directed travel, employees must submit a written request within 5 workdays following completion of the travel to the immediate supervisor for final approval to earn the compensatory time off for travel. Failure to submit the request within the specified time period will result in denial of the request.

Time that is not considered creditable:

Time spent traveling to a new official duty station is not creditable for compensatory time off for travel. While an employee’s travel to new permanent duty station is officially authorized travel, it is not travel between an official duty station and a temporary duty station or between two temporary duty stations. Therefore, the travel is not covered under the compensatory time off for travel provisions;

Extended or unusual waiting periods are not creditable for compensatory time off for travel. Employees must report and deduct these extended waiting time periods. This includes delays due to cancelled flights, inclement weather or missed connections. It is not creditable time even though it is outside the control of the employee;

Commute time which an employee normally encounters on a daily basis and is considered usual home-to-work and work-to-home time is only creditable under certain circumstances. When commute time is not creditable, it must be deducted from the employee’s calculation even if the travel is completed on a non-workday, such as on a Saturday or a Sunday; and

Time spent traveling in connection with union activities is not considered official travel and is not creditable for compensatory time off for travel.

Multiple days of travel:

Only the first and last day of travel to a single destination assignment may be appropriate for compensatory time off for travel. If an employee on a multiple-day travel assignment chooses to return home at night or on weekends rather than use the temporary lodging authorized at the temporary duty location, only travel from home to the temporary duty location and return on the first and last days of travel are creditable hours. These travel hours on the first and last days are subject to the deductions for normal commuting time (home-to-work and work-to-home).

Most of the daily travel home is at the employee’s request and for personal benefit. However, in rare instances, a business unit may have a travel assignment for an employee where it would be advantageous to the government for the employee to return home rather than staying overnight at the temporary duty location. In these instances, the manager must first compare the reduced lodging costs against the additional travel expenditures plus the lost labor time (hourly rate of employee’s salary times the number of hours that would be approved and credited for compensatory time off for travel). If there is a net savings to the government, then the manager may grant an exception to the first day/last day only policy with approval of the second-level manager.

If an employee travels to multiple locations on multiple days, then the travel time may be creditable when directed and performed during nonduty hours.

Multiple time zones:

When travel involves two or more time zones, the time zone from the point of first departure must be used to determine how many hours the employee spends in a travel status to the temporary duty location and how many of those hours would be considered creditable in the computation of compensatory time off for travel.

The creditable time for the return trip will be based upon the time zone of the temporary duty location.

Alternative Transportation:

The Official IRS Travel Guide, states, “Travel must be by the most expeditious means of transportation practicable ... the IRS must consider energy conservation, total cost to the Government (including costs of per diem, overtime, lost work-time and actual transportation costs) ... .” If an employee uses an alternate mode of transportation, it may result in additional time spent in a travel status. When a supervisor approves use of an alternate mode of transportation, it must be approved prior to the travel and a determination made on the estimated time in a travel status that would have been creditable for compensatory time off for travel had the employee used the authorized mode of transportation.

When a manager approves the alternative travel mode, the employee will be credited with the lesser of:

The estimated number of creditable non-duty hours in a travel status for the authorized mode of travel; or

The actual time of creditable non-duty hours authorized as an alternative.

Forfeiture of Compensatory Time Off for Travel

Except as provided in (2) below, an employee forfeits previously earned compensatory time off for travel when any of the following occurs:

The employee does not use it by the end of the 26th pay period after it was earned;

Employee separates from federal service;

Employee transfers to another agency in the Federal government (outside of the Department of the Treasury);

Employee moves to a non-covered federal position (e.g., SES position); or

The employee dies; in this instance, surviving beneficiaries are not entitled to payment of unused compensatory time off for travel earned.

An employee will not forfeit previously earned compensatory time off for travel after the end of the 26th pay period after it was earned or upon separation from IRS when:

An employee who separates or is placed in a LWOP status to perform service in the uniformed services as defined under 38 USC 4303 and 5 CFR Section 353.102 and later returns to the IRS through the exercise of a reemployment right provided by law, Executive Order, or regulations;

An employee who separates or is placed in a LWOP status because of an on-the-job injury with entitlements to injury compensation under 5 USC Chapter 81 and later recovers sufficiently to return to work; or

An employee fails to take the compensatory time off for travel due to an exigency of the IRS, as determined by an SES member, and the use of that time was scheduled in writing before the 24th pay period after it was earned.

