CHAPTER 61 - HOURS OF WORK
Title 5 > CHAPTER 61
Sections (39)
§ 6101 Basic 40-hour workweek; work schedules; regulations
(a) For the purpose of this subsection, “employee” includes an employee of the government of the District of Columbia and an employee whose pay is fixed and adjusted from time to time under section 5343 or 5349 of this title, or by a wage board or similar administrative authority serving the same purpose, but does not include an employee or individual excluded from the definition of employee in section 5541(2) of this title , except as specifically provided under this paragraph. The head of each Executive agency, military department, and of the government of the District of Columbia shall— establish a basic administrative workweek of 40 hours for each full-time employee in his organization; and require that the hours of work within that workweek be performed within a period of not more than 6 of any 7 consecutive days. Except when the head of an Executive agency, a military department, or of the government of the District of Columbia determines that his organization would be seriously handicapped in carrying out its functions or that costs would be substantially increased, he shall provide, with respect to each employee in his organization, that— assignments to tours of duty are scheduled in advance over periods of not less than 1 week; the basic 40-hour workweek is scheduled on 5 days, Monday through Friday when possible, and the 2 days outside the basic workweek are consecutive; the working hours in each day in the basic workweek are the same; the basic nonovertime workday may not exceed 8 hours; the occurrence of holidays may not affect the designation of the basic workweek; and breaks in working hours of more than 1 hour may not be scheduled in a basic workday. Notwithstanding paragraph (3) of this subsection, the head of an Executive agency, a military department, or of the government of the District of Columbia may establish special tours of duty, of not less than 40 hours, to enable employees to take courses in nearby colleges, universities, or other educational institutions that will equip them for more effective work in the agency. Premium pay may not be paid to an employee solely because his special tour of duty established under this paragraph results in his working on a day or at a time of day for which premium pay is otherwise authorized. The Architect of the Capitol may apply this subsection to employees under the Office of the Architect of the Capitol or the Botanic Garden. The Librarian of Congress may apply this subsection to employees under the Library of Congress.
(b) For the purpose of this subsection, “agency” and “employee” have the meanings given them by section 5541 of this title . To the maximum extent practicable, the head of an agency shall schedule the time to be spent by an employee in a travel status away from his official duty station within the regularly scheduled workweek of the employee.
(c) The Office of Personnel Management may prescribe regulations, subject to the approval of the President, necessary for the administration of this section insofar as this section affects employees in or under an Executive agency.
“Section 1
This Act [enacting section 5550a of this title and this note] may be cited as the ‘Federal Employees Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act of 1978’.
“Sec. 2
The Congress finds that new trends in the usage of 4-day workweeks, flexible work hours, and other variations in workday and workweek schedules in the private sector appear to show sufficient promise to warrant carefully designed, controlled, and evaluated experimentation by Federal agencies to determine whether and in what situations such varied work schedules can be successfully used by Federal agencies on a permanent basis. The Congress also finds that there should be sufficient flexibility in the work schedules of Federal employees to allow such employees to meet the obligations of their faith.
“Sec. 3
For purposes of this Act (other than title IV) [this note]— the term ‘agency’ means an Executive agency and a military department (as such terms are defined in sections 105 and 102, respectively, of title 5, United States Code); the term ‘employ’ has the meaning given it by section 2105 of title 5 , United States Code; the term ‘Commission’ means the United States Civil Service Commission; and the term ‘basic work requirement’ means the number of hours, excluding overtime hours, which an employee is required to work or is required to account for by leave or otherwise.
“Sec. 4
(a) Within 180 days after the effective date of this section, and subject to the requirements of section 302 and the terms of any written agreement referred to in section 302(a), the Commission shall establish a program which provides for the conducting of experiments by the Commission under titles I and II of this Act. Such experimental program shall cover a sufficient number of positions throughout the executive branch, and a sufficient range of worktime alternatives, as to provide an adequate basis on which to evaluate the effectiveness and desirability of permanently maintaining flexible or compressed work schedules within the executive branch. Each agency may conduct one or more experiments under titles I and II of this Act. Such experiments shall be subject to such regulations as the Commission may prescribe under section 305 of this Act.
(“(b) The Commission shall, not later than 90 days after the effective date of this section, establish a master plan which shall contain guidelines and criteria by which the Commission will study and evaluate experiments conducted under titles I and II of this Act. Such master plan shall provide for the study and evaluation of experiments within a sample of organizations of different size, geographic location, and functions and activities, sufficient to insure adequate evaluation of the impact of varied work schedules on— the efficiency of Government operations; mass transit facilities and traffic; levels of energy consumption; service to the public; increased opportunities for full-time and part-time employment; and individuals and families generally.
