(9)-1
DPM-550

CHAPTER 550 - PAY ADMINISTRATION (GENERAL)
SUBCHAPTER 1 - PREMIUM PAY

1-2. GENERAL

*a. Coverage

5 U.S.C. 5541-5549 provides the general framework governing premium pay for all employees of the Department of Agriculture except for the following, whose premium pay entitlements are
governed in whole or in part by other statutes:

(1) The Secretary of Agriculture.

(2) Employees whose rate of basic pay equals or
exceed the maximum scheduled rate of grade
GS-15. Employees who are assigned to fight
wildland fires may be paid premium compensation
only to the extent that such payment would not
cause their annual aggregate rate of compensation
to exceed the maximum rate of GS-15 (Public Law
100-523). All other employees whose rate of
basic pay is less than the maximum scheduled rate
of GS-15 may be paid premium compensation under
5 U.S.C. 5541-5549 provisions only to the extent
that such payment would not cause their aggregate
rate of compensation to exceed the maximum
scheduled rate of GS-15 for any pay period.
The aggregate rate of bsic compenation includes pay
for compensatory time as well as for overtime.

(3) Employees outside the continental United
States or in Alaska who are paid in accordance
with local native prevailing wage rates for the
area in which employed.

(4) Employees whose basic pay is fixed and
adjusted from time-to-time in accordance with
prevailing rates by a wage board, or similar
administrative authority serving the same
purpose, except as provided by 5 U.S.C. 5544.
(See DPM Chapter 532 for premium rates to which
these employees are entitled.)

(5) Employees in cooperatively controlled
"agent" positions to whom the provisions of
5 U.S.C. 5102 apply. These employees are
entitled to premium pay in accordance with the
terms of the applicable cooperative agreement.

(6) Employees for whom premium rates may be
waived under 7 U.S.C. 2226. Prior approval of
the Director of Personnel shall be obtained for
waiver of premium pay under 7 U.S.C. 2226
provisions. Each request shall specify:
(1) the kind of work involved; (2) the location
and probable duration of the work; (3) the
estimated number of employees involved; (4) the
grade of the affected employee; and, (5) the
proposed hours of work per day and per week.

(7) Inspectional personnel who receive
additional or alternative premium pay for
overtime, night, and holiday work under the
regulations prescribed in 1-11 of the Chapter.

(8) Experts and consultants appointed
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 3109 on a temporary basis,
for full-time, part-time, or intermittent
services. Such employees are entitled to the
per diem rate prescribed in their contracts for
employment for each day on which service is
performed that effectively interrupts their
pursuits for substantially the entire day.

(9) Employees on military and court leave.
An employee is entitled to premium pay
(overtime, Sunday, holiday, and night) during
absences that are covered by court and military
leave when it can be documented that the
employee would have worked during that time
entitling him or her to premium pay.

(10) Employees of the Cooperative Extension
Service who hold Schedule A appointments under
5 CFR 213.3113(a)(1) and serve without Federal
compensation

(11) Employees who work on a compressed work
schedule. For such employees, overtime is all
work in excess of those specified hours which
constitute the compressed schedule.

1-3. OVERTIME PAY

a. Authorization

"Regularly" scheduled work is defined as work
that is scheduled in advance of the
administrative workweek. USDA's administrative workweek begins at 12:01 a.m. Sunday morning
and ends at midnight Saturday. Overtime work
is all work in excess of 8 hours a day or 40
hours in an administrative workweek. To be
regularly schedule, overtime work must be
specific as to the employee(s), day(s),
hour(s), and time to be worked, and must be
scheduled to later than midnight Saturday of
the week before it is to be performed (e.g.,
John Doe, Tuesday from 4 to 6 p.m, not
"someone, two hours, sometime next week").
Overtime which does not meet all of the above
conditions is defined as irregular or
occasional.

