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320 FW 10 |
New Date: October 31, 2008 Series: Vehicle and Equipment Management Part 320: Motor Vehicle Management Originating Office: Division of Contracting and Facilities Management |
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10.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? This chapter describes our policy for Home-To-Work (HTW) transportation. HTW transportation is the use of a Government motor vehicle to transport an employee between his/her home and place of work.
10.2 What are the authorities for this chapter? See 320 FW 1.3 for a list of authorities for all the chapters in Part 320.
10.3 What terms do you need to know to understand this chapter? See 320 FW 1.5 if you need a definition for a term used in this chapter.
10.4 Who is responsible for HTW transportation?
A. The Secretary of the Interior is the only official who may authorize the use of a Government motor vehicle between an employee’s residence and place of employment. This cannot be delegated.
B. The Assistant Director – Business Management and Operations is responsible for preparing and disseminating policy on HTW transportation.
C. The Senior Fleet Manager, located in the Washington Office, Division of Contracting and Facilities Management (CFM), is responsible for:
(1) Sending determination requests to the Department of the Interior after receiving all appropriate approvals within the Service;
(2) Annually monitoring HTW transportation use; and
(3) Preparing various reports to Congress.
10.5 Under what circumstances may employees request HTW transportation? There are five categories of circumstances where employees may request HTW transportation.
A. Field Work. Employees may request HTW transportation when official work requires an employee's presence at location(s) other than his/her regular duty station. Employees should only request HTW transportation for field work when it substantially contributes to the efficiency and economy of the Government. It should put fewer miles on the Government vehicle for the employee to travel from his/her home to the location of the field work than to travel from his/her permanent duty station to the field work location.
(1) Examples of employees engaged in field work include, but are not limited to, certain law enforcement officers, auditors, investigators, scientists, and quality assurance specialists. Their jobs may require travel to several locations, including remote locations accessible only by Government-provided transportation.
(2) Assignment of an employee to a field work position does not entitle the employee to request and receive HTW transportation.
(3) We may not seek authorization for HTW for:
(a) Field work when the employee's workday begins at his/her official Government duty station, and
(b) When the employee normally commutes to a field location, no matter how far removed from his or her official duty station. For example, auditors or investigators assigned to a contractor site do not qualify for HTW to that site. Although their daily work station is not located in a Government facility, these employees are not performing field work and are responsible for their own transportation to and from work.
(4) We may only request HTW transportation for days when the employee actually performs field work.
B. Situations that Present a Clear and Present Danger. Employees may request HTW transportation for those highly unusual circumstances that present a threat to the physical safety of the employee's person or property under circumstances where:
(1) The danger is real, immediate, or imminent, not merely potential; and
(2) The use of a Government motor vehicle would provide protection not otherwise available.
C. Compelling Operational Considerations. Employees may request HTW transportation for those circumstances where HTW transportation is essential to conducting official business or would substantially contribute to the Service’s efficiency and economy. We may request HTW transportation if other available alternatives would involve substantial additional costs to the Government or expenditures of employee time.
(1) This authority is for employees who require occasional Government motor vehicle transportation, under the HTW authority.
(2) The circumstances for this authority could be, but are not limited to, trips to attend meetings or training, obtain goods and services, and conduct occasional inspections.
D. Emergencies. Employees may request HTW transportation whenever there is an immediate, unforeseeable, temporary need to ensure the uninterrupted performance of the agency's mission.
E. Investigators and Law Enforcement Personnel. Employees serving in positions essential to the safe and efficient performance of intelligence, counterintelligence, protective services, criminal investigations, or law enforcement duties may request HTW transportation.
10.6 When the Secretary authorizes HTW transportation, what are the limits for using it? Employees may only use HTW transportation on days when they are performing official duties and HTW transportation is absolutely required. The use of a Government motor vehicle is not for the personal comfort or convenience of the employee. Being assigned to visit other Government activities or subject to on-call duty on a 24-hour basis is not adequate justification for HTW transportation.
10.7 May a Government contractor use a vehicle for HTW? Contractors must not use Government-owned, leased, or rented (non-TDY) motor vehicles for HTW transportation, unless authorized in accordance with 31 U.S.C. 1344.
10.8 May an employee use a Service motor vehicle for HTW while on Official Temporary Duty Travel? Yes. Employees may use a Government motor vehicle for HTW transportation in conjunction with official travel without getting authorization from the Secretary.
