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Alternative Work Schedules FAQs
- Can I choose my own work schedule?
- Managers must assign work schedules to ensure that the Laboratory addresses its business demands. However, managers are expected to take employee preferences into account where possible.
- Do managers have the final say in employees' schedules?
- Yes. Managers are tasked with ensuring that the programmatic deliverables and commitments are met and that there is ready access to information and services, and coverage during the regular business hours of 8:00am - 5:00pm, M-F. Therefore, managers have ultimate responsibility and authority for assigning schedules.
- I do not like the schedule my manager assigned to me and wish to file a formal complaint. What do I do?
- To ensure that the needs of internal and external customers are met, final approval for each worker's schedule rests with the worker's manager. Consequently, the assignment of a worker to a particular work schedule is not subject to a complaint filed under AM 111, Complaint Resolution, except for claims that your manager assigned an unwanted schedule as a result of discrimination or retaliation in violation of LANL policies and procedures. However, on an informal basis, you may bring your concerns to your division and directorate-level managers. The Ombuds Office is also available to assist you.
- How should employees and supervisors plan alternative work schedules?
- Employees should work with their managers to discuss the programmatic and business needs of their organization. Based on the work and programmatic needs of the organization, employees should consider which work schedule will work best for them and for the organization in order to meet commitments. Managers should then plan schedules and cross-train employees to cover for each other. Managers will need to consider how programmatic, safety, and operational goals and objectives can be met with alternative work schedules in their workforce. Coverage for all project deadlines and customer service requirements must be met and all offices must be available for work during business hours (8:00 am-5:00 pm M-F).
- Will employees be able to change the work schedule if their situation changes?
- Changes to an employee's schedule may only be made twice a year only, but can take place anytime (not just May and November as previously customary), or when an employee requires a temporary schedule change to accommodate major life changes (e.g. care for seriously ill near-relative, death of spouse, adoption of child). Managers may temporarily change an employee's schedule because of business demands. All such changes must be for a minimum of two weeks.
- Can a manager request a change to an employee work schedule once it has been approved?
- Yes, a manager may require an employee to temporarily change the work schedule when a manager experiences unforeseen business conditions that cannot be handled otherwise. In rare cases where an organization finds that it cannot provide required services during normal business hours under the approved work schedule, a manager may require that employees permanently change their schedule to accommodate the business needs of the group.
- As a subcontractor worker, do I qualify for the alternative work schedules?
- Subcontractors and other contingent workers whose schedules typically match LANL organizations can work an alternative work schedule if their employers' policies allow such a schedule.
- Does the Instruction apply to all LANS employees?
- The only LANS employees this policy does not apply to are those who are part-time, casual, or shift employees, including employees who are regularly scheduled to work on Saturday or Sunday.
- What happens if I am approved for a 9/80 and work on my “off” day?
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Approved work schedules or work days may not be randomly changed by exempt or non-exempt employees, but occasionally exempt workers may request, and managers may approve, a Friday “swap” if business requirement allow (i.e., exempt workers may swap their scheduled B Friday for an A Friday). An occasional one-time swap does not count against the longer-term schedule changes allowed twice a year.
Personal reschedules: Exempt workers on the 9/80 may request a personal reschedule of a Friday-off if any hours during the same workweek were missed because of a personal or family illness or vacation. Exempt workers on the 4.5/40, 5/40, or 9/80 schedule may request a reschedule to make up an absence by working the equivalent time in the same workweek. (For example, an exempt employee would not charge a Tuesday to sick leave and instead work the required hours on the normally scheduled Friday-off.)
If you are non-exempt, you must get supervisor approval to work the “off” day and you will be paid for your time.
- What are the criteria for employees to be on the 4/10 schedule?
- The criteria for employees to be on the 4/10 schedule have not changed. This schedule is available only when an organizational unit must be on the 4/10 schedule to meet customer and program demands.
- What are the rules for employees who are approved for a 9/80 schedule?
- Employees assigned to the 9/80 schedule are required to work every other Friday — four 9-hour days one week and four 9-hour days plus one 8-hour day the following week. In addition, all employees on a 9/80 schedule are required to take a lunch break of at least 30 minutes each workday. The employee is not required to work the tenth day, which must be every other Friday. The Friday of the following week will be the scheduled eight-hour workday.
- What happens when I am scheduled to work 9 or 10 hours on a holiday?
- Because of the different schedules worked at the Laboratory, holidays will still be paid as 8-hour days. When a holiday falls on a day that a full-time non-exempt employee would have been scheduled to work more than 8 hours, supervisors may approve the employee to work an extra hour or two hours in the same week, or the employee may report the difference as Vacation.
- What if my day off corresponds with a holiday?
- If an employee has a scheduled day off on an observed holiday, the workday immediately before or after the holiday may be observed as the holiday, provided it falls in the same workweek. Managers must approve the scheduling of the alternate holiday based first on business considerations and second on employee preference.
- What if I go on an alternate work schedule and find out it does not work for me and I want to change my schedule back to a 5/40?
- You can negotiate a change with your manager the anytime during the year but only twice a year total.
- Will managers be included in the alternate work schedules?
- All managers are eligible to participate in alternate work schedules. Business and programmatic commitments and deliverables must be met while maintaining the quality and responsiveness of service and support to the Laboratory.
- I would like to be on a 9/80 schedule; can I skip my 30-minute lunch break so that I do not have to be here 9.5 hours?
- No. All employees on a 9/80 schedule, including both exempt and non-exempt employees, must take a lunch break of at least 30 minutes.
- How much weight should the supervisor give to childcare and carpool schedules or other personal employee preferences versus programmatic needs?
- The manager and the employee must balance the quality of employee worklife with the institutional imperative to meet programmatic deliverables and fulfill operational requirements. Programmatic need, information access, and coverage must always be considered. As long as the employee and the supervisor can cover their programmatic responsibilities, then together they should consider personal needs in approving work schedules consistent with the criteria of the Alternative Work Schedule policies.
- If I am sick on a Tuesday (9 hours) and I am supposed to have Friday off, can I make up the time by working on my Friday off?
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A non-exempt employee may request a personal reschedule for up to four hours in a week. Thus the supervisor could approve the employee to work on Friday, but only four hours could be used to make up the sick day. An exempt employee would charge the Tuesday to sick leave.
Exempt workers on the 4.5/40, 5/40, or 9/80 schedule may request a reschedule to make up an absence by working the equivalent time in the same workweek. (For example, an exempt employee would not charge a Tuesday to sick leave and instead work the required hours on the normally scheduled Friday-off.)
- Will the Alternate Work Schedule be permanent?
- The Alternate Work Schedule is in effect until further notice.