(“(c) The Commission shall provide educational material, and technical aids and assistance, for use by an agency before and during the period such agency is conducting experiments under this Act [enacting section 5550a of this title and this note].
(“(d) If the head of an agency determines that the implementation of an experimental program referred to in subsection (a) would substantially disrupt the agency in carrying out its functions, such agency head shall request the Commission to exempt such agency from the requirements of any experiment conducted by the Commission under subsection (a). Such request shall be accompanied by a report detailing the reasons for such determination. The Commission shall exempt an agency from such requirements only if it finds that including the agency within the experiment would not be in the best interest of the public, the Government, or the employees. The filing of such a request with the Commission shall exclude the agency from the experiment until the Commission has made its determination or until 180 days after the date the request is filed, whichever first occurs.
“Sec. 101
For purposes of this title— the term ‘credit hours’ means any hours, within a flexible schedule established under this title, which are in excess of an employee’s basic work requirement and which the employee elects to work so as to vary the length of a workweek or a workday; and the term ‘overtime hours’ means all hours in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week which are officially ordered in advance, but does not include credit hours.
“Sec. 102
(a) Notwithstanding section 6101 of title 5 , United States Code, experiments may be conducted in agenices [agencies] to test flexible schedules which include— designated hours and days during which an employee on such a schedule must be present for work; and designated hours during which an employee on such a schedule may elect the time of such employee’s arrival at and departure from work, solely for such purpose or, if and to the extent permitted, for the purpose of accumulating credit hours to reduce the length of the workweek or another workday. An election by an employee referred to in paragraph (2) shall be subject to limitations generally prescribed to ensure that the duties and requirements of the employee’s position are fulfilled.
(“(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act [enacting section 5550a of this title and this note], but subject to the terms of any written agreement under section 302(a)— any experiment under subsection (a) of this section may be terminated by the Commission if it determines that the experiment is not in the best interest of the public, the Government, or the employees; or if the head of an agency determines that any organization within the agency which is participating in an experiment under subsection (a) is being substantially disrupted in carrying out its functions or is incurring additional costs because of such participation, such agency head may— restrict the employees’ choice of arrival and departure time, restrict the use of credit hours, or exclude from such experiment any employee or group of employees.
(“(c) Experiments under subsection (a) shall terminate not later than the first day of the second pay period beginning after July 4, 1982 .
“Sec. 103
(a) For purposes of determining compensation for overtime hours in the case of an employee participating in an experiment under section 102— the head of an agency may, on request of the employee, grant the employee compensatory time off in lieu of payment for such overtime hours, whether or not irregular or occasional in nature and notwithstanding the provisions of sections 5542(a), 5543(a)(1), 5544(a), and 5550 of title 5, United States Code, section 4107(e)(5) of title 38 , United States Code section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended [ section 207 of Title 29 , Labor], or any other provision of law; or the employee shall be compensated for such overtime hours in accordance with such provisions, as applicable.
(“(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of law referred to in paragraph (1) of subsection (a), an employee shall not be entitled to be compensated for credit hours worked except to the extent authorized under section 106 or to the extent such employee is allowed to have such hours taken into account with respect to the employee’s basic work requirement.
(“(c) Notwithstanding section 5545(a) of title 5 , United States Code, premium pay for nightwork will not be paid to an employee otherwise subject to such section solely because the employee elects to work credit hours, or elects a time of arrival or departure, at a time of day from which such premium pay is otherwise authorized; except that— if an employee is on a flexible schedule under which— the number of hours during which such employee must be present for work, plus the number of hours during which such employee may elect to work credit hours or elect the time of arrival at and departure from work, which occur outside of the night work hours designated in or under such section 5545(a) total less than 8 hours, such premium pay shall be paid for those hours which, when combined with such total, do not exceed 8 hours, and if an employee is on a flexible schedule under which the hours that such employee must be present for work include any hours designated in or under such section 5545(a), such premium pay shall be paid for such hours so designated. Notwithstanding section 5343(f) of title 5 , United States Code, and 4107(e)(2) of title 38, United States Code, night differential will not be paid to any employee otherwise subject to either of such sections solely because such employee elects to work credit hours, or elects a time of arrival or departure, at a time of day for which night differential is otherwise authorized; except that such differential shall be paid to an employee on a flexible schedule under this title— in the case of an employee subject to such section 5343(f), for which all or a majority of the hours of such schedule for any day fall between the hours specified in such section, or in the case of an employee subject to such section 4107(e)(2), for which 4 hours of such schedule fall between the hours specified in such section.
