Attachment to Compensation Policy Memorandum 99-4.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON PAY AND LEAVE ADMINISTRATION
FOR THE NEW YEAR'S DAY WEEKEND

Holidays

Q. Will the New Year's Day holiday on Saturday, January 1, 2000, be changed to another day? Will Congress or the President authorize an additional holiday?

A. No. The New Year's Day holiday will remain January 1, 2000, and there are no plans to declare an additional holiday.

Q. What day is the holiday for full-time employees who work Monday through Friday and for other employees whose basic work schedule does not include Saturday?

A. The day that will be treated as the New Year's Day holiday-i.e., an "in-lieu-of holiday"-for most of these employees is Friday, December 31, 1999. (The rules for determining in-lieu-of holidays are found in 5 U.S.C. 6103(b)-for holidays falling on Saturday-and Executive Order 11582-for holidays falling on Sunday.)

Q. What if a full-time employee has a nonworkday on Friday, such as some employees under flexible or compressed work schedules?

A. The in-lieu-of holiday for these employees is the last nonovertime workday preceding January 1, 2000. For most employees who do not work on Saturday and for whom Friday is a nonworkday, the in-lieu-of holiday for New Year's Day will be Thursday, December 30, 1999.

Q. Can an agency change an employee's in-lieu-of holiday from Friday, December 31, 1999, to Monday, January 3, 2000?

A. No-with one limited exception. An agency may select an alternative in-lieu-of holiday for employees on fixed compressed work schedules if the agency head determines that a different in-lieu-of holiday is necessary to prevent an adverse agency impact, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 6131(b).

Q. Are part-time or intermittent employees entitled to in-lieu-of holidays?

A. No, there is no authority to grant in-lieu-of holidays to part-time or intermittent employees. Part-time employees are entitled to a holiday only if they have a regularly scheduled nonovertime basic tour of duty on the actual holiday (i.e., on Saturday, January 1, 2000).

Agencies may exercise their discretionary authority to grant excused absence (administrative leave) to part-time employees whose offices are closed on a day when most full-time employees have an in-lieu-of holiday (e.g., on Friday, December 31, 1999). However, a part-time employee who works on Friday, December 31, 1999, would not receive holiday premium pay even if that day is an in-lieu-of holiday for most full-time employees.

Q. Do employees receive pay for a holiday if one occurs on the day after they resign or retire?

A. No. However, an employee for whom Friday, December 31, 1999, is an in-lieu-of holiday will be entitled to receive pay for the holiday if his or her resignation or retirement is made effective as of the end of the day on December 31.

Premium Pay and Compensatory Time Off

Q. What kinds of pay does the term "premium pay" include?

A. The term "premium pay" includes overtime, night, Sunday, and holiday pay; standby premium pay; administratively uncontrollable overtime pay; and availability pay for criminal investigators.

Q. Are all Federal employees entitled to premium pay for performing overtime work or for working on a holiday, at night, or on Sunday?

A. No. The premium pay provisions applicable to most Federal employees do not apply to members of the Senior Executive Service (SES), the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration SES, the Senior Foreign Service, Foreign Service officers, and certain other employees listed in 5 U.S.C. 5541(2). In addition, Federal firefighters are covered by a different set of premium pay rules.

Q. What rate of pay do covered employees receive for working during their regularly scheduled hours on a holiday?

A. A covered employee who performs work during his or her regularly scheduled basic tour of duty on a holiday receives his or her regular hourly rate of basic pay for each hour worked, plus an additional amount equal to the regular hourly rate of basic pay for each hour worked. This additional amount is called "holiday premium pay." The total amount of pay received equals twice the employee's regular hourly rate of basic pay for each hour worked. (Normal agency rules apply in the case of partial hours worked.)

Q. When are employees entitled to receive holiday premium pay?

A. Full-time employees on a regular work schedule (8 hours a day, 40 hours a week) receive holiday premium pay for up to 8 hours of work during their regularly scheduled basic tour of duty on a holiday or the day treated as a holiday.

Full-time employees on a flexible work schedule receive holiday premium pay for up to 8 hours of nonovertime work on a holiday or the day treated as a holiday.

Full-time employees on a fixed compressed work schedule receive holiday premium pay for up to the number of nonovertime hours in their compressed work schedule on a holiday or the day treated as a holiday.