In accordance with IRM 1.2.2.7.8, Delegation Order 6-12, for exceptions in (2) above, the time limit for use of compensatory time off for travel may be extended for up to an additional 26 pay periods.

Prohibition Against Payment for Unused Compensatory Time Off for Travel

According to 5 USC 5550b(b), an employee may not receive payment of any kind for compensatory time off for travel earned under 5 CFR Part 550 subpart N under any circumstances. This prohibition of payment also applies to surviving beneficiaries.

Compensatory Time off for Travel - Premium and Aggregate Pay Caps

Earned compensatory time off for travel is not considered when applying the biweekly and annual premium pay limitations in 5 USC 5547, 5 CFR Section 550.105 through 5 CFR Section 550.107, or the aggregate limitation on pay in 5 USC 5307 and 5 CFR Part 530, subpart B.

Overtime and Compensatory Time Off in lieu of Overtime under Title 5 and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Table

The following provides an overview of overtime, compensatory time off in lieu of overtime, and pay caps under Title 5 and the FLSA.

Night Pay Differential Table

This table provides guidance on entitlement to night pay differential.

The timekeeping system does not automatically generate night pay differential, therefore hours worked that are entitled to night pay differential must be input under the proper time code in the timekeeping system. Employees must ensure the timekeeping system input is correct and immediately notify their manager and/or HCO, HRSS through an OS GetServices ticket with any discrepancies.

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Special compensatory time off for travel.

This program allows employees to accrue compensatory time off for time spent by an employee in a travel status away from the employee’s official duty station when such time is not otherwise compensable. The travel must be officially authorized for work purposes and approved by an authorized official. 

An employee as defined in Title 5 U.S.C. 5541(2), who is employed in an “Executive Agency,” as defined in 5 U.S.C. 105, ) is entitled to earn and use compensatory time off for travel regardless of whether the employee is exempt or non-exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Coverage includes employees in Senior Level (SL) and Scientific of Professional (ST) positions, Federal Wage System (or Wage Grade, WG), and commissioned (tenured) Foreign Service Officers (in pay plan FO) and Commissioned Foreign Service Officers (in pay plan FO). 

Senior Executive Service members and intermittent employees (who do not have a scheduled tour of duty for leave purposes) are excluded from coverage.

Effective Dates of Coverage

Final regulations implementing compensatory time off for travel for most employees was effective May 17, 2007. Coverage for WG employees was effective April 27, 2008. Coverage for Foreign Service Officers (in pay plan FO) and Commissioned Foreign Service Officers (in pay plan FO) was effective June 8, 2006. 

Creditable Travel Time 

Time in a travel status includes the time the employee spends traveling between the official duty station and a temporary duty station (or the lodging in the temporary duty station) or between two temporary duty stations (or the lodging in the temporary duty station) and the “usual waiting time” that precedes or interrupts such travel. 

“Usual waiting time” is the time required to arrive at the airport (or other transportation hub) for security checks-ins, etc., prior to a designated departure time. 

Time spent at an intervening airport (or transportation hub) waiting for a connecting flight also is creditable time.

In the Department, “usual waiting time” is 2 hours for domestic travel and up to 4 hours for international travel. 

Non-Creditable Travel Time 

The following do not qualify as creditable time:

• Unusually long or extended waiting periods that occur prior to an employee’s initial departure time or between actual periods of travel if the employee is free to rest, sleep, or otherwise use the time for his/her own purposes;
• Long waiting periods that occur during an employee's regular scheduled working hours; these periods are compensable as part of the employee's regularly scheduled administrative workweek;
• Time spent traveling outside of an employee’s regular working hours to or from a transportation terminal that are within the limits of the employee’s official duty station;
• Time spent traveling in connection with the performance of union representational activities;
• Time spent traveling on a holiday or an “in-lieu-of” holiday; the employee is entitled to his or her rate of basic pay for the holiday hours; and
• Time spent at a temporary duty station between arrival and departure times; and
• Meal times. 

