What is compensatory time off for travel (CTOT)?

Effective January 28, 2005, OPM established a new form of compensatory time. This new compensatory time grants time off for travel time that is not otherwise compensable. (See: Federal Workforce Flexibility Act of 2004 [Public Law 108-411, October 30, 2004].)
 

Can I earn CTOT?

You are eligible to earn CTOT if you are a GS/GM/AD, or prevailing rate (wage grades effective 04/27/08, CPM 2008-04) employee, regardless of FLSA status. You are also eligible if you are in a senior-level (SL) or scientific or professional (ST) position. Members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) are not eligible. Prevailing rate (wage grade) and Intermittent employees are excluded.

Intermittent employees are excluded because they do not have a scheduled tour of duty, and CTOT may only be earned and used by an employee who is being granted time off from his or her scheduled tour of duty (5 CFR 550.1406[b] and 5 CFR 550.1403).

Employee/ Supervisory Responsibilities

Is CTOT the same as regular compensatory time off?

No, it is not the same. Regular compensatory time off is a form of premium pay. It is granted in lieu of overtime pay and may be paid out in a lump sum if not used. CTOT is different because it is earned for travel time that is not otherwise compensable and it can never be paid out. If it is not used, it will be forfeited (exceptions exist).

How long do I have to use the earned compensatory time?

You have 26 pay periods beginning in the pay period after it is earned.

Examples

Exceptions - When Unused CTOT is Not Forfeited

Unused CTOT is held in abeyance if you separate or go on LWOP due to:

• Service in the uniformed services (as defined in 38 U.S.C. 4303 and 5 C.F.R. 353.102) when restoration rights are involved. 

• An on-the-job injury with entitlement to injury compensation (under 5 U.S.C. chapter 81).

In these instances, upon return to duty, you have 26 pay periods beginning in the pay period you return to duty to use the earned CTOT, or it will be forfeited permanently.

Example

Can Forfeited CTOT be restored Like Use/Lose Annual Leave?

No, forfeited CTOT cannot be restored like use/lose annual leave. It can only be:

• Held in abeyance for the reasons noted above, or

• Extended for an additional 26 pay periods if it meets the conditions noted below.  

What if I Can't Use My CTOT Within 26 Pay Periods?

In situations where you attempted, in writing, to schedule earned CTOT but it was not granted due to an exigency of the public business, your supervisor may request an additional 26 pay period extension, as described in the next block.

How Do I Obtain an Extension?

Does the webTA system track this for me?

Yes. To find out your CTOT balances, use the Leave Audit report function in the webTA system. The Leave Audit will show you when the CTOT was earned and used for the last 26 pay periods. To get the report, go to the Main Menu in webTA. Click on "Leave Audit." The Leave Audit will list each type of leave separately. Click on "Comp Time for Travel" and then click "Update" to list the balances.

In what increments is CTOT earned and used?

CTOT is earned and used in 15 minute increments. Rounding is not permitted. 
 

Can CTOT be earned and used in the same pay period?

Yes, but to use CTOT in the same pay period in which it was earned, it must be credited to the NFC system in that same pay period. 
 

What happens to my earned CTOT if I leave?

How is travel status defined?

Travel status is defined as the time spent actually traveling for official purposes, which is:

• To / from a temporary duty site. 

• Between two temporary duty stations, 

• The usual waiting time before travel (e.g., security check-in at the airport. Usually one [1] hour domestically and two [2] hours internationally), and

• The usual waiting time that interrupts travel (e.g., layovers).

Travel time is calculated based on the time zone in which you left, e.g., if flying from Washington, DC (Eastern Standard Time [EST]) to Sacramento, CA, you would calculate CTOT time based on EST.

What is excluded from the travel status definition? 

Unusually long waits prior to an initial departure,  as well as extended layovers, (e.g., plane is late) are excluded.  (FR Doc E7-7266 dated April 17, 2007)

Note: Long waiting periods that occur during your regular working hours are compensable as part of your regular tour of duty.