Part-time employees who are required to perform work during a regularly scheduled basic tour of duty on a holiday are entitled to receive holiday premium pay for up to 8 hours of nonovertime work (or up to the maximum number of nonovertime hours in their compressed work schedule) on a holiday.

Q. What if an employee for whom Friday, December 31, 1999, is an in-lieu-of holiday is required to work on Saturday, January 1, 2000? Does he or she receive holiday premium pay for working on Saturday?

A. No.. For this employee, the day to be treated as a holiday for pay purposes is Friday, December 31, 1999. Any work performed on Saturday, January 1, 2000, would be considered overtime work and would be compensated at the applicable overtime pay rate or through compensatory time off (in appropriate circumstances). The same answer applies even if the employee did not work on Friday, December 31, 1999.

Q. Can an employee who is required to work during his or her regularly scheduled tour of duty on a holiday receive compensatory time off instead of holiday premium pay for that work?

A. No. An employee must be paid holiday premium pay for work performed during his or her regularly scheduled (nonovertime) tour of duty on a holiday or a day treated as a holiday (e.g., 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). Because a holiday is considered part of a full-time employee's regular 40-hour workweek (or 80 hours biweekly for employees on certain kinds of flexible or compressed work schedules), work performed during a regularly scheduled (nonovertime) tour of duty on a holiday is not considered "overtime" work. Compensatory time off is authorized as a substitute form of payment for irregular or occasional overtime work, but not for work during a regularly scheduled (nonovertime) tour of duty on a holiday. Therefore, compensatory time off cannot be authorized for work performed during that period.

Q. What if an employee performs work outside his or her regularly scheduled tour of duty on a holiday? How is he or she compensated for that work?

A. Because work performed outside a full-time employee's regular 40-hour workweek (or 80 hours biweekly for employees on certain kinds of flexible or compressed work schedules) is considered "overtime" work, an employee who performs work outside his or her regularly scheduled tour of duty on a holiday or a day treated as a holiday (e.g., 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight) would be compensated at the applicable overtime pay rate or through compensatory time off (in appropriate circumstances).

Q. What are the rules governing compensatory time off for employees who perform overtime work on a holiday?

A. In most cases, employees may request compensatory time off instead of overtime pay only if the overtime hours worked are irregular or occasional in nature (i.e., only if the work was not scheduled before the beginning of the agency-designated administrative workweek, typically Sunday through Saturday midnight). For employees under flexible work schedules, however, agencies may grant compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay for irregular or occasional overtime work or regularly scheduled overtime work.

An agency may require an employee to receive compensatory time off instead of overtime pay only if the employee is exempt from (i.e., not covered by) the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and is paid at a rate above the rate of basic pay for GS-10, step 10 (including any applicable locality payment or special salary rate).

Q. What are the rules governing pay for General Schedule (GS) employees who perform work at night on a holiday?

A. GS employees are entitled to night pay for regularly scheduled work between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Night pay for GS employees is equal to 10 percent of the employee's hourly rate of basic pay. Night pay is earned for regularly scheduled work at night even if an employee is also entitled to overtime pay/compensatory time off or Sunday premium pay for the same hours of work.

Q. What are the rules governing pay for Federal Wage System (FWS) employees who perform work at night on a holiday?

A. An FWS employee is entitled to pay for night work at his or her scheduled rate, plus a differential of 7.5 percent of his or scheduled rate for regularly scheduled nonovertime work when a majority of hours of the night work occur between 3:00 p.m. and midnight. An FWS employee is entitled to a 10 percent differential if the majority of hours of night work occur between 11:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. The term "majority of hours" means the number of whole hours greater than half of a shift (e.g., 5 hours out of a scheduled 8-hour shift). Under the FWS, a night shift differential is considered part of an employee's rate of basic pay and is used as the basis for computing holiday premium pay. An FWS employee regularly assigned to a night shift for which a night shift differential is payable is entitled to the night shift differential for periods of excused absence on a holiday or a day treated as a holiday.

Q. Can employees earn credit hours for working on a holiday?

A. Employees may not earn credit hours in lieu of receiving holiday premium pay. However, an employee on a flexible work schedule may earn credit hours, if permitted under an agency's flexible work schedule policy, for work the employee elects to perform in excess of his or her basic work requirement (typically 80 hours biweekly).