Once an employee arrives at the temporary duty station (i.e., TDY work site, training site, or hotel at the temporary duty station), the employee is no longer considered to be in a travel status. Any time spent at a temporary duty station between arrival and departure is not creditable for earning compensatory time off for travel. 

Offsetting Normal Commuting Time

When an employee travels directly between the home and a temporary duty station that is outside the limits of the employee's official duty station, the employee's normal “home-to-work/work-to-home” commuting time must be deducted from the creditable travel time. 

Normal commuting time must also be deducted from the creditable travel time if the employee is required to travel outside of regular working hours between the home and a transportation hub outside the limits of the employee's official duty station.

Travel between Multiple Time Zones 

When an employee’s travel involves two or more time zones, the time zone from the point of first departure must be used to determine travel status for accruing compensatory time off. For example, if an employee travels from his official duty station in Washington, DC, to a temporary duty station in Boulder, CO, the Washington, DC, time zone must be used to determine hours in a travel status. However, on the return trip to Washington, DC, the time zone from Boulder, CO, must be used to determine hours in a travel status 

Timeframes for Use

An employee must use accrued compensatory time off by the end of the 26th pay period after the pay period during which it was earned and reported on the webTA. 

All compensatory time off for travel must be used in the chronological order in which it was earned; that is, time earned first is used first. 

Forfeiture of Unused Hours

Accumulated compensatory time that is unused by the end of the 26th pay period after the pay period in which it was earned is forfeited. Unused balances are also forfeited when an employee voluntarily transfers to another agency or separates from Federal service. Forfeited hours may not be paid or restored. 

When an employee fails to use accumulated compensatory time balances within the required timeframe due to an exigency of the public service beyond the employee’s control, the time limit for using the hours may be extended for up to an additional 26 pay periods. Additional extensions are not authorized and forfeited hours may not be restored. 

Exceptions to Forfeiture of Unused Hours

Unused compensatory time off for travel must be held in abeyance for an employee who separates, or is placed in a leave without pay (LWOP) status, and later returns:

• To perform service in the uniformed services (see 38 U.S.C. § 4303 and 5 CFR § 353.102) with restoration rights; and 
• Due to an on-the-job injury with entitlement to injury compensation under 5 U.S.C. Chapter 81. 

In these cases, the employee must use all of the compensatory time off for travel held in abeyance by the end of the 26th pay period following the pay period in which he/she returns to duty, or the compensatory time off will be forfeited. 

Biweekly Salary Limitation and Aggregate Limitation on Pay

Compensatory time off for travel is not considered in applying the bi-weekly pay cap under 5 U.S.C. 5547 or the aggregate limitation on pay under 5 U.S.C.507. 

Alternate Mode of Transportation

When an employee is allowed to use an alternate mode of transportation, or travels at a time/route other than what is initially approved by the authorizing official, creditable time for travel status must be estimated. The estimate is based on the amount of time the employee would have had if the mode of transportation or the time/route initially approved by the authorizing official was used. In determining the estimated amount of creditable time for travel that an employee would have had, the employee will be credited with the lesser of the:

• Estimated time in a travel status the employee would have had if the employee had traveled at the initially approved time, or
• Employee's actual time in a travel status at a time other than that initially approved.

Applying for Compensatory Time off for Travel

Employee must officially request the earning of compensatory time prior to the actual travel or within 10 calendar days of termination of the travel. The request may be submitted via the webTA Leave and Premium Pay Request functionality, Commerce Department Form CD-81, “Authorization for Paid Overtime and/or Holiday Work, and for Compensatory Overtime”, electronic mail, or memorandum. The request should estimate the number of hours the employee expects to earn. Upon the employee’s return from travel, the employee must provide a chronological record of travel information including:

• Duration of the normal home-to-work commute;
• Time and place of departure (i.e., the employee’s home or official duty station);
• Actual time spent traveling to and from the transportation terminal if the terminal is outside of the employee’s official duty station;
• Usual waiting time; and
• Time of arrival at and departure from the temporary duty station. 

