I. PURPOSE

This directive:

A. Informs employees of the current TCT provisions provided under the Federal Workforce Flexibility Act (FWFA) of 2004.

B. Supplements or supersedes current FSIS directives and notices on compensation for travel time.

C. Provides time and attendance (T&A) instructions for documenting the accrued and used TCT under the FWFA.

II. (RESERVED)

III. (RESERVED)

IV. REFERENCES

• 5 CFR 550, Subpart N, Compensatory Time Off for Travel
• 5 CFR 551, Pay Administration Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
• 5 CFR 610, Hours of Work 5 U.S.C. 5307, Senior Executive Service
• 5 U.S.C. 5542, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Overtime Pay
• 5 U.S.C. 5547, Pay Administration
• 5 U.S.C. Chapter 55, Subchapter V, Section 550(b), Comp Time Off for Travel
• 5 U.S.C. Chapter 81, Compensation for Work Injuries
• 38 U.S.C. 4303, Veterans Benefits
• Federal Register Interim Regulations, Vol. 70, No.17, 3855-3858, dated 1/27/05
• Federal Workforce Flexibility Act of 2004, Section 203
• OPM Letter, Compensatory Time Off for Travel, dated 1/27/05 http://www.opm.gov/oca/compmemo/2005/2005-03.asp

V. ABBREVIATIONS AND FORMS

• FLSA Fair Labor Standards Act
• FWFA Federal Workforce Flexibility Act
• FWS Federal Wage Service
• GS General Schedule
• NFC National Finance Center
• ODS Official Duty Station
• OT Overtime
• PHHRS Public Health Human Resources System
• SES Senior Executive Service
• SL Senior Level
• T&A Time and Attendance
• TC Transaction Code
• TCT Travel Compensatory Time
• FSIS Form 3500-4, Work Schedule Time Sheet
• FSIS Form 3530-5, Time and Attendance Report
• FSIS Form 4550-6, Authorization for Extension to Use Compensatory Time Off for Travel (TCT) Under P.L. 108-411
• SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action

VI. DEFINITIONS

A. Creditable Travel Time. Time spent traveling that is:

1. Outside the hours of a scheduled tour of duty.
2. Outside the ODS.
3. Not otherwise compensable.
4. Officially ordered and approved by a supervisor.
5. In accordance with the criteria outlined in this directive. See subparagraph IX.

A. for additional information.

B. Exempt Employee. An employee who is not covered by the OT pay provisions of FLSA. (NOTE: Exempt employees other than SES may earn TCT.)

C. Intermittent Employee. An employee who works on an as needed basis. (NOTE: Intermittent employees cannot earn TCT.)

D. Non-exempt Employee. An employee who is covered by the OT pay provisions of FLSA. (NOTE: Non-exempt employees may earn TCT.)

E. ODS. The corporate limits of the city, town, or other established area with definite boundaries where an employee is stationed on a permanent basis.

1. If an employee is stationed in a city which is completely within the corporate limits of a larger city, the employee’s ODS includes the corporate limits of the larger city.
2. If an employee is not stationed in an incorporated city or town, the ODS is determined in the following order of precedence:

• a. The reservation, station, or established area where the primary duty station is located.
• b. The area covered by a 25-mile radius around the duty point designated as the employee’s primary duty location. (NOTE: An employee’s ODS is shown on the SF 50, Notification of Personnel Action. The General Services Administration assigns a geographic location code for the nearest location to the ODS. The location can differ from the actual ODS. If the ODS and primary duty location differ, the employee will be notified in writing of the primary duty location and the fact that the ODS is defined in terms of a 25-mile radius.)

F. Regular Working Hours. The days and specific clock hours of an employee’s regularly scheduled tour of duty, as established under 5 CFR 610, Hours of Work.

G. TCT. An hour-for-hour credit for official Government travel that is earned when no other form of compensation can be applied. As the compensation of last resort, TCT is not interchangeable with holiday, OT, credit hours, or regular compensatory time. For additional information, see paragraph X.

H. Travel. Official authorized travel for work purposes.

I. Unusual or Extended Waiting Time. The time spent when an employee experiences an unusually long wait period before the initial departure or between actual periods of travel caused by weather or mechanical delays, flight changes, cancellations, or other uncontrollable events (normally more than 3 hours).

