[Material Transmitted:]{.underline}

HHS Instruction 550-1, Premium Pay

[Material Superseded:]{.underline}

HHS Instruction 550-1 (all)

HHS Instruction 610-2 (all)

[Background:]{.underline}

This Instruction has been revised consistent with recent changes in the
organization of HHS, and in support of HHS administrative initiatives
calling for more streamlined rules greater delegation of authority.

Under this issuance, the rules were streamlined by consolidating two
Instructions containing similar subject matter and the delegations of
authority were increased.

Any reference to \"OPDIV\" in this Instruction now includes AHCPR,
ATSDR, CDC , FDA , HRSA , IHS , NIH , SAMHSA , the Office of the
Secretary, the Program Support Center, HCFA, ACF, and AOA.

This issuance is effective immediately. Implementation of this issuance
must be carried out in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and
bargaining agreements.

[Filing Instructions:]{.underline}

Remove superseded material and file new material. Post receipt of this
transmittal to the HHS Check List of Transmittals and file this
transmittal in sequential order after the check list.

John J. Callahan

Assistant Secretary for

Management and Budget

INSTRUCTION 550-1

Distribution: MS (PERS) : HRFC-001

[HHS PERSONNEL INSTRUCTION 550-1]{.underline}

[PREMIUM PAY]{.underline}

550-1-00 Purpose

10 Coverage

20 References

30 Policies

40 Overtime

50 Compensatory Time

60 Call-Back Overtime

70 Regularly Scheduled Standby Duty Pay

80 Pay for Administrative Uncontrollable Work

90 Night Differential

100 Pay for Work on a Holiday

110 Sunday Differential

120 Hazardous Duty Pay

130 Preshift and Postshift Activity

Exhibit 550-1-A, Delegation of Authority to Approve Premium Pay

550-1-00 PURPOSE

The purpose of this Instruction is to state the Department\'s policies
and provide guidance concerning premium pay of all types.

550-1-10 COVERAGE

This Instruction covers General Schedule (GS) employees and like-GS
employees in the excepted service (pay plan GG) . It does not cover
Federal Wage System, Senior Executive Service, and Student Stipend
employees.

550-1-20 REFERENCES

A. 5 U.S. Code, Chapter 55, Subchapter V (law - premium pay)

B. 5 U.S. Code, Chapter 61, Subchapter II (law - flexible and compressed
work schedules)

C. 5 CFR Part 550 (regulations - pay administration (general))

D. 5 CFR Part 551 (regulations - pay administration under the Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA))

E. 5 CFR Part 610 (regulations - hours of duty)

F. Comptroller General Decisions:

1\. 37 Comp. Gen. 1

2\. 37 Comp. Gen. 362

3\. 41 Comp. Gen. 8

4\. 46 Comp. Gen. 337

5\. 52 Comp. Gen. 319

6\. 53 Comp. Gen. 181

7\. 53 Comp. Gen. 264

8\. 55 Comp. Gen. 629

9\. 56 Comp. Gen. 551

10\. 58 Comp. Gen. 638

11\. 60 Comp. Gen. 198

12\. 62 Comp. Gen. 589

13\. 63 Comp. Gen. 316

14\. B-181237, April 15, 1975

15\. B-194821, April 24, 1980

16\. B-212486, October 31, 1983

17\. B-217502, October 31, 1985

550-1-30 POLICIES

A.  It is the Department\'s policy to provide employees with premium pay
    in accordance with the laws and regulations for overtime, holiday,
    night or Sunday work, and for hazardous or standby duty or
    administratively uncontrollable work when the work has been ordered
    and approved by authorized persons and performed

    by an employee(s).

B.  OPDIVs are required to ensure that overtime is properly recorded and
    documented.

550-1-40 OVERTIME

Overtime is paid for work approved, ordered, and performed in excess of
8 hours a day or in excess of 40 hours in an administrative workweek.
The following are exceptions to this rule:

1.  Employees who are authorized to work compressed workweeks (e.g., a
    10-hour day, 4 days a week) receive overtime pay for work in excess
    of those specified hours that constitute the compressed schedule.

2.  Employees who are authorized to work flexible schedules and for whom
    credit hours are applicable receive overtime pay only for hours
    which are not credit hours.