Earning Limitations 

There is no limit on the amount of compensatory time for travel that may be earned. 

Using Compensatory Time off for Travel 

Compensatory time off for travel is credited and used in 15 minute increments with the compensatory time off for travel earned first being charged first. Additional leave will be charged in corresponding units. Employees must request permission from their supervisor or leave approving official to schedule the use of accrued compensatory time off via the webTA Leave and Premium Pay Request functionality, a SF-71, Application for Leave, or Form OPM-71, Request for Leave or Approved Absence. 

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UNCLASSIFIED (U)

compensatory time off for travel

(CT:PER-1131;   05-26-2023) (Office of Origin:  GTM/OTA)

3 FAM 3171  Authorities

(CT:PER-751;   10-30-2014) (State Only) (Applies to Civil Service and Foreign Service Employees)

Authorities are authorized by the following:

·          5 U.S.C. 5550b

·          5 CFR Part 550, subpart N; and

·          The Foreign Service Act of 1980, Section 412, as amended.

3 FAM 3172  Introduction

(CT:PER-869;   08-28-2017) (State Only) (Applies to Civil Service and Foreign Service Employees)

The Federal Workforce Flexibility Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-411, Section 203, October 30, 2004) established a new form of non-monetary compensatory time off for time spent by an employee in a travel status when such time is not otherwise compensable (i.e., when the travel is not during regular duty hours or otherwise considered hours of work).  This provision is codified in 5 U.S.C. 5550b.  Individual offices do not have the discretion to deny an employee compensatory time off for travel if it has been earned and applied in accordance with Department policy.  Compensatory time off for travel is non-monetary and if not used prior to its expiration, never converts to cash.

3 FAM 3173  Eligibility

(CT:PER-992;   05-20-2020) (State Only) (Applies to Civil Service and Foreign Service Employees)

a. Compensatory time off for travel may be earned by:

(1)  An American direct-hire employee as defined in 5 U.S.C. 5541(2);

(2)  Part-time employees may be entitled to compensatory time off for travel if the time in travel status does not qualify as compensable hours of work under 5 U.S.C. 5542(b)(2)(B) and 5 CFR 550.112(g)(2), and meets the other requirements in 5 CFR 550, subpart N;

(3)  Tenured Foreign Service Officers class FS-01 and below under the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended; effective October 23, 2007;

(4)  Wage grade (prevailing rate) employees under the provisions codified in 5 U.S.C. 5550b and 5 CFR 550, subpart N; effective April 27, 2008; and

(5)  Eligibility of locally employed staff depends on local labor law and how the employee was hired.  If the locally employed staff member is appointed under the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended, the employee may be eligible.  If the locally employed staff member is hired under a personal services agreement, local labor law prevails.  The office of Overseas Employment Compensation Management Division (GTM/OE/CM) may be contacted for further information.

b. Compensatory time off for travel may NOT be earned by:

(1)  Members of the Senior Executive Service;

(2)  Members of the Senior Foreign Service;

(3)  Executive Schedule employees; or

(4)  Employees on an intermittent schedule.

3 FAM 3174  Determining Eligible Time in Travel Status

a. To be creditable under this provision, travel must be officially authorized.  The travel must be for work purposes and must be approved by an authorized Department official or under established Department policies.  Examples of eligible travel would be for performing official work at another duty station, attending an official conference, or attending official training.

b. Compensatory time off for travel may only be earned for time in an official travel status away from an employee’s official duty station when such time is not otherwise compensable as regular duty pay or premium compensation.  For Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), exempt employees, compensable refers to periods of time creditable as hours of work for the purpose of determining a specific pay entitlement.  For FLSA non-exempt employees, please see 5 CFR 551.422.

c.  Eligible Time in Official Travel Status includes:

(1)  Time spent traveling between the official duty station and a temporary duty station;

(2)  Time spent traveling between two temporary duty stations;

(3)  The usual waiting time preceding or interrupting such travel.  The usual waiting time for domestic flights may not exceed two hours, and for overseas flights may not exceed three hours.  Extended waiting time is not creditable; or

