CHAPTER 2. HOURS OF DUTY

SECTION 1. SCHEDULING WORK

2.1 OFFICIAL BUSINESS HOURS.

a\. Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The official business

hours for the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area are 8:45

a.m. through 5:15 p.m., Monday through Friday. These hours

are established by the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB).

b\. Field Offices. The official business hours for

Regional/Field Offices are established to conform with the

general working hours of the local community. The local

time for each Regional/Field Office and the Washington,

D.C. equivalent time are established in the Departmental

telephone directory.

2-2. TOURS OF DUTY.

a\. Full-Time Tour of Duty. Except under the provisions of

paragraphs 2-3 and 2-4 below, or the Department\'s flexitime

program, the standard tour of duty for full-time employees

in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area is 8:45 a.m. to

5:15 p.m. Monday through Friday, including a 30 minute

lunch period. For full-time employees in Regional/Field

offices, the standard tour of duty is established

consistent with the basic provisions in paragraphs 1-2 and

2-3, and the general working hours of the local community.

b\. Part-Time Tour of Duty. The tour of duty for a part-time

employee is established by management and the tour of duty

may not exceed 8 hours per day and 32 hours per week.

c\. Hours of Duty for Minors. Hours of duty established for

minors must be compatible with the standards prescribed by

the State, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the District

of Columbia, as appropriate.

2-3. ESTABLISHMENT OF FULL-TIME TOUR OF DUTY. Except when the

mission of an organization would be seriously handicapped or

the cost would be substantially increased, the criteria listed

below will govern when establishing a full-time tour of duty:

a\. Assignments to tours of duty are scheduled in advance of

the administrative workweek over periods of not less than 1

week;

b\. 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;

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c\. The working hours in each day of the basic workweek are the

same;

d\. The basic nonovertime workday may not exceed 8 hours;

e\. The occurrence of holidays may not affect the designation

of the basic workweek; and

f\. Breaks in working hours of more than 1 hour may not be

scheduled in a basic workday.

2-4. CHANGES IN TOUR OF DUTY.

a\. Due To Change in Work Requirements. When the supervisor

knows in advance of the next administrative workweek that

the specific days and/or hours of the work requirements

will differ from the current workweek, and can identify

which employee(s) should be scheduled, or rescheduled to

meet the change in work requirements, he/she must

officially change each employee\'s tour of duty to reflect

the 40-hour basic workweek plus any regular overtime to be

performed during that workweek. Hours of work performed

between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. which are part of the

employee\'s regularly scheduled administrative workweek

will entitle the employee to night differential pay and/or

overtime pay, as appropriate.

b\. For Educational Purposes.

\(1\) A special tour of duty of not less than 40 hours may

be approved to permit an employee to take one or more

courses in a college, university, or other

educational institution when it is determined that:

\(a\) The courses being taken are not training under

Chapter 41 of Title 5, United States Code;

\(b\) The rearrangement of the employee\'s tour of duty

will not appreciably interfere with the

accomplishment of the work required to be

performed;

\(c\) Additional costs for personnel services will not

be incurred; and

\(d\) Completion of the courses will equip the

employee for more effective work within the

Department.

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\(2\) Premium Pay Entitlement.

\(a\) The employee is entitled to premium pay when

reassigned to an existing shift for which premium

pay is authorized.

\(b\) The employee is not entitled to any premium pay

solely because the special tour of duty

authorized under this paragraph causes the

employee to work on a day, or at a time during

the day, for which premium pay would otherwise be

payable.

c\. For Travel Purposes. To the maximum extent possible an

employee should only be required to travel during his/her

regularly scheduled administrative workweek. If travel

during nonworking hours cannot be avoided, and the time

spent in a travel status does not qualify as hours of work

under Title 5 or the Fair Labor Standards Act for overtime

compensation, then the authorizing official shall record

the reasons for ordering the travel during nonworking

hours and shall, upon request, furnish a copy of the

statement to the employee concerned.

2-5. DOCUMENTATION OF CHANGES IN TOUR OF DUTY.

a\. Change in Arrival/Departure Time. Changes in tours of

duty which affect only arrival and departure hours for

full-time employees may be documented by recording the

tour of duty in the appropriate space on the Time and

Attendance Report. These changes in tour of duty must be

scheduled in advance.

b\. Change in Number of Hours or Work Schedule. A personnel

action is required for a part-time employee\'s change in

total number of hours per week or a change by any employee

to a different work schedule, i.e., full-time, part-time,

intermittent.

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SECTION 2. WORKING AT HOME

2-6. POLICY. Employees are not permitted to work at home.

However, if a specific situation is believed to warrant an

employee working at home, the Headquarters Primary

Organization Head or the Regional Administrator must submit a

written justification to the Assistant Secretary for

Administration for consideration.

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