“Sec. 104
Notwithstanding sections 6103 and 6104 of title 5, United States Code, if any employee on a flexible schedule under this title is relieved or prevented from working on a day designated as a holiday by Federal statute or Executive order, such employee is entitled to pay with respect to that day for 8 hours (or, in the case of a part-time employee, an appropriate portion of the employee’s biweekly basic work requirement as determined under regulations prescribed by the Commission).
“Sec. 105
Notwithstanding section 6106 of title 5 , United States Code, the Commission or an agency may use recording clocks as part of its experiments under this title.
“Sec. 106
(a) Subject to any limitation prescribed by the Commission or the agency, a full-time employee on a flexible schedule can accumulate not more than 10 credit hours, and a part-time employee can accumulate not more than one-eighth of the hours in such employee’s biweekly basic work requirement, for carryover from a biweekly pay period to a succeeding biweekly pay period for credit to the basic work requirement for such period.
(“(b) Any employee who is on a flexible schedule experiment under this title and who is no longer subject to such an experiment shall be paid at such employee’s then current rate of basic pay for— in the case of a full-time employee, not more than 10 credit hours accumulated by such employee, or in the case of a part-time employee, the number of credit hours (not in excess of one-eighth of the hours in such employee’s biweekly basic work requirement) accumulated by such employee.
“Sec. 201
For purposes of this title— the term ‘compressed schedule’ means— in the case of a full-time employee, an 80-hour biweekly basic work requirement which is scheduled for less than 10 workdays, and in the case of a part-time employee, a biweekly basic work requirement of less than 80 hours which is scheduled for less than 10 workdays; and the term ‘overtime hours’ means any hours in excess of those specified hours which constitute the compressed schedule.
“Sec. 202
(a) Notwithstanding section 6101 of title 5 , United States Code, experiments may be conducted in agencies to test a 4-day work-week or other compressed schedule.
(“(b) An employee in a unit with respect to which an organization of Government employees has not been accorded exclusive recognition shall not be required to participate in any experiment under subsection (a) unless a majority of the employees in such unit who, but for this paragraph, would be included in such experiment have voted to be so included. Upon written request to any agency by an employee, the agency, if it determines that participation in an experiment under subsection (a) would impose a personal hardship on such employee, shall— except such employee from such experiment; or reassign such employee to the first position within the agency— which becomes vacant after such determination, which is not included within such experiment, for which such employee is qualified, and which is acceptable to the employee. A determination by an agency under this paragraph shall be made not later than 10 days after the day on which a written request for such determination is received by the agency.
(“(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act [enacting section 5550a of this title and this note], but subject to the terms of any written agreement under section 302(a), any experiment under subsection (a) may be terminated by the Commission, or the agency, if it determines that the experiment is not in the best interest of the public, the Government, or the employees.
(“(d) Experiments under subsection (a) shall terminate not later than the end of the first day of the second pay period beginning after July 4, 1982 .
“Sec. 203
(a) The provisions of sections 5542(a), 5544(a), and 5550(2) of title 5, United States Code, section 4107(e)(5) of title 38 , United States Code, section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended [ section 207 of Title 29 , Labor], or any other law, which relate to premium pay for overtime work, shall not apply to the hours which constitute a compressed schedule.
(“(b) In the case of any full-time employee, hours worked in excess of the compressed schedule shall be overtime hours and shall be paid for as provided by whichever statutory provisions referred to in subsection (a) are applicable to the employee. In the case of any part-time employee on a compressed schedule, overtime pay shall begin to be paid after the same number of hours of work after which a full-time employee on a similar schedule would begin to receive overtime pay.
(“(c) Notwithstanding section 5544(a), 5546(a), or 5550(1) of title 5, United States Code, or any other applicable provision of law, in the case of any full-time employee on a compressed schedule who performs work (other than overtime work) on a tour of duty for any workday a part of which is performed on a Sunday, such employee is entitled to pay for work performed during the entire tour of duty at the rate of such employee’s basic pay, plus premium pay at a rate equal to 25 percent of such basic pay rate.