(4)  Time in travel status ends when the employee arrives at the temporary duty worksite or lodging in the temporary duty station, wherever the employee arrives first.  Time in travel status resumes when an employee departs from the temporary duty worksite or lodging in the temporary duty station, from whichever the employee departs last.

d. Time that is NOT eligible:

(1)  Travel for the purpose of permanent change of station, temporary change of station, home leave, rest and recuperation travel, family visitation travel, regional rest breaks, medical evacuation, emergency visitation travel, and post evacuations are not considered time in official travel status for the purpose of earning comp time off for travel;

(2)  An extended waiting period is not considered time in official travel status and is not creditable.  An example of extended waiting periods include: flight delays or cancelations due to weather issues, mechanical problems, airline administrative problems, etc.;

(3)  Regular duty hours of work; and

(4)  Hours of travel time that are otherwise compensable hours of work under the overtime pay provisions in 5 CFR 550.112(g) or 5 CFR 551.422.

e. Reference 5 CFR 551.422 states for non-exempt employees, time spent traveling must be considered compensable hours of work if:

(1)  The official travel occurs during the employee's regular working hours;

(2)  The employee is required to drive or perform other work as part of the official travel;

(3)  An employee is required to travel as a passenger on a one-day assignment away from the official duty station location; or

(4)  The employee is required to travel as a passenger overnight away from the official duty station location and the official travel occurs on a non-workday during hours that correspond to the employee's regular working hours.

3 FAM 3175  Factors That Influence Compensatory Time Off for Travel

3 FAM 3175.1  Time Zones

When an employee’s travel involves two or more time zones, the time zone from the point of first departure must be used to determine how many hours (elapsed time) the employee actually spent in a travel status for the purpose of accruing compensatory time off for travel.  For example, if an employee departs from Tokyo, going to FSI for training, the employee calculates the trip based on the Tokyo time zone.  Likewise, the return trip is calculated on the Washington, DC time zone since it now is the point of first departure.

3 FAM 3175.2  Modes of Transportation

a. In the case of an employee who is offered one mode of transportation (i.e., flying) and who is permitted to use an alternate mode of transportation (i.e., train or POV), or who travels at a time or by a route other than that selected by the Department, the agency MUST determine the estimated amount of time in a travel status the employee would have had if the employee had used the mode of transportation offered by the Department or traveled at the time or by the route selected by the Department.  For example, if the flight time is two hours but the travel by train takes six hours, the employee is only eligible to request two hours as creditable for comp time off for travel.  The fact that one mode of transportation may save the Department money has no bearing on the amount of comp time off for travel that an employee earns.

b. Employees who take an approved/authorized rest break during their travel that causes the compensatory time off for travel eligibility to change from what would have been available for the most direct route are ONLY authorized to claim the amount of time that would have been earned had the rest break not been taken.

c.  The class of accommodation, such as business class, does not influence whether the time in travel status is compensable.  Allowing an employee to upgrade travel to business class does not eliminate an employee’s eligibility to earn compensatory time off for travel.

3 FAM 3175.3  Meals

It is no longer required that an employee deduct the bona fide meal periods during travel time or waiting time.

3 FAM 3175.4  Change of Administrative Work Week

An agency may NOT adjust the regularly scheduled administrative work week that normally applies to an employee (full-time or part-time) solely for the purpose of including planned travel time that would not otherwise be considered compensable hours of work.  For example, if an employee is required to travel on a Saturday, which is normally a day off, the supervisor cannot change the administrative work week to be Tuesday through Saturday, making Saturday a compensable day and thus making that day ineligible for compensatory time off for travel.

3 FAM 3175.5  Commuting Time

a. Travel outside of regular working hours to or from a transportation terminal (airport, train, etc.) within the limits of the employee’s official duty station is considered equivalent to commuting time and is not creditable travel time.

b. Travel outside of regular working hours between an employee’s home and a temporary duty station or transportation terminal outside the limits of the employees duty station is considered creditable travel time.  However, the Department must deduct the employee’s normal home-to-work/work-to-home commuting time from the creditable travel time.

c.  A mileage radius no greater than 50 miles applies to determine whether an employee's travel is within or outside the limits of the employee's official duty station.  See 5 CFR 550.112(j).