Example: Your tour is maxiflex (8 am to 4:30 pm) and you are traveling on a Monday between the hours of 6 am and 6 pm. Your flight is delayed by 2 hours. You arrive at your final destination at 5:30 pm instead of 3:30 pm. The 2 hour delay may be claimed as regular time and could count towards the 80 hour requirement under maxiflex.

What happens once I arrive at my TDY site?

Once you arrive at either your TDY worksite or your temporary lodging, whichever occurs first, you are no longer considered "traveling" for the purposes of earning CTOT. Entitlement to CTOT resumes from the place you first depart to return to your ODS, i.e., TDY worksite or temporary lodgings. 

When do I have to deduct a home-to-work commute?

When don't I have to deduct a home-to-work commute?

You do not have to deduct a home-to-work commute if you are traveling:

• From your worksite to a transportation terminal and

• Outside of regular working hours.
  

What if I’m an exempt employee traveling to an administratively uncontrollable event?

Since the event to which you are traveling is uncontrollable, you are eligible for premium pay (in the form of overtime or compensatory time) under Title 5 for the time spent traveling. The maximum compensation you may receive is what a GS-15/step 10 or Level V of the Executive Schedule (whichever is higher) earns in a pay period. Excess time that is not compensable under Title V due to the maximum salary limitation is also not compensable under CTOT rules.

Travel Status on a Holiday

Also see: HRDG 4550 Section F.

Flying Home Each Weekend While on TDY

Your supervisor may permit you to fly home each weekend while on TDY assignment if s/he determines that it costs less than having you stay at the TDY site. Such a determination should be in writing. CTOT may be earned for the round trip travel on the weekend days. Check with your travel specialist for additional travel regulations.

If you are not permitted to travel home on weekends, then only the travel from home to the TDY site on the first day and the travel home on the last day is creditable towards earning CTOT.

Note: Nonexempt employees (those covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act) receive premium pay, not CTOT, for traveling to administratively controllable events on nonworkdays during hours which correspond to their regularly scheduled duty hours. 

Travel Between Time Zones

When travel involves two or more time zones, the time zone from which you began your travel for the day is used to determine any CTOT entitlement or whether you traveled during regular working hours.

Employee Selected Mode, Time or Route of Travel

May I earn CTOT for a permanent change of station (PCS)?

You may not earn CTOT for PCS travel because it is travel to a new official duty station. CTOT only covers travel to temporary duty stations.

Does the biweekly/annual salary limit apply to CTOT?

No. CTOT time is not considered when calculating premium pay earned toward the biweekly/annual salary limits (limits established under 5 U.S.C. 5547 & 5307). 

Union Representation Duties

You may not receive CTOT for travel in conjunction with the performance of union representational duties. The term "travel" (see 5 CFR 550.1403) means officially authorized travel for agency-related work purposes. Traveling for union representational duties is traveling for the benefit of the union, and not for agency-related work purposes.

Part-time Employees Traveling During Non-Duty Hours

If you are a part-time employee traveling during non-duty hours, you may be entitled to CTOT if the travel time does not qualify as compensable hours of work and meets the other requirements above (5 CFR part 550, subpart N).

However, if the travel qualifies as compensable hours of work (see 5 U.S.C. 5542[b] [2] [B] and 5 CFR 550.112[g] [2])-i.e., the travel involves or is incident to the performance of actual work, is carried out under arduous and unusual conditions, or results from an event that could not be scheduled or controlled administratively-you may not receive CTOT for the travel hours. (This travel time outside of your scheduled tour of duty, but not in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week, would be considered non-OT hours of work - - TC 01 regular time.)

For example, if you are a part-time employee with a regularly scheduled tour of duty of Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and you are required to travel on a Friday from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., you may be entitled to CTOT for those 2 hours if those travel hours are not otherwise compensable.

Note: Travel time is always compensable as hours of work if it falls within an employee's regularly scheduled administrative workweek (See 5 U.S.C. 5542[b] [2] [A] and 5 CFR 550.112[g] [1]). A part-time employee's regularly scheduled administrative workweek is (5 CFR 550.103) the officially prescribed days and hours within an administrative workweek during which the employee was scheduled to work in advance of the workweek. The supervisor may not adjust the regularly scheduled administrative workweek that normally applies to an employee (part-time or full-time) solely for the purpose of including planned travel time that would not otherwise be considered compensable hours of work.