(“(d) Notwithstanding section 5546(b) of title 5 , United States Code, an employee on a compressed schedule who performs work on a holiday designated by Federal statute or Executive order is entitled to pay at the rate of such employee’s basic pay, plus premium pay at a rate equal to such basic pay rate, for such work which is not in excess of the basic work requirement of such employee for such day. For hours worked on such a holiday in excess of the basic work requirement for such day, the employee is entitled to premium pay in accordance with the provisions of section 5542(a) or 5544(a) of title 5, United States Code, as applicable, or the provisions of section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended [ section 207 of Title 29 , Labor], whichever provisions are more beneficial to the employee.
“Sec. 301
For purposes of administering sections 6303(a), 6304, 6307(a) and (c), 6323, 6326, and 8339(m) of title 5, United States Code, in the case of an employee who is in any experiment under title I or II, references to a day or workday (or to multiples or parts thereof) contained in such sections shall be considered to be references to 8 hours (or to the respective multiples or parts thereof).
“Sec. 302
(a) Employees within a unit with respect to which an organization of Government employees has been accorded exclusive recognition shall not be included within any experiment under title I or II of this Act except to the extent expressly provided under a written agreement between the agency and such organization.
(“(b) The Commission or an agency may not participate in a flexible or compressed schedule experiment under a negotiated contract which contains premium pay provisions which are inconsistent with the provisions of section 103 or 203 of this Act, as applicable.
“Sec. 303
(a) An employee may not directly or indirectly intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any other employee for the purpose of interfering with— such employee’s rights under title I to elect a time of arrival or departure, to work or not to work credit hours, or to request or not to request compensatory time off in lieu of payment for overtime hours; or such employee’s right under section 202(b)(1) to vote whether or not to be included within a compressed schedule experiment or such employee’s right to request an agency determination under section 202(b)(2). For the purpose of the preceding sentence, the term ‘intimidate, threaten, or coerce’ includes, but is not limited to, promising to confer or conferring any benefit (such as appointment, promotion, or compensation), or effecting or threatening to effect any reprisal (such as deprivation of appointment, promotion, or compensation).
(“(b) Any employee who violates the provisions of subsection (a) shall, upon a final order of the Commission, be— removed from such employee’s position, in which event that employee may not thereafter hold any position as an employee for such period as the Commission may prescribe; suspended without pay from such employee’s position for such period as the Commission may prescribe; or disciplined in such other manner as the Commission shall deem appropriate. The commission shall prescribe procedures to carry out this subsection under which an employee subject to removal, suspension, or other disciplinary action shall have rights comparable to the rights afforded an employee subject to removal or suspension under subchapter III of chapter 73 of title 5, United States Code, relating to certain prohibited political activities.
“Sec. 304
Not later than 2½ years after the effective date of titles I and II of this Act, the Commission shall— prepare an interim report containing recommendations as to what, if any, legislative or administrative action shall be taken based upon the results of experiments conducted under this Act [enacting section 5550a of this title and this note], and submit copies of such report to the President, the Speaker of the House, and the President pro tempore of the Senate. The Commission shall prepare a final report with regard to experiments conducted under this Act [enacting section 5550a of this title and this note] and shall submit copies of such report to the President, the Speaker of the House, and the President pro tempore of the Senate not later than 3 years after such effective date.
“Sec. 305
The Commission shall prescribe regulations necessary for the administration of the foregoing provisions of this Act [enacting section 5550a of this title and this note].
“Sec. 306
The provisions of section 4 and titles I and II of this Act shall take effect on the 180th day after— the date of the enactment of this Act [ Sept. 29, 1978 ], or October 1, 1978 , whichever date is later.”
[§ 6102 Repealed. Pub. L. 92–392, § 7(a), Aug. 19, 1972, 86 Stat. 573]
§ 6103 Holidays
(a) The following are legal public holidays: New Year’s Day, January 1. Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., the third Monday in January. Washington’s Birthday, the third Monday in February. Memorial Day, the last Monday in May. Juneteenth National Independence Day, June 19. Independence Day, July 4. Labor Day, the first Monday in September. Columbus Day, the second Monday in October. Veterans Day, November 11. Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November. Christmas Day, December 25.
(b) For the purpose of statutes relating to pay and leave of employees, with respect to a legal public holiday and any other day declared to be a holiday by Federal statute or Executive order, the following rules apply: Instead of a holiday that occurs on a Saturday, the Friday immediately before is a legal public holiday for— employees whose basic workweek is Monday through Friday; and the purpose of section 6309 1 of this title. Instead of a holiday that occurs on a regular weekly non-workday of an employee whose basic workweek is other than Monday through Friday, except the regular weekly non-workday administratively scheduled for the employee instead of Sunday, the workday immediately before that regular weekly nonworkday is a legal public holiday for the employee. Instead of a holiday that is designated under subsection (a) to occur on a Monday, for an employee at a duty post outside the United States whose basic workweek is other than Monday through Friday, and for whom Monday is a regularly scheduled workday, the legal public holiday is the first workday of the workweek in which the Monday designated for the observance of such holiday under subsection (a) occurs. This subsection, except subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1), does not apply to an employee whose basic workweek is Monday through Saturday.