Q. What pay entitlements do employees have if they are called back to work?

A. When employees are required to return to a work site to perform irregular or occasional overtime work, they are entitled to a minimum of 2 hours of overtime pay. Employees who are assigned to work during their regularly scheduled (nonovertime) basic tour of duty on a holiday are entitled to a minimum of 2 hours of holiday premium pay. Employees who are called back to perform irregular or occasional work at night are not entitled to night pay.

Q. Are full-time employees who are required to work on Sunday, January 2, 2000, entitled to Sunday premium pay?

A. Yes, full-time employees on regular or flexible work schedules are entitled to Sunday premium pay for up to 8 hours of work for each regularly scheduled nonovertime tour of duty that begins or ends on Sunday. Employees on fixed compressed work schedules earn Sunday premium pay for all of their regularly scheduled nonovertime hours for each tour of duty that begins or ends on Sunday. Employees who are regularly scheduled to perform nonovertime work on Sunday, but who take paid leave or are granted excused absence instead, are not entitled to Sunday premium pay for that day. Part-time and intermittent employees are not entitled to Sunday premium pay.

Q. How is Sunday premium pay calculated?

A. Sunday premium pay is an amount equal to 25 percent of an employee's hourly rate of basic pay.

Q. Can employees who perform overtime work, or who work on a holiday, at night, or on Sunday, be paid for their commuting time?

A. No.

Premium Pay Limitations

Q. What limitations apply to the payment of premium pay?

A. For most employees, the total basic pay (including any applicable locality payment or special salary rate) and premium pay (i.e, overtime, night, Sunday, and holiday pay and certain other forms of premium pay) received for any one biweekly pay period may not exceed the rate of basic pay for GS-15, step 10 (including any applicable locality payment or special salary rate). However, this limitation does not apply to FWS employees or to GS employees who are nonexempt from (i.e., covered by) the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. A different biweekly premium pay limitation applies to law enforcement officers.

Q. If an employee cannot receive the full amount of overtime pay to which he or she otherwise would be entitled because of the biweekly premium pay limitation, can an agency allow the employee to earn compensatory time off instead?

A. No. Because compensatory time off is an alternative form of compensation for overtime work, an employee cannot earn compensatory time off instead of overtime pay if he or she would be unable to receive the full amount of overtime pay to which he or she otherwise would be entitled.

Q. Are there any exceptions to the biweekly premium pay limitation?

A.. Yes. Agencies are authorized to make exceptions to the biweekly limitation on premium pay when the head of an agency or his or her designee determines that an emergency involving a direct threat to life or property exists. Agencies may exercise this authority in the case of any employee who performs emergency work to resolve a direct threat to property (including monetary errors or cost) in connection with updating computer systems to prevent malfunction, erroneous computations, or other problems associated with the Y2K conversion. Agency heads are authorized to make a determination about whether or not an emergency posing a direct threat to property exists.

When an agency uses this authority, an employee who is performing emergency-related work must be paid premium pay under the annual (calendar year) limitation of GS-15, step 10, rather than under the GS-15, step 10, biweekly limitation. By exercising this authority in appropriate situations, agencies will be able to ensure that employees who perform significant amounts of overtime work (or work at night, on Sunday, or on a holiday) related to Y2K computer problems will be appropriately compensated for that work, as long as the premium pay they receive does not cause their total pay to exceed the rate for GS-15, step 10, on an annual basis.

There is no authority to authorize an annual premium pay limitation for law enforcement officers, except those who perform protective services authorized by section 3056(a) of title 18, United States Code. (See sec. 118 of Public Law 106-58, September 29, 1999.)

Q. At what point in time can an agency make the annual premium pay limitation for Y2K conversion efforts effective?

A. Because the annual premium pay limitation is applied instead of the normal biweekly premium pay limitation, it must be made effective as of the beginning of a pay period. Entitlement to premium pay under the annual limitation must be made effective on the first day of the pay period during which the emergency began, as determined by the head of the agency.

An agency may stop using the annual premium pay limitation before the end of the calendar year. However, the application of the annual premium pay limitation also must cease at the end of a pay period. It is not possible to apply an annual limitation for part of a pay period and a biweekly limitation for the remainder of the same pay period, or vice versa.

Q. When can employees involved in Y2K conversion efforts who have reached the annual premium pay limitation begin to receive premium pay again?

A. Because several agencies authorized use of the annual limitation on premium pay for certain employees involved in Y2K conversion efforts earlier this year, some employees may already have reached the GS-15, step 10, annual premium pay limitation for calendar year 1999. Such employees cannot receive any additional premium pay or compensatory time off until January 1, 2000.

