HRDG 4610 - Tours of Duty - Section D

Responsible officials who are delegated authority to approve tours of duty are authorized to approve tours of duty that include periods of regularly scheduled overtime. (Regularly scheduled overtime cannot be taken as compensatory time, but must be paid as overtime.)

Exception: Employees on flexible work schedules may, at their option, request compensatory time for regularly scheduled and irregular or occasional overtime work.

Approval is subject to the availability of funds and must be limited to situations:

• When regularly scheduled overtime is necessary to meet program needs, or
  Which meet the following conditions:
• The hours of work performed by the employee are fixed as the hours during which the private establishment is in operation; and
• The employee is assigned primarily to an establishment at which he/she must remain on duty throughout the hours of the establishment's operations.

When regularly scheduled overtime is authorized, the official approving such tours will maintain a record (e.g., on the T&A log) that includes the following:

• The number, class, and grade of the employees involved;
• Proposed working schedule by hours of the day and days of the week;
• Justification for exceeding the usual workweek, including reasons why it would not be practical to hire additional personnel for the work;
• Probable duration of the overtime work; and
• Statement of availability of funds for the purpose.

The record is to be maintained locally and must be kept available as source data for any reports requested by USDA, Office of Human Resource Management, or outside agencies.

Note: Regularly scheduled overtime generally is not applicable to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Check with the servicing personnel office if it becomes necessary to consider regular work beyond the 40 hour workweek.

Overtime hours are hours of work in excess of the basic work requirement, officially ordered and approved, in advance, by management. Employees are entitled to overtime pay for overtime work in accordance with applicable provisions of law.

In order for employees to qualify for overtime under Title 5 U.S.C., Chapter 55, they must work in excess of the daily and weekly work requirements given in the chart below:

Federal Wage System employees, regardless of FLSA status, and including those working under a flexible or compressed work schedule, may request compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay only for irregular and occasional overtime work. Mandatory compensatory time off is prohibited. (Section 1610, National Defense Authorization Act for FY 1997 [P.L. 104-201, 09/23/96] amended 5 U.S.C. 5543).

Employees subject to Title 7 U.S.C. 2260 (Import/Export Act) may not earn compensatory time in lieu of overtime except under the specific provisions for earning compensatory time for religious observances.

For all employees, compensatory time must be used within 26 pay periods after the pay period it was earned. If not used, it must be paid out at the overtime rate in effect when the compensatory time was earned.

Compensatory time may be earned and used in the same pay period.

An employee is entitled to night pay for regularly scheduled night work performed between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. Employees are entitled to night differential in accordance with the chart below:

Note: Employees paid under the provisions of Title 7 U.S.C. 2260 are paid night differential in accordance with APHIS Directive 402.3 (46.44 KB), dated 3/16/84.

Note: Prevailing Rate (wage grade) employees receive shift differential versus night differential. For additional information on wage grades contact your SPO.

Note: Temporary Assignment to a Different Daily Tour. An employee who is temporarily assigned during the administrative workweek to a daily tour of duty that includes night work can have the night hours counted as hours of work for computing night differential. (This schedule change does NOT have to occur before the beginning of an administrative workweek.) However, an employee assigned a period of irregular or occasional overtime in addition to his/her regularly scheduled administrative workweek can NOT count the night hours worked as hours of work for computing night differential. (5 CFR 550.122[d])

A full-time or part-time employee who performs nonovertime work during a period of service, a part of which is performed on Sunday, is entitled to Sunday pay for the entire period not to exceed 8 hours.

(See: Fathauer v. United States, 566 F.3d 1352 [Fed. Cir. May 26, 2009].)

Employees are entitled to Sunday pay in accordance with the chart below:

Employees performing nonovertime work on Sunday are entitled to Sunday premium pay.

Employees performing work at night (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.) during the first 40 hours are entitled to night differential.

Overtime premium compensation is authorized for all employees for all hours over 40 in a workweek. This applies as long as the employee:

• Has a basic rate of pay that is greater than the GS-10 step 1. (This rate includes any applicable interim geographic adjustment, a locality based comparability payment or special rate of pay.) OR
• Is assigned to perform the duties of a physical, mathematical, natural, medical or social science, or engineering or architecture professional or technician.

Note: Employees who meet the conditions above are entitled to overtime compensation only for those hours in excess of 40 in an administrative workweek. Pay for work over 8 hours in a day for such employees is paid at the regular hourly rate.

Note: Also refer to HRDG 4550, Section C, How Does My First-40-Hour Indefinite Tour Affect Overtime (OT)?

Full-time employees who perform nonovertime work on a holiday (or a day designated as the "in lieu of" holiday) are entitled to basic pay plus premium pay equal to basic pay for that holiday work. Entitlement to holiday premium pay for holidays worked are determined in accordance with this chart:

Note: Hours worked over 8 or outside the employee's normal tour of duty on a holiday is overtime. First 40-hour employees who work on a holiday, during hours that correspond to their normal tour of duty or during hours outside of their tour have that work time counted toward completion of the first-40 tour. These employees earn overtime only if they have already worked 40 hours during the week.

Members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) are not eligible for premium pay (overtime, Sunday pay, night differential, etc.)(5 U.S.C. 5541[2][xvi]) including being ineligible to earn compensatory time off.

Exception: SES members may earn religious compensatory time off (5 U.S.C. 5550a).

Exception: If an employee earned compensatory time before entering the SES, he/she may still use it after becoming a member of the SES as long as the compensatory time is used within 1 year after the year it is earned (5 CFR 550.114).