(c) January 20 of each fourth year after 1965, Inauguration Day, is a legal public holiday for the purpose of statutes relating to pay and leave of employees as defined by section 2105 of this title and individuals employed by the government of the District of Columbia employed in the District of Columbia, Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties in Maryland, Arlington and Fairfax Counties in Virginia, and the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church in Virginia. When January 20 of any fourth year after 1965 falls on Sunday, the next succeeding day selected for the public observance of the inauguration of the President is a legal public holiday for the purpose of this subsection.
(d) For purposes of this subsection— the term “compressed schedule” has the meaning given such term by section 6121(5); and the term “adverse agency impact” has the meaning given such term by section 6131(b). An agency may prescribe rules under which employees on a compressed schedule may, in the case of a holiday that occurs on a regularly scheduled non-workday for such employees, and notwithstanding any other provision of law or the terms of any collective bargaining agreement, be required to observe such holiday on a workday other than as provided by subsection (b), if the agency head determines that it is necessary to do so in order to prevent an adverse agency impact.
§ 6104 Holidays; daily, hourly, and piece-work basis employees
When a regular employee as defined by section 2105 of this title or an individual employed regularly by the government of the District of Columbia, whose pay is fixed at a daily or hourly rate, or on a piece-work basis, is relieved or prevented from working on a day— on which agencies are closed by Executive order, or, for individuals employed by the government of the District of Columbia, by order of the Mayor; by administrative order under regulations issued by the President, or, for individuals employed by the government of the District of Columbia, by the Council of the District of Columbia; or solely because of the occurrence of a legal public holiday under section 6103 of this title , or a day declared a holiday by Federal statute, Executive order, or, for individuals employed by the government of the District of Columbia, by order of the Mayor; he is entitled to the same pay for that day as for a day on which an ordinary day’s work is performed. ( Pub. L. 89–554 , Sept. 6, 1966 , 80 Stat. 516 ; Pub. L. 90–623, § 1(15) , Oct. 22, 1968 , 82 Stat. 1313 ; Pub. L. 96–54, § 2(a)(38) , Aug. 14, 1979 , 93 Stat. 383 .)
§ 6105 Closing of Executive departments
An Executive department may not be closed as a mark to the memory of a deceased former official of the United States. ( Pub. L. 89–554 , Sept. 6, 1966 , 80 Stat. 516 .)
§ 6106 Time clocks; restrictions
A recording clock may not be used to record time of an employee of an Executive department in the District of Columbia, except that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing may use such recording clocks. ( Pub. L. 89–554 , Sept. 6, 1966 , 80 Stat. 516 ; Pub. L. 97–221, § 6(a) , July 23, 1982 , 96 Stat. 234 .)
§ 6120 Purpose
The Congress finds that the use of flexible and compressed work schedules has the potential to improve productivity in the Federal Government and provide greater service to the public. (Added Pub. L. 97–221, § 2(a)(2) , July 23, 1982 , 96 Stat. 227 .)
§ 6121 Definitions
For purposes of this subchapter— “agency” means any Executive agency, any military department, the Government Publishing Office, the Library of Congress, the Architect of the Capitol, and the Botanic Garden; “employee” has the meaning given the term in subsection (a) of section 2105 of this title , except that such term also includes an employee described in subsection (c) of that section; “basic work requirement” means the number of hours, excluding overtime hours, which an employee is required to work or is required to account for by leave or otherwise; “credit hours” means any hours, within a flexible schedule established under section 6122 of this title , which are in excess of an employee’s basic work requirement and which the employee elects to work so as to vary the length of a workweek or a workday; “compressed schedule” means— in the case of a full-time employee, an 80-hour biweekly basic work requirement which is scheduled for less than 10 workdays, and in the case of a part-time employee, a biweekly basic work requirement of less than 80 hours which is scheduled for less than 10 workdays; “overtime hours”, when used with respect to flexible schedule programs under sections 6122 through 6126 of this title, means all hours in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week which are officially ordered in advance, but does not include credit hours; “overtime hours”, when used with respect to compressed schedule programs under sections 6127 and 6128 of this title, means any hours in excess of those specified hours which constitute the compressed schedule; and “collective bargaining”, “collective bargaining agreement”, and “exclusive representative” have the same meanings given such terms— by section 7103(a)(12), (8), and (16) of this title, respectively, in the case of any unit covered by chapter 71 of this title; and in the case of any other unit, by the corresponding provisions applicable under the personnel system covering this unit. (Added Pub. L. 97–221, § 2(a)(2) , July 23, 1982 , 96 Stat. 227 ; amended Pub. L. 101–163, title III, § 312 , Nov. 21, 1989 , 103 Stat. 1065 ; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title X, § 1041 , Feb. 10, 1996 , 110 Stat. 433 ; Pub. L. 111–68, div. A, title I, § 1302(1) , Oct. 1, 2009 , 123 Stat. 2034 ; Pub. L. 113–235, div. H, title I, § 1301(b) , Dec. 16, 2014 , 128 Stat. 2537 .)