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A.  Employees may not be compensated for overtime work unless the work
    is ordered or approved in advance of its being performed (see 52
    Comp. Gen. 319 and 53 Comp. Gen. 181). In emergencies, employees may
    be ordered to work overtime without prior approval of the overtime
    approving official provided approval is documented the next work
    day.

B.  For employees on non-reimbursable details outside the Department,
    OPDIVs must ensure that a clear understanding exists with the
    gaining organization with respect to when overtime may be worked and
    whether the cost of any overtime will be reimbursed.

550-1-50 COMPENSATORY TIME

A.  Compensatory time is compensation for overtime work on the basis of
    time off equal to overtime work performed. Except as indicated in C
    below for religious observance compensatory time, compensatory time
    may only be substituted for pay for [irregular or occasional
    overtime]{.underline} (see 5 CFR 550.103(f)). For employees exempt
    from FLSA, OPDIVs may require that employees whose basic rate of pay
    exceeds the maximum rate for GS-10 earn compensatory time instead of
    overtime. Compensatory time that is not used within 8 pay periods
    will automatically be paid at the overtime rate at which it was
    earned. This applies to both FLSA exempt (not covered) and nonexempt
    (covered) employees.

B.  In conformity with 37 comp. Gen. 362, overtime and compensatory time
    off for FLSA exempt employees can only be earned within the
    aggregate salary limitation specified in 5 U.S. Code 5547. This
    limitation prohibits overtime compensation in either money or
    compensatory time off when either would cause the employee\'s
    aggregate biweekly basic pay plus premium pay to exceed the biweekly
    rate payable to a GS-15, Step 10. The Comptroller General states
    that [compensator time is equivalent to pay]{.underline} at the
    authorized overtime rate of pay. Therefore, when figuring the
    maximum number of compensatory time hours FLSA exempt employees may
    earn, the maximum number of overtime hours must be computed, and the
    number of compensatory time hours will be the same. Note the
    following exceptions:

    1.  This limitation is not applicable to FLSA nonexempt (covered)
        employees.

    2.  In accordance with 5 U.S. Code 5547, the limitation for a pay
        period may be exceeded in emergency situations which pose a
        direct threat to life or property. OPDIV Heads or their
        designees have the authority to make emergency determinations.
        NOTE: Even when an emergency determination is made, the maximum
        yearly aggregate salary may not exceed the highest yearly rate
        payable for GS-15.

    3.  In accordance with 5 U.S. Code 5547, the maximum limitation for
        law enforcement officers is either 150 percent of the minimum
        rate for GS-15 or the rate for Level V of the Executive
        Schedule, whichever is less.

C.  Religious observance compensatory time is exempt from the normal
    overtime rules for both nonexempt and exempt employees. Therefore,
    it is possible for an employee to earn compensatory time for
    religious observance while performing regularly scheduled overtime
    (see HHS Instruction 550-11). Religious observance compensatory time
    must be distinguished from compensatory time for overtime.

550-1-60 CALL-BACK OVERTIME

A.  Call-back overtime occurs when employees are required to return to
    work after leaving the work site or perform overtime work on a day
    for which they are not scheduled to work. A minimum of 2 hours
    overtime is credited, even though the employee may perform no work
    after returning to the work site (see 37 Comp. Gen. 1 and B-217502,
    October 31, 1985). It is possible to have several call-backs in a
    24-hour period. Each call-back is individually payable until the
    aggregate pay for exempt employees totals the maximum payable rate
    for grade GS-15 in a pay period. (There is no aggregate pay limit
    for FLSA nonexempt and wage grade employees.)

B.  Because call-back work is irregular/occasional overtime work,
    compensatory time off may be substituted for pay at the employee\'s
    request (see 37 Comp. Gen. 1 and 5 CFR 550.l12(h)). The employee
    receives a minimum of 2 hours compensatory time per call-back.

C.  Call-backs on a holiday are paid at the holiday rate for hours which
    correspond to the employee\'s regularly scheduled work time. Outside
    these hours, call-backs are paid at the authorized overtime rate of
    pay (see 37 Comp. Gen. 1) . For example, an employee may have five
    call-backs on July 4 causing him/her to be paid for 10-hours work;
    however, the first four call-backs (8 hours) are paid at the holiday
    work pay rate. The fifth call-back is paid at the normal overtime
    rate of pay.