Note that the annual limitation involved here-i.e., the annual rate for GS-15, step 10, including any applicable locality payment or special salary rate-will change on Sunday, January 2, 2000, when the General Schedule pay increase takes effect for most employees. The new pay rate for GS-15, step 10, is not known at this time.

Changing Work Schedules

Q. Can agencies temporarily change the regularly scheduled basic workweek of an employee to ensure that agency Y2K work requirements are met?

A. Yes. Agencies are required to schedule the work of employees to accomplish the mission of the agency. When an agency knows in advance of an administrative workweek that the specific days and hours of a day when work will be required will differ from those required in the current administrative workweek, the agency is required to reschedule the workweek in advance to correspond to those work requirements. Agencies must inform employees in advance of any changes in their work schedules. Such changes are likely to result in different premium pay entitlements for affected employees.

Leave and Excused Absence

Q. Can supervisors deny or cancel requests for leave at the end of December 1999 or the beginning of January 2000?

A. Yes. It is essential to continue the important tasks of the Government as we approach the year 2000. The head of each agency is responsible for the proper administration of leave in that agency. Each agency has the authority to decline to schedule or to cancel annual leave for work-related reasons.

Q. Will employees working on Y2K conversion efforts lose their "use or lose" annual leave?

A. No. The Office of Personnel Management has issued regulations under which "use or lose" annual leave forfeited by employees who are unable to schedule and use their annual leave as a result of Y2K conversion efforts is deemed to have been scheduled in advance and therefore eligible for restoration. Under the regulations, employees who are determined to be necessary for Y2K conversion efforts will not lose their "use or lose" annual leave. Instead, the leave will be restored without the administrative burden of scheduling and canceling the leave. (The final regulations were issued on August 25, 1999, and are posted on OPM's Internet web site at www.opm.gov/oca/leave/html/y2kleave.pdf.)

Q. Do agencies have to determine that computer conversion efforts constitute "an exigency of the public business" in order to restore annual leave?

A. No. The regulations issued by OPM specifically provide that "[y]ear 2000 computer conversion efforts are deemed to be an exigency of the public business for the purpose of restoring annual leave forfeited under 5 U.S.C. 6304." There is no need for an agency to make a separate determination to this effect. The exigency declared for this purpose began on August 25, 1999 (the effective date of the final regulations), and terminates on January 31, 2000. An agency is not authorized to establish a different beginning or ending date for the exigency declared by OPM's regulation.

Q. What should an agency do in the event of Y2K problems that prevent employees from working?

A. Agencies and employees in the Washington, DC, area should follow the "emergency dismissal or closure procedures" issued by OPM on October 4, 1999. (These procedures are posted on OPM's Internet web site at www.opm.gov/oca/compmemo/1999/dismissal.htm.) Similar procedures have been established by Federal Executive Boards, Federal Executive Associations, or individual Federal agencies for employees outside the Washington, DC, area. Outside the United States, Federal agencies and civilian Federal employees should follow the procedures established by the Chief of Mission in each area.

Q. Who are "emergency employees" for Y2K purposes?

A. The term "emergency employees" is used to designate those employees who must report for work in emergency situations, such as possible Y2K work disruptions. Agencies are responsible for identifying "emergency employees" and notifying them in writing that they are designated as "emergency employees." Employees designated as "emergency employees" for the purpose of possible Y2K work disruptions typically will include those on the agency's "business recovery team" or "day 1 team."

Q. What if an "emergency employee" refuses to report for work?

A. If an "emergency employee" refuses to report for work after being ordered to do so, he or she should be considered absent without leave (AWOL) and may be charged with insubordination. (AWOL is an absence from duty that is not authorized or approved-including leave not approved until required documentation is submitted-or for which a leave request has been denied.) If it is later determined that an absence without prior approval was excusable, or that the employee was ill or injured, the charge to AWOL may be changed to annual leave, sick leave, or leave without pay, as appropriate.

Q. If an employee separates prior to the New Year's Day holiday or the day treated as a holiday, will he or she accrue leave for a pay period ending on Saturday, January 1, 2000?

A. Yes. An employee accrues leave for each full biweekly pay period in which he or she is employed. By law, an employee is deemed to be employed for a full biweekly pay period for leave accrual purposes if he or she is employed during the days within that period, exclusive of holidays and other nonworkdays that fall within the basic administrative workweek.

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