General

Under chapter 61 of title 5, United States Code, agencies have discretionary authority to allow use flexible work schedules. Under a flexible work schedule, a full-time employee may complete their hour biweekly basic work requirement by determining their own work schedule (i.e., work starting and stopping times and breaks) within the limits set by the agency. An agency may limit the number of basic work requirement hours an employee may work on a daily basis (such as, no more than 10 hours per day) or in a workweek. Also, agency-established limits include core hours when an employee is required by the agency to be present for work and flexible hours (or “flexible time bands”) during which the employee may choose to vary their arrival and departure times. (As a minimum requirement, a flexible work schedule must have at least 2 core hours on each of 2 workdays within a biweekly pay period.) An agency may determine whether an unpaid meal break is generally required as part of a flexible work schedule. Under certain flexible work schedules (e.g., maxiflex), an employee may have longer workdays and work less than 10 workdays biweekly or have shorter workdays and work more than the 10 workdays biweekly (e.g., work on Saturday). A flexible work schedule can help an employee to balance work and personal responsibilities/preferences. For example, an employee may wish to adjust working hours to accommodate doctor appointments, dependent care issues, or other family issues. Bargaining unit employees may participate in flexible work schedules only to the extent provided for in a collective bargaining agreement. (See OPM Handbook on Alternative Work Schedules and OPM’s fact sheet Alternative Flexible Work Schedules.)