A. Employees must have a temporary duty assignment away from a designated or regular place of employment and an approved Travel Authorization (TA). The TA must include the use of the Government vehicle.
B. While on authorized travel, employees may also use a Government motor vehicle to go from his/her residence and the common carrier terminal or from the terminal to his/her residence.
10.9 May passengers ride with an authorized user? Employees using HTW transportation may share space in a Government vehicle with passengers if they have space and:
A. The vehicle does not travel additional distances to accommodate a passenger. All the employee’s travel must be for the official performance of duties.
B. The passenger also has HTW transportation approval.
10.10 What if it is more cost-effective for the Service to use HTW transportation? Sometimes it is more cost-effective for the Service to provide an employee a vehicle for HTW transportation instead of having the employee travel a long distance to pick up a vehicle and then drive back toward or beyond his/her residence to perform his/her job.
A. The supervisor should consider basing the vehicle at a Government facility near the employee's job site.
B. If such a solution is not feasible, the supervisor must decide if using a Government vehicle for HTW work fits the definition of compelling operational considerations (section 10.5C).
C. The Secretary will approve HTW transportation in these cases only if alternatives would involve substantial additional cost to the Government or the expenditure of substantial additional employee time.
10.11 How does an employee request HTW authorization? We use a determination request memorandum to seek authorization for HTW transportation. Each determination request must include facts and circumstances that clearly demonstrate how the use of a Government vehicle will substantially increase the Service’s efficiency and economy or how it is essential to the conduct of official business. See Exhibit 1 for detailed information about what to include in the memorandum and for how long the approval lasts.
A. The immediate supervisor of the employee requesting HTW transportation prepares and approves the determination request.
B. The request moves through the supervisory chain of command for approval to:
(1) The Chief, CFM,
(2) The Assistant Director – Business Management and Operations, and
(3) The Director.
C. If the Director approves the request, he/she sends it to the Director, Office of Acquisition and Property Management. Then it goes to the appropriate Assistant Secretary for concurrence and on to the Secretary for approval.
10.12 How does the Service terminate HTW transportation authorizations?
A. The employee’s immediate supervisor must prepare a notification and send it through the chain of command to the Senior Fleet Manager in CFM when any of the following circumstances occur:
(1) He/she wants to cancel a previously approved determination;
(2) The employee or position no longer requires HTW transportation; or
(3) The determination expires and is not being renewed.
B. The Senior Fleet Manager will review the notification and send it to the Department’s Office of Acquisition and Property Management. The notification must include:
(1) The employee name(s) or position title(s),
(2) A copy of the determination, and
(3) The approval date(s).
10.13 How does the Service report HTW transportation use? Motor vehicle operators and passengers using HTW transportation must record each trip on a monthly HTW Transportation Log.
A. Logs must establish that any HTW transportation was used for official purposes and at a minimum, include the following:
(1) Name and title of the employee and passenger(s) using the vehicle,
(2) Signature of the vehicle operator and his/her supervisor,
(3) Date(s) of use,
(4) Location(s),
(5) Duration of HTW transportation,
(6) Circumstances requiring the HTW transportation, and
(7) Approval letter signed by the Secretary.
B. Log Submission Process.
(1) The employee completes the log, and he/she and the supervisor sign each page of the log.
(2) The supervisor keeps a copy and gives a copy to the Regional Property Manager.
(3) The Regional Property Manager keeps a copy for audit purposes.
C. Employees operating ambulances, certain trucks and buses, marked police and fire vehicles, and unmarked vehicles that law enforcement officers use do not need to prepare and submit monthly HTW transportation logs. Users of these vehicles should consult the Regional Property Manager and the appropriate Solicitor's Office about this exclusion.
10.14 What reports are due to Congress and the Department?
A. The Senior Fleet Manager must report authorized HTW transportation determinations and transportation usage to the following Congressional committees no later than 60 calendar days after approval. He/she can consolidate subsequent determinations into a single report and submit it quarterly.
(1) Chairman, Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, Suite SD-340, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510-6250, and
(2) Chairman, Committee on Governmental Reform, United States House of Representatives, Suite 2157, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515-6143.
B. The Senior Fleet Manager must promptly report exercised contingency determinations to the Department’s Office of Acquisition and Property Management within 15 working days after the last day of usage. He/she provides the following information:
(1) The name and title of the employee,
(2) The organizational title,
(3) The reason justifying the use of the contingency determination, and
(4) The dates when the usage began and ended, or will end.
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