3 FAM 3176  Recording and Use of Compensatory Time off For Travel

(CT:PER-1131;   05-26-2023) (State Only) (Applies to Civil Service and Foreign Service Employees)

a. Fifteen (15) Minute Increments: Compensatory time off for travel is credited and used in increments of 15 minutes.

b. Thirty (30) day Limit for Requesting Credit: The Department requires employees to submit credit requests, in writing, to their supervisor with specific times, justification, and itineraries, within 30 days of completion of eligible official travel.  This request should be accompanied by Form DS-5106, Compensatory Time Off for Travel worksheet.  Requests for compensatory time off for travel that are submitted more than 30 days after the last day of travel will be denied.

c.  Documenting Compensatory Time Off for Travel on Cuff Records and TATEL: The Department’s pay system will not accommodate the specialized compensatory time off for travel category; and, as a result, timekeepers are required to keep paper records of the compensatory time off for travel earned by each individual using a separate ledger ( 3 FAM Exhibit 3176) ;

(1)  Compensatory time off for travel is not recorded in the TATEL system, though comp time off for travel used will be recorded in TATEL;

(2)  Time used should be entered in TATEL as “XA” with a notation “compensatory time off for travel”;

(3)  Timekeepers should keep a copy of the Form DS-7100, Request for Leave or Approved Absence with the paper record of compensatory time off for travel earned and subtract the time used;

(4)  Regulations require that time is charged in a chronological manner, i.e., first-in, first-out; and

(5)  These are official records and must be maintained by each individual office.

d. Time Limit for Using Compensatory Time Off for Travel: Compensatory time off for travel must be used within 26 pay periods from the time the eligible compensatory time off for travel is earned.  Otherwise it is forfeited.  Exceptions may be granted:

(1)  If the employee with unused compensatory time off for travel separates;

(2)  The employee is placed in a leave without pay status to perform service in the uniformed service (as defined in 38 U.S.C. 4303 and 5 CFR 353.102) and later returns to service through the exercise of a re-employment right provided by law, Executive Order, or regulation;

(3)  An on-the-job injury with entitlement to compensation under 5 U.S.C. chapter 81 and later recovers sufficiently to return to work; or

(4)  An exigency of the service beyond the employee’s control and an authorized Department official, has sole discretion, to extend the time limit for using such compensatory time off for travel, not to exceed an additional 26 pay periods.

e. Scheduling and Using Accrued Compensatory Time Off for Travel: Employees must request permission from their supervisor via Form DS-7100 , Request for Leave or Approved Absence , to schedule the use of accrued compensatory time off for travel.  Earned compensatory time off for travel must be charged on a first-in, first-out (chronological) basis.

f.  Use of Compensatory Time Off for Travel While in Official Travel Status: In accordance with 5 CFR 550.1406, employees must request permission to schedule the use of accrued compensatory time off for travel in accordance with agency-established policies and procedures.  Department policy states that employees will not be authorized to use compensatory time off for travel in the same trip in which it is earned.

3 FAM 3177  Transfer Within the Department

Compensatory time off for travel may be transferred to another office within the Department, unless the employee moves to a federal position that is covered by the compensatory time off for travel regulations, pursuant to 5 CFR 550.1407(d).  The losing timekeeper must provide complete copies of the employee's compensatory time for travel to the gaining timekeeper.  This includes a copy of the authorized approval memo, the paper ledger recording time earned and used, and the current balance with the forfeiture dates.

3 FAM 3178  Forfeiture

Compensatory time off for travel is forfeited:

(1)  Except as provided in 3 FAM 3176 (d), if not used by the end of the 26th pay period during which it was earned.  NOTE: The 26 pay periods run from the time travel was completed, not from the time it was credited;

(2)  Upon voluntary transfer to another agency;

(3)  Upon movement to a non-covered position, or if there is a change in employee status, such as intermittent or promotion to SFS/SES; or

(4)  Except as provided in 3 FAM 3176 (d), upon separation from the federal government.