§ 6122 Flexible schedules; agencies authorized to use
(a) Notwithstanding section 6101 of this title , each agency may establish, in accordance with this subchapter, programs which allow the use of flexible schedules which include— designated hours and days during which an employee on such a schedule must be present for work; and designated hours during which an employee on such a schedule may elect the time of such employee’s arrival at and departure from work, solely for such purpose or, if and to the extent permitted, for the purpose of accumulating credit hours to reduce the length of the workweek or another workday. An election by an employee referred to in paragraph (2) shall be subject to limitations generally prescribed to ensure that the duties and requirements of the employee’s position are fulfilled.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, but subject to the terms of any written agreement referred to in section 6130(a) of this title , if the head of an agency determines that any organization within the agency which is participating in a program under subsection (a) is being substantially disrupted in carrying out its functions or is incurring additional costs because of such participation, such agency head may— restrict the employees’ choice of arrival and departure time, restrict the use of credit hours, or exclude from such program any employee or group of employees.
§ 6123 Flexible schedules; computation of premium pay
(a) For purposes of determining compensation for overtime hours in the case of an employee participating in a program under section 6122 of this title — the head of an agency may, on request of the employee, grant the employee compensatory time off in lieu of payment for such overtime hours, whether or not irregular or occasional in nature and notwithstanding the provisions of sections 5542(a), 5543(a)(1) and section 1 5544(a) of this title, section 7453(e) of title 38 , section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act ( 29 U.S.C. 207 ), or any other provision of law; or the employee shall be compensated for such overtime hours in accordance with such provisions, as applicable.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of law referred to in subsection (a)(1) of this section, an employee shall not be entitled to be compensated for credit hours worked except to the extent authorized under section 6126 of this title or to the extent such employee is allowed to have such hours taken into account with respect to the employee’s basic work requirement.
(c) Notwithstanding section 5545(a) of this title , premium pay for nightwork will not be paid to an employee otherwise subject to such section solely because the employee elects to work credit hours, or elects a time of arrival or departure, at a time of day for which such premium pay is otherwise authorized, except that— if an employee is on a flexible schedule under which— the number of hours during which such employee must be present for work, plus the number of hours during which such employee may elect to work credit hours or elect the time of arrival at and departure from work, which occur outside of the nightwork hours designated in or under such section 5545(a) total less than 8 hours, such premium pay shall be paid for those hours which, when combined with such total, do not exceed 8 hours, and if an employee is on a flexible schedule under which the hours that such employee must be present for work include any hours designated in or under such section 5545(a), such premium pay shall be paid for such hours so designated. Notwithstanding section 5343(f) of this title , and section 7453(b) of title 38 , night differential will not be paid to any employee otherwise subject to either of such sections solely because such employee elects to work credit hours, or elects a time of arrival or departure, at a time of day for which night differential is otherwise authorized, except that such differential shall be paid to an employee on a flexible schedule under this subchapter— in the case of an employee subject to subsection (f) of such section 5343, for which all or a majority of the hours of such schedule for any day fall between the hours specified in such subsection, or in the case of an employee subject to subsection (b) of such section 7453, for which 4 hours of such schedule fall between the hours specified in such subsection.
§ 6124 Flexible schedules; holidays
Notwithstanding sections 6103 and 6104 of this title, if any employee on a flexible schedule under section 6122 of this title is relieved or prevented from working on a day designated as a holiday by Federal statute or Executive order, such employee is entitled to pay with respect to that day for 8 hours (or, in the case of a part-time employee, an appropriate portion of the employee’s biweekly basic work requirement as determined under regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management). (Added Pub. L. 97–221, § 2(a)(2) , July 23, 1982 , 96 Stat. 229 .)
