January 27, 2005

*****OPM ISSUES NEW REGULATIONS ON COMP TIME FOR OFFICIAL TRAVEL*****

The conditions under which federal employees may earn compensatory time off for official travel during non-business hours are laid out in interim Office of Personnel Management rules published Jan. 24 in the Federal Register.

The new rules, mandated by provisions in the Federal Workforce Flexibility Act of 2004, allow specific categories of federal employees to earn compensatory time for travel during uncompensated, non-work hours. Employees who receive any form of compensation for the hours in question during the official travel period may not also earn compensatory time off for travel for the same period.

"This is a benefit for federal employees, not often available in the private sector, and these regulations implement legislation passed by Congress late last year," said OPM Director Kay Coles James. "I appreciate the valuable input provided by employees and stakeholders throughout the development of the rules."

Comp time for travel rules are effective Jan. 28 and provide a number of definitions and conditions, including "travel" and "travel status," which individuals must meet to be eligible for this new form of time off from work.

For example, travel status is defined as the time an employee actually spends traveling between the official duty station and a temporary duty station. Travel status also includes the "usual waiting time" that precedes or interrupts travel. Usual waiting times vary and can depend on a number of factors, including whether the travel is for a domestic or international flight.

The new rules address how and if compensatory time is earned for commonplace occurrences such as layovers for connecting flights and weather-related flight delays. The regulations also state that agencies may allow employees to accumulate compensatory time in increments of 6 minutes or 15 minutes. Employees will forfeit accrued comp time not used within 26 pay periods, or 52 weeks, of its being earned.

OPM stated that it based travel definitions on existing laws and regulations whenever possible.