3 FAM 3179  Compensatory Time Off for Travel is NOT Premium Pay

a. Under no circumstances may an individual receive monetary compensation for any unused compensatory time off for travel the employee has earned.

b. Accrued compensatory time off for travel is not considered in applying the premium pay cap limitations established under 5 U.S.C. 5547 and 5 CFR 550.105 through 550.107, or the aggregate limitation on pay established under 5 U.S.C 5307 and 5 CFR 530, subpart B.

3 FAM Exhibit 3176   Compensatory Time Off For Travel Record of Hours Earned and Used

(CT:PER-751;   10-30-2014)

_____________________________

Traveler’s Name

Approver/Supervisor’s Name

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What you're owed when your flight is canceled or delayed may be less than you think

What happens if my flight is canceled?

What happens if a flight is delayed, what should i do if my flight is delayed.

Whenever a flight is  canceled or delayed , it causes huge headaches for travelers, but they're not always owed the relief they think they deserve.

U.S. airlines are not required to offer compensation for delays outside their control, like severe weather or  air traffic control issues . And policies vary from airline to airline when it comes to delays caused by controllable issues like maintenance problems and staffing shortages.

The Department of Transportation's interactive dashboard shows what each airline owes travelers for both cancellations and delays. Some airlines may offer additional flexibility beyond what is listed on the dashboard.

Here's what air travelers should know:

What happens if you get bumped? What to know when airlines overbook flights

Cruising Altitude: Progress is not coming fast enough for disabled travelers

DOT rules  require all airlines to offer customers a refund if their flights are canceled for any reason. What changes is what's offered to travelers who choose to rebook.

For example, If American, Delta, Hawaiian or United cancel a flight for controllable reasons, they're committed to:

• rebooking passengers on the same airline or a partner airline, at no extra cost
• providing a meal or cash or voucher for a meal when the cancellation results in a passenger waiting at least 3 hours for a new flight
• providing complimentary hotel accommodations for any passenger affected by an overnight cancellation 
• providing complimentary ground transportation to and from a hotel for any passenger affected by an overnight cancellation

Alaska and JetBlue offer the same, plus some additional compensation.

Allegiant, Frontier, Southwest and Spirit do not book passengers on partner airlines. Additionally Frontier does not offer hotel accommodations and related transport.

"There are no federal laws requiring airlines to provide passengers with money or other compensation when their flights are delayed," according to the Department of Transportation, but U.S. carriers have committed to various levels of compensation for significant delays. Each airline, however, defines significant delays differently.

If a flight is significantly delayed for reasons within their control, Alaska, American, Delta, Jet Blue and United offer:

• providing a meal or cash or voucher for a meal when the delay results in a passenger waiting for at least 3 hours for departure
• providing complimentary hotel accommodations for any passenger affected by an overnight delay
• providing complimentary ground transportation to and from a hotel for any passenger affected by an overnight delay

Alaska and JetBlue offer the same plus some additional compensation.

Allegiant, Frontier, Hawaiian, Southwest and Spirit do not rebook travelers on partner airlines. Frontier doesn't offer hotel accommodations or related transport either.

USA TODAY broke it down by airline: If your flight is delayed, you may be eligible for compensation from your airline

If your flight is experiencing a long delay, the Transportation Department suggests asking airline staff if they will pay for meals or a hotel room.

The DOT dashboard reflects airlines' official policies, but many carriers handle compensation for delays on a case-by-case basis and may provide vouchers or other benefits in some situations that are not formally covered.

For example, according to Delta's Customer Commitment , "Delta representatives are empowered with the flexibility and discretion to issue the following forms of compensation for passenger inconvenience when individual circumstances warrant doing so: cash equivalents (e.g., gift cards), travel credits/vouchers, and/or miles for SkyMiles members."

Best travel insurance: These policies offer the best value

Travel insurance also helps with cancellations and delays. Some credit card companies will also reimburse cardholders for expenses associated with travel disruptions, when travel is booked with their cards.

Contributing: Zach Wichter, Josh Rivera, USA TODAY; Associated Press