J. Usual Waiting Time. The time that precedes or interrupts travel. (NOTE: Creditable time includes the time that a traveler has for arrival and check-in at the airport, train station, or other transportation terminal.) This is usually up to 3 hours before the scheduled departure. Per the approved itinerary, creditable time also includes the time spent at an intervening airport or other carrier terminal waiting for a connecting flight or other connections.

1. Whenever applicable, guidance on preboarding time issued by local, regional, or national transportation authorities will be used to make specific determinations on the amount of creditable time acceptable for TCT.
2. In most cases, the waiting time beyond the usual waiting time, which is identified in subparagraph VI. J., is excluded from creditable waiting time.

VII. BACKGROUND

Section 203 of the FWFA amended 5 U.S.C. Chapter 55, Subchapter V, by adding Section 550(b). Section 550(b) established a category of compensatory time off for time that an employee spends in a travel status outside their ODS when such time is not otherwise compensable. Employees with accrued TCT are now eligible for extensions on the timeframes for using TCT, subject to the criteria outlined in this directive. For additional information see Attachments 1 and 2.

VIII. APPLICABILITY

This directive applies to SL, FWS, and FLSA exempt and non-exempt GS employees (or employees in equivalent positions covered by PHHRS). SES employees are not eligible to accrue TCT.

IX. COMPENSATORY TIME FOR TRAVEL PROVISIONS

This paragraph outlines provisions for creditable and non-creditable time during travel.

A. Creditable travel time includes:

1. The airline travel with the usual waiting time for preboarding check-in and boarding, which is normally 3 hours. (NOTE: This timeframe could be longer for international travel.) Supervisors can exercise reasonable discretion in approving additional waiting time for international travel, depending on the circumstance of the employee’s travel. Consult local, regional, or national transportation authorities for appropriate predeparture arrival times to determine creditable waiting times.

2. All waiting time as depicted on the travel itinerary for connecting flights or other modes of transportation.

3. The unusual or extended waiting time if the employee is:

• a. Arranging, rescheduling, or otherwise actively involved in efforts to continue or resume travel.
• b. Traveling for official business. Creditable time is not for employees to use for their own purposes (examples: rest, relaxation, or sleep). (NOTE: See Attachments 3 and 4 for questions, answers, and scenarios about creditable TCT during unusual or extended waiting periods.)

4. The time spent traveling, during off-duty hours, from a duty point within the ODS to an airport or other transportation terminal outside the ODS.

5. The time spent traveling from home to a transportation terminal outside the ODS (minus the normal home-to-work commuting time) and the time spent traveling from a transportation terminal outside the ODS to home (minus the normal work-to-home commuting time).

6. The time spent traveling, during off-duty hours, directly from home to a single temporary duty location outside the employee’s ODS and the return trip, minus the normal home-to-work and work-to-home commuting time.

7. The time spent traveling, during off-duty hours, between two or more temporary duty locations outside the employee’s ODS when the travel time is not otherwise compensable. (NOTE: There is no subtraction of home-to-work commuting time.)

B. Non-creditable travel time includes:

1. Any travel time that is compensable as hours of work under the FLSA or CFR, Title 5, Administrative Personnel, including:

• a. Travel that occurs within the employee’s normal tour of duty.
• b. Travel hours occurring outside an employee’s regular working hours that meet the definition of hours of work under 5 CFR 550, Subpart N, Compensatory Time Off for Travel, or 5 CFR 551, Pay Administration Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
• c. Travel by a non-exempt employee during hours on a non-workday that corresponds to the hours of the regularly scheduled workday.
• d. Travel during tour-of-duty hours on a holiday.
• e. Unusual or extended waiting time that occurs during an employee’s regular working hours.

2. The unusual or extended waiting time (normally, more than 3 hours) in the course of travel occurring outside the employees’ regular working hours. During such time, employees are free to rest, relax, sleep, or otherwise use the time for their own purposes.

3. The normal home-to-work and work-to-home commuting time, whether during normal duty hours or outside normal duty hours.

4. The roundtrip time spent traveling, outside regular working hours, from home to a transportation terminal or any other point within the boundaries of the employee’s ODS.