The Secretary has delegated authority to order
and approve overtime work to Agency Heads,
Acting Agency Heads, or their designees. Such
overtime work may be ordered or approved only
in writing. This authority also may be used*

08/29/89 (Amend. 209) U.S. Department of Agriculture Personnel Manual

(9)-2
DPM-550

SUBCHAPTER 1 - PREMIUM PAY

*by Agencies for any continuing increase in hours
of duty beyond 40 hours per week. For additional information regarding overtime work and hours of
duty, see DPM Chapter 610; for employees on
alternative Work Schedules, see FPM Supplement
990-2, Book 620; for employees covered by the
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), see FPM Letters
in the 551 series.

d. Compensatory Time Off

(1)   Authorizing compensatory time
(a)   Approving requests for compensatory time
              off. Employees with a scheduled tour of
              duty may be granted compensatory time off
              in lieu of overtime pay for irregular or
              occasional overtime work. Regularly
              scheduled overtime, on the other hand, must
              be paid. Employees whose annual rate of
              basic pay is less than the maximum rate for
              a GS-10 and who want compensatory time in
              lieu of overtime pay must request it, in
              writing, prior to the end of the pay period
              in which the overtime was worked. When
              compensatory time is granted, it is
              substituted on an hour-for-hour basis for
              irregular or occasional overtime.
             Compensatory time should be documented in
             accordance with standard T&A procedures.

(b)   Compensatory time off on regular overtime
          day. Employees whose regular tours of duty
          include overtime work and who on occasion
          are ordered to perform irregular overtime
          work may be allowed to take compensatory
          time off from duty for non-overtime hours
          on any regular overtime day.

(2) Requiring use of compensatory time

         Employees whose annual rate of basic pay
         exceeds the maximum rate of a GS-10
         may be required to take compensatory
         time in lieu of premium pay for irregular
         or occasional overtime. Agency Heads,
         or their designees, are authorized to
         require compensatory time.

(3) Time limit on use of compensatory time

(a) Use of compensatory time. Employees
whose overtime work is compensated for by
time off in lieu of overtime pay must use such
time off by the end of the leave year
following the year in which it was
earned. If requirements of the work
situation are such that the
compensatory time cannot be used within
this period, it shall be liquidated as
provided in (b) below.

Compensatory time must be used by employees before they may be granted annual leave, provided this shall not result
in their losing any annual leave they may have accumulated. This means that annual leave may be substituted for
compensatory time where the use of compensatory time has resulted in or will result in the forfeiture of annual leave.
Once an employee has taken compensatory time,
an employee may not request overtime pay for the work. Supervisors are expected have their employees take compensatory time off as soon after they have earned it as
possible, and should take all necessary steps to avoid situations which might result in employees accumulating compensatory time which cannot be used within the period prescribed above.

   (b)   Cut-off date for liquidating unused
           compensatory time off. Compensatory time
           off which has not been taken prior to
           transfer or separation from the Department,
           transfer to another Agency of the
           Department, or the end of the leave year
           following the leave year in which it was
           earned, shall be paid for at the overtime
           rate of pay at which it was earned.

(c)     Payment for overtime when employees
           do not elect or are not granted
           compensatory   time off. Employees
           who do not elect, or are not granted
           compensatory time off under the
           other provisions of this paragraph,
           shall be paid for the overtime hours of
           duty when due.

e. Adjustment of Work Schedules for
Religious Observances

(1) Compensatory time earned under 5 U.S.C.
5550a as a result of an adjustment of an employee
work schedule to accommodate religious beliefs is
separate and distinct from the compensatory time
discussed in paragraph 1-3d above. It has no
relationship to the premium pay provisions of
Title 5 and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

(2) To the extent that such modifications in
work schedules do not interfere with the
efficient accomplishment of an Agency's mission,
the Agency shall afford an employee the
opportunity to work compensatory overtime and
receive compensatory time off for religious
observances.