§ 6125 Flexible schedules; time-recording devices
Notwithstanding section 6106 of this title , the Office of Personnel Management or any agency may use recording clocks as part of programs under section 6122 of this title . (Added Pub. L. 97–221, § 2(a)(2) , July 23, 1982 , 96 Stat. 229 .)
§ 6126 Flexible schedules; credit hours; accumulation and compensation
(a) Subject to any limitation prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management or the agency, a full-time employee on a flexible schedule can accumulate not more than 24 credit hours, and a part-time employee can accumulate not more than one-fourth of the hours in such employee’s biweekly basic work requirement, for carryover from a biweekly pay period to a succeeding biweekly pay period for credit to the basic work requirement for such period.
(b) Any employee who is on a flexible schedule program under section 6122 of this title and who is no longer subject to such a program shall be paid at such employee’s then current rate of basic pay for— in the case of a full-time employee, not more than 24 credit hours accumulated by such employee, or in the case of a part-time employee, the number of credit hours (not in excess of one-fourth of the hours in such employee’s biweekly basic work requirement) accumulated by such employee.
§ 6127 Compressed schedules; agencies authorized to use
(a) Notwithstanding section 6101 of this title , each agency may establish programs which use a 4-day workweek or other compressed schedule.
(b) An employee in a unit with respect to which an organization of Government employees has not been accorded exclusive recognition shall not be required to participate in any program under subsection (a) unless a majority of the employees in such unit who, but for this paragraph, would be included in such program have voted to be so included. Upon written request to any agency by an employee, the agency, if it determines that participation in a program under subsection (a) would impose a personal hardship on such employee, shall— except such employee from such program; or reassign such employee to the first position within the agency— which becomes vacant after such determination, which is not included within such program, for which such employee is qualified, and which is acceptable to the employee. A determination by an agency under this paragraph shall be made not later than 10 days after the day on which a written request for such determination is received by the agency.
§ 6128 Compressed schedules; computation of premium pay
(a) The provisions of sections 5542(a) and 5544(a) of this title, section 7453(e) of title 38 , section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act ( 29 U.S.C. 207 ), or any other law, which relate to premium pay for overtime work, shall not apply to the hours which constitute a compressed schedule.
(b) In the case of any full-time employee, hours worked in excess of the compressed schedule shall be overtime hours and shall be paid for as provided by the applicable provisions referred to in subsection (a) of this section. In the case of any part-time employee on a compressed schedule, overtime pay shall begin to be paid after the same number of hours of work after which a full-time employee on a similar schedule would begin to receive overtime pay.
(c) Notwithstanding section 5544(a) or 5546(a) of this title, or any other applicable provision of law, in the case of any full-time employee on a compressed schedule who performs work (other than overtime work) on a tour of duty for any workday a part of which is performed on a Sunday, such employee is entitled to pay for work performed during the entire tour of duty at the rate of such employee’s basic pay, plus premium pay at a rate equal to 25 percent of such basic pay rate.
(d) Notwithstanding section 5546(b) of this title , an employee on a compressed schedule who performs work on a holiday designated by Federal statute or Executive order is entitled to pay at the rate of such employee’s basic pay, plus premium pay at a rate equal to such basic pay rate, for such work which is not in excess of the basic work requirement of such employee for such day. For hours worked on such a holiday in excess of the basic work requirement for such day, the employee is entitled to premium pay in accordance with the provisions of section 5542(a) or 5544(a) of this title, as applicable, or the provisions of section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act ( 29 U.S.C. 207 ) whichever provisions are more beneficial to the employee.
§ 6129 Administration of leave and retirement provisions
For purposes of administering sections 6303(a), 6304, 6307(a) and (d), 6323, 6326, 6327, and 8339(m) of this title, in the case of an employee who is in any program under this subchapter, references to a day or workday (or to multiples or parts thereof) contained in such sections shall be considered to be references to 8 hours (or to the respective multiples or parts thereof). (Added Pub. L. 97–221, § 2(a)(2) , July 23, 1982 , 96 Stat. 231 ; amended Pub. L. 103–329, title VI, § 629(a)(2)(A) , (b)(2), Sept. 30, 1994 , 108 Stat. 2423 .)