C. Time for meals during periods of creditable travel time does not need to be deducted from the amount of TCT claimed.

D. The employee’s time traveling should be scheduled during the employee’s normal tour of duty hours whenever possible.

X. EARNING, USING, AND RECORDING TCT

A. Earning TCT.

1. TCT is earned on an hour-for-hour basis in 15-minute increments.
2. There is no limit on the amount of TCT that an employee can earn.
3. Employees must claim credit for TCT hours via a “Premium Pay Request” in webTA.

B. Using Accrued TCT.

1. An employee can request to use accrued TCT in 15-minute increments.

2. An employee has 26 PPs, following the PP in which the TCT was earned, to use the accrued TCT hours. (EXAMPLE: If an employee earns 6 hours of TCT in PP 22 of 2009, the employee has until the end of PP 22 of 2010 to use the TCT before it is forfeited). EXCEPTIONS:

• a. An employee can request and the supervisor may approve an extension (see Attachment 5) of the forfeiture date up to an additional 26 PPs if the employee was unable to use accrued TCT due to mission emergencies. (NOTE: Hours claimed for an extension cannot be extended a second time. If the accrued TCT is not used by the end of the extension period (if granted), it is forfeited.)
• b. If an employee separates for service in the uniformed services or because of a worker’s compensation claim due to an on-the-job injury, the employee’s TCT is held in abeyance until the employee returns to work. Upon return to work, the employee’s 26-PP timeframe for using TCT restarts, giving the employee another 26 PPs from the PP in which the employee returns to use the accrued TCT.

3. TCT cannot be used until the NFC has credited it to the employee’s account, which normally occurs during the PP following the one in which the TCT was earned. Attempting to use the TCT before it is credited can result in the employee being charged annual leave or leave without pay for the absence.

4. Accrued TCT is forfeited when an employee:

• a. Does not use the accrued TCT within the 26-PP window. (NOTE: TCT is never converted to monetary compensation under any circumstances.)
• b. Moves from a GS (or equivalent position under PHHRS), SL, or FWS to an SES position.
• c. Transfers voluntarily to another agency outside USDA.
• d. Retires or otherwise separates from Federal service.

5. TCT is not included when calculating biweekly or annual premium pay limitations or the aggregate limitation on pay. For travel purposes, the dollar value of TCT is used in calculating cost comparisons.

6. A need to schedule and use TCT that is subject to forfeiture will not be an acceptable justification for restoring forfeited “use or lose” annual leave. In this situation, the employee must use their “use or lose” annual leave prior to using accrued TCT.

7. TCT cannot be advanced to an employee.

8. Intermittent employees cannot earn TCT.

C. Recording TCT.

1. The NFC provides two prefixes linked to established TC to record TCT on the T&A and in webTA.

• a. Prefix 78 and Code 32 (TC 78-32) to record TCT earned.
• b. Prefix 78 and Code 64 (TC 78-64) to record TCT used.

2. TCT must be recorded during the pay period in which it was earned via webTA or on the appropriate FSIS Form 3530, Time and Attendance Report, which is available at Outlook Public Folders/All Public Folders/OM/FMD/FPC. TCT can also be recorded on FSIS Form 3500-4, Work Schedule Time Sheet, which is available at Outlook Public Folders/All Public Folders/Agency Issuances/Forms/FSIS/3000 Series or on Inside FSIS at http://inside.fsis.usda.gov/fsis/public/static/index.jsp.

XI. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

A. Refer to Attachments 1–5 for:

1. 1. Information on how to request an extension for using TCT.
2. Information on what situations qualify for an extension.
3. Questions and answers addressing the accrual and use of TCT.
4. Examples of travel scenarios illustrating creditable and non-creditable time.
5. A sample of FSIS Form 4550-6, Authorization for Extension to Use Compensatory Time Off for Travel (TCT) Under P.L. 108-411.

B. Direct TCT policy questions to the Performance and Compensation Policy Branch, Human Resources Policy, at 202–720–6287.

See full PDF for Attachments

• Travel Compensatory Time (TCT) Extension Request Roles and Responsibilities
• Criteria for Granting a TCT Extension
• Compensatory Time Off For Travel Questions and Answers
• Travel Scenarios—Examples of Creditable and Non-Creditable Time
• Sample FSIS Form 4550-6, Authorization for Extension to Use Compensatory Time Off for Travel (TCT) Under P.L. 108-411