(3) Any advance time granted for religious
observances should be repaid by the end of the
leave year in which it was granted. However,
this requirement may be waived by an Agency when *

U.S. Department of Agriculture 08/29/89 (Amend. 209)

(9)-3
DPM-550

CHAPTER 550 - PAY ADMINISTRATION (GENERAL)
SUBCHAPTER 1 - PREMIUM PAY

*suitable arrangements to repay can be made after
the end of a leave year. Supervisors should be
advised to review T&A's where such time has been
advanced to assure repayment is made either by the
end of the leave year, or by some other date as
established by the Agency.
1-5. HOLIDAY PAY
d.   Pay for Holidays on which no Work is
        Performed
(1) The following employees, when prevented
from working by the occurrence of a holiday or
other nonwork day falling within their regular
tour of duty, are entitled to their regular pay
for that day:
(a) Full-time and part-time employees who
occupy positions for which the compensation
is required to be fixed on an annual or a
monthly basis by 5 U.S.C. Chapter 53 or
other law.
   (b) Regular per diem, per hour, or piecework
basis employees who come within the purview
of 5 U.S.C. 6104. Such employees are
entitled to their regular pay on days on
which they perform no service because such
days are (i) National holidays, (ii)
Executive Order holidays, or (iii) days on
which they are excused from duty by
administrative order. To determine whether
or not they are "regular" employees within
the meaning of the 1938 statute, as
amended, and therefore entitled to the same
pay for those days as for days on which
they perform an ordinary day's work, the
Comptroller General has ruled (34 Comp.
Gen. 235) that the following definition may
be uniformly applied:
"Regular employees means those employees
compensated at per diem, per hour, or piecework rates who have a regular tour of duty, and whose
appointments are not limited to 90 days or less
or who have been currently employed for a
continuous period of 90 days under one or more
appointments without a break in service."
   (2) Intermittent employees shall not be paid
for holiday or other nonwork day on which they
do no work. However, a provision for holiday
pay in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 6104, may be
incorporated in contracts with experts and
consultants employed on a temporary basis for
full-time, part-time, or intermittent service
under the authority in 5 U.S.C. 3109.
    e.   Pay for Working on a Nonwork Day
A day may be established by administrative
order as a nonwork day on other than a holiday.
In the field service, such nonwork days will
include days on which a field office is closed
by responsible administrative authority because
work may not properly be performed due to a
local, State or Territorial holiday, or holi-
day in a foreign county. Employees required
to work on a non work day shall receive their
regular straight-time pay.
    f.    Nonpay Status before and after a Holiday
An employee in a nonpay status (leave-without-
pay or absent-without-leave) for both the
workdays immediately before and after a holiday
may not receive compensation for a holiday on
which he/she performed no work since there is
no presumption that he/she would have worked
on the holiday had it been a regular working
day. (Comptroller General decisions B-187520,
February 22, 1977, B-186687, January 13, 1977,
and 9 Comptroller General 206 (1934)).
1-6. REGULARLY SCHEDULED STAND-BY DUTY PAY
a.   Authorization. Agency proposals for
additional pay under this section shall be
submitted to the Director of Personnel for
prior approval.
1-7. PAY FOR ADMINISTRATIVELY UNCONTROLLABLE WORK
   a.   Authorization. Agency proposals for
additional pay under this section shall be
submitted to the Director of Personnel for
prior approval.
1-11. PREMIUM PAY FOR INSPECTIONAL PERSONNEL
a.   Meat Inspection Work (FSIS)
   (1)   Authority. Under authority vested in the
Secretary of Agriculture by 7 U.S.C. 394, the
following provisions (which modify or extend
provisions otherwise applicable under 5 U.S.C.
55415549) shall govern the payment of premium
pay to employees engaged in meat inspection work.
   (2)   Employee Coverage. Covered within the
scope of the above are all employees, other
than full-time investigators of violations
of Federal meat inspection laws, who are engaged
in the enforcement of the Meat Inspection Act
and necessary auxiliary services, at any place
where such services are performed.*