§ 6130 Application of programs in the case of collective bargaining agreements
(a) In the case of employees in a unit represented by an exclusive representative, any flexible or compressed work schedule, and the establishment and termination of any such schedule, shall be subject to the provisions of this subchapter and the terms of a collective bargaining agreement between the agency and the exclusive representative. Employees within a unit represented by an exclusive representative shall not be included within any program under this subchapter except to the extent expressly provided under a collective bargaining agreement between the agency and the exclusive representative.
(b) An agency may not participate in a flexible or compressed schedule program under a collective bargaining agreement which contains premium pay provisions which are inconsistent with the provisions of section 6123 or 6128 of this title, as applicable.
§ 6131 Criteria and review
(a) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this subchapter or any collective bargaining agreement and subject to subsection (c) of this section, if the head of an agency finds that a particular flexible or compressed schedule under this subchapter has had or would have an adverse agency impact, the agency shall promptly determine not to— establish such schedule; or continue such schedule, if the schedule has already been established.
(b) For purposes of this section, “adverse agency impact” means— a reduction of the productivity of the agency; a diminished level of services furnished to the public by the agency; or an increase in the cost of agency operations (other than a reasonable administrative cost relating to the process of establishing a flexible or compressed schedule).
(c) This subsection shall apply in the case of any schedule covering employees in a unit represented by an exclusive representative. If an agency and an exclusive representative reach an impasse in collective bargaining with respect to an agency determination under subsection (a)(1) not to establish a flexible or compressed schedule, the impasse shall be presented to the Federal Service Impasses Panel (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “Panel”). The Panel shall promptly consider any case presented under subparagraph (A), and shall take final action in favor of the agency’s determination if the finding on which it is based is supported by evidence that the schedule is likely to cause an adverse agency impact. If an agency and an exclusive representative have entered into a collective bargaining agreement providing for use of a flexible or compressed schedule under this subchapter and the head of the agency determines under subsection (a)(2) to terminate a flexible or compressed schedule, the agency may reopen the agreement to seek termination of the schedule involved. If the agency and exclusive representative reach an impasse in collective bargaining with respect to terminating such schedule, the impasse shall be presented to the Panel. The Panel shall promptly consider any case presented under subparagraph (B), and shall rule on such impasse not later than 60 days after the date the Panel is presented the impasse. The Panel shall take final action in favor of the agency’s determination to terminate a schedule if the finding on which the determination is based is supported by evidence that the schedule has caused an adverse agency impact. Any such schedule may not be terminated until— the agreement covering such schedule is renegotiated or expires or terminates pursuant to the terms of that agreement; or the date of the Panel’s final decision, if an impasse arose in the reopening of the agreement under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
(d) This section shall not apply with respect to flexible schedules that may be established without regard to the authority provided under this subchapter.
§ 6132 Prohibition of coercion
(a) An employee may not directly or indirectly intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any other employee for the purpose of interfering with— such employee’s rights under sections 6122 through 6126 of this title to elect a time of arrival or departure, to work or not to work credit hours, or to request or not to request compensatory time off in lieu of payment for overtime hours; or such employee’s right under section 6127(b)(1) of this title to vote whether or not to be included within a compressed schedule program or such employee’s right to request an agency determination under section 6127(b)(2) of this title .
(b) For the purpose of subsection (a), the term “intimidate, threaten, or coerce” includes, but is not limited to, promising to confer or conferring any benefit (such as appointment, promotion, or compensation), or effecting or threatening to effect any reprisal (such as deprivation of appointment, promotion, or compensation).
§ 6133 Regulations; technical assistance; program review
(a) The Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe regulations necessary for the administration of the programs established under this subchapter.
(b) The Office shall provide educational material, and technical aids and assistance, for use by an agency in connection with establishing and maintaining programs under this subchapter. In order to provide the most effective materials, aids, and assistance under paragraph (1), the Office shall conduct periodic reviews of programs established by agencies under this subchapter particularly insofar as such programs may affect— the efficiency of Government operations; mass transit facilities and traffic; levels of energy consumption; service to the public; increased opportunities for full-time and part-time employment; and employees’ job satisfaction and nonworklife.
(c) With respect to employees in the Library of Congress, the authority granted to the Office of Personnel Management under this subchapter shall be exercised by the Librarian of Congress. With respect to employees in the Government Publishing Office, the authority granted to the Office of Personnel Management under this subchapter shall be exercised by the Director of the Government Publishing Office. With respect to employees of the Architect of the Capitol and the Botanic Garden, the authority granted to the Office of Personnel Management under this subchapter shall be exercised by the Architect of the Capitol.