Examples of Creditable Travel Time

Example 1: Non-exempt Employee 

Travel to a TDY station on a non-workday:

Travel from a hotel to home on the following Saturday

An employee is required to travel to a TDY site for a week-long conference.  The employee’s regular working hours are 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday.  Because the conference begins early Monday morning, the employee travels to a hotel at the TDY site the Sunday afternoon before the conference. The conference is scheduled to continue into the evening on Friday, so the employee returns home on Saturday morning. 

In total, the employee spends 9 hours (12:30 PM to 5:00 PM on Sunday and 7:30 AM to 12:00 PM on the following Saturday) traveling to and from the conference.  However, the half an hour the employee spends on Sunday traveling to the airport and the half an hour the employee spends on Saturday traveling from the airport within the limits of her ODS is considered equivalent to commuting time and is not creditable time in travel status.  Also, the 30 minutes the employee spends having breakfast while waiting at the airport on the return home is considered a bona fide meal period and is not creditable travel time. 

In this example, the employee’s CTOT entitlement is as follows:

*These hours could also be paid as overtime (TC 21). 

Example 2: Travel to a TDY site on a workday 

From home to business meeting

From business meeting to home

On a workday, an employee is required to travel to a TDY site for an afternoon meeting. The employee's regular working hours under maxiflex are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The employee’s supervisor does not require him/her to revert to an 8-hour day due to travel. In total, the employee spends 13 hours (6:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.) traveling to and from the worksite. However, the time between 7:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. is compensable as part of the employee's regular working hours. Also, an employee's time spent traveling outside of regular working hours to or from a transportation terminal (e.g., an airport or train station) within the limits of his or her ODS is considered to be equivalent to commuting time and is not creditable travel time (see 5 CFR 550.1404[d]). In this case, the employee spends 2 hours traveling to and from an airport within the limits of his ODS. Finally, bona fide meal periods during actual travel or waiting time are not considered to be creditable travel time. (See 5 CFR 550.1404[b][2].) Therefore, the 30 minutes the employee spends having dinner while waiting at the airport on the return trip home is not creditable travel time.

In this example, the employee's CTOT entitlement is as follows:
 

Example 3: Travel to a TDY site on a nonworkday

Travel from home to a hotel on a Sunday
 

Travel from a hotel to home on the following Saturday

In total, the employee spends 13 hours (5:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Sunday and 6:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on the following Saturday) traveling to and from the conference. However, the hour the employee spends on Sunday traveling to the airport and the hour the employee spends on Saturday traveling from the airport within the limits of her ODS is considered equivalent to commuting time and is not creditable time in a travel status. Also, the 30 minutes the employee spends having breakfast while waiting at the airport on the return home is considered a bona fide meal period and is not creditable travel time.

In this example, the employee's CTOT entitlement is as follows:

From TDY site to intervening airport for connecting flight on a Friday.
 

Employee checks into hotel near airport — no CTOT. Employee returns to airport on Saturday morning.

In this example, the employee's compensatory time off for travel entitlement is as follows:

Travel to and from a training session

An employee is required to travel to a TDY site on a workday for a 1-day training session. The training location is a 2-hour drive from the employee's home. The employee's regular working hours under a standard tour of duty are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In total, the employee spends 4 hours (6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.) driving to and from the training session. 

If an employee travels directly between home and a TDY site outside the limits of his or her ODS, the time spent traveling outside regular working hours is creditable travel time. However, the agency must deduct the time the employee would have spent in normal home-to-work/work-to-home commuting. (See 5 CFR 550.1404[c].) In this case, the employee's normal daily commuting time is 2 hours (1 hour each way). Therefore, 2 hours must be deducted from the employee's creditable travel time.

In this example, the employee's CTOT entitlement is as follows:

Travel from home to first presentation site

Travel from first presentation site to second presentation site

In this example, the employee's compensatory time off for travel entitlement is as follows:

Chart Illustrating Premium Pay/CTOT Eligibility for Time Spent Traveling (PDF; 54Kb)