08/29/89 (Amend. 209)                                                                       U.S. Department of Agriculture Personnel Manual

(9)-4
DPM-550

SUBCHAPTER 1 - PREMIUM PAY

* (3) Pay Provisions of 7 U.S.C. 394. The
employees covered under Subchapter 1-11a(2) of
this Chapter shall be paid in accordance with the
following:

     The provision pertaining to the limitation
     on premium compensation shall not be
     applicable. Further, employees who work
     overtime between the hours of 6 p.m. and
     6 a.m. shall receive additional
     compensation of 10 percent of their basic
     hourly rate for such night work in
     addition to their overtime rate. Also,
    the provisions pertaining to the ordering
   or approving of overtime shall not be
   applicable.

    (4)   Meaning of "Holiday". "Holiday" has the
    same meaning under these rules as it has in
    Executive Order 11582 and 5 U.S.C. 6103. The
    provisions of that Order and the Code shall be
    followed with respect to the observance of
    holidays.

b. Quarantine Work Relating to Imports and
Exports (APHIS)

(1) Authority. Pursuant to the authority vested
in the Secretary of Agriculture by 7 U.S.C. 2260
involving employees engaged in inspection and
quarantine relating to imports into and exports
from the United States, the following provisions
shall govern the payment of premium pay to the
defined group of employees.

(2) Employee coverage. Employees of the
Department who come within the scope of the above
section include employees who perform inspection
and quarantine services and necessary auxiliary
services relating to imports into and exports from
the United States at any place where such services
are performed. Only those employees engaged
in inspection, treatment, testing, or
certification of animals, animal products, birds,
plants, and plant products in connection with
their import into export from the United States
are covered by 7 U.S.C. 2260.

(3) Premium Pay Provisions of 7 U.S.C. 2260
The employees covered under Subchapter
1-11b(2) shall be paid at premium rates for
overtime, night, or holiday work, as the case
may be, in accordance with the provisions of
5 U.S.C. 55441-5549, except provided in (a)
through (e) below:

   (a)   Basic administrative workweek and
          limitation on premium pay. In computing
          the premium pay of these employees, no
          consideration shall be given to the
          provisions of 5 U.S.C. 5541-5549

        regarding the basic administrative
        workweek and the limitation on premium
        compensation.

   (b) All overtime work on Sunday shall be
        paid at twice the basic hourly rate of
        pay.

   (c) Night differential. Night differential
         shall be paid for all time worked at the
         point of inspection during such
         established hours of service that fall
         between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., including the
         2-hour minimum period defined in
        Subchapter 1-11b(3)(d) below, but
        excluding any commuted travel time.

   (d) Two-hour minimum guarantee. Employees
         shall be paid at the appropriate premium
         rate prescribed in these regulations for
         the time on duty, which shall be
         considered to be at least 2 hours in
         duration in any period of overtime or
         holiday work. However, the 2-hour
         minimum shall not apply if the work is
         in continuation of the employee's regular
         daily tour of duty or begins less than
         1-hour before their regular daily
         tour of duty.

     (e) Authorization of commuted travel
           allowance. Each period of overtime or
           holiday work may include a commuted
           travel-time period (not to exceed 3 hours
           if the inspection services are performed
           in the metropolitan area in which their
           headquarters office is located), for
           which the employee shall be paid at the
           overtime rate as determined in Subchapter
           1-11b(3) excluding (b). The amount of
           commuted travel-time period allowed and
           the circumstances under which it shall be
           paid shall be prescribed in administra-
           tive instructions to be issued by the
           head of agency concerned for the
           ports, stations, and areas in which the
           employees are located or the services
           performed.

(4 ) Meaning of "Holiday". "Holiday"
has the same meaning under these rules as
it has in Executive Order 11582 and 5
U.S.C. 6103. The provisions of that Or-
der and of the Code shall be followed with
respect to the observance of holidays.

U.S. Department of Agriculture 08/29/00 (Amend. 209)