550-1-70 REGULARLY SCHEDULED STANDBY DUTY PAY

A.  Regularly scheduled standby duty pay is premium pay approved on an
    annual basis. This is appropriate when an employee is required to
    remain within the confines of a duty station or living quarters and
    the employees whereabouts and activities are severely limited.
    Standby duty includes periods of time during which no work is
    performed while the employee is waiting for an event to occur which
    will require his/her attention. The pay covers both nonwork and work
    times. In contrast, employees who are \"on call\" are paid only when
    they perform work; if called to work, they receive call-back
    overtime (see 550-1-60 above) .

B.  Standby duty is associated with an employee\'s regularly assigned
    duties. Because of this, the employees tour of duty is changed in
    conformance with 5 CFR 61O.111(C). The result is that standby pay
    becomes basic pay and the extra pay earned is creditable for
    retirement and life insurance purposes only; it is not basic pay for
    overtime purposes. Because of this effect, servicing personnel
    offices must issue an SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) for
    every employee authorized standby pay.

C.  Premium pay for standby duty is in lieu of all other premium pay,
    including regularly scheduled overtime, holiday pay, night pay
    differential, and Sunday premium pay. However, standby duty pay is
    not in lieu of irregular or occasional overtime, that is otherwise
    authorized and ordered, in excess of the regularly scheduled standby
    duty. Employees on standby duty may be paid overtime or receive
    compensatory time for irregular or occasional overtime work.

D.  In keeping with 56 Comp. Gen. 551, an employee whose standby duty
    includes a holiday is still on standby duty during the holiday. The
    employee must be excused from work on the holiday when he/she is not
    needed that day. If the employee is absent during the holiday and
    not given excused absence, the employee must be charged annual
    leave, sick leave, leave without pay, or absent without leave.

550-1-80 PAY FOR ADMINISTRATIVELY UNCONTROLLABLE WORK

Administratively uncontrollable work (AUW) is work for which the
employee has the responsibility for recognizing, without supervisory
direction, circumstances that require him/her to remain on duty or to
return to duty. AUW is paid on an annual premium pay basis determined by
a percentage of the employees annual salary and the average number of
hours worked and is in lieu of irregular or occasional overtime. For
employees covered by FLSA, any annual premium pay must be factored into
the FLSA calculations.

550-1-90 NIGHT PAY DIFFERENTIAL

A.  Night pay differential for GS employees is 10 percent of their
    scheduled pay rate regardless of grade. This differential is paid
    for [any regularly scheduled]{.underline} work performed between
    6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

B.  Employees who are ordered to work (overtime included) at night
    [within]{.underline} the administrative workweek are
    [not]{.underline} entitled to night differential pay.

C.  A night differential is paid for irregular or occasional overtime
    when employees habitually and recurrently perform overtime at night
    because the nature of their employment requires them to remain on
    duty until their tasks are completed or until they are relieved from
    duty (see Comp. Gen. B-181237, April 15, 1975).

D.  A person substituting at night (6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.) on another
    employees shift is not entitled to a night differential, unless such
    substitution was ordered in advance of the administrative workweek
    (Sunday through Saturday) .

E.  Care must be taken to distinguish between irregular or occasional
    overtime work at night and a temporary change in a daily tour of
    duty. An employee may be temporarily assigned to a daily tour of
    duty that includes night work. In this circumstance, the employee is
    entitled to a night differential, even when the scheduling of the
    assignment occurs within the administrative workweek.

F.  First-shift employees (midnight to 8:00 a.m.) on a three-shift daily
    operation who are scheduled to perform overtime on the third shift
    (4:00 p.m. to midnight) are entitled to a night differential (for
    the hours between 6:00 p.m. and midnight) provided they are
    scheduled before the beginning of the administrative workweek. This
    is in addition to their night differential entitlement for the first
    shift. A break between shifts has no effect on the entitlement.

G.  An intermittent employee who [is scheduled before]{.underline} the
    beginning of the administrative workweek to work at night is
    entitled to a night differential for work performed between 6:00
    p.m. and 6:00 a.m. An intermittent employee who [is scheduled
    after]{.underline} the beginning of the administrative workweek to
    work at night is not entitled to a night differential. (It is very
    rare for an intermittent employee to have scheduled work periods;
    otherwise, the employee would not be intermittent).

H.  An employee who is regularly scheduled to work 5 hours overtime but
    works 6 hours because the estimate of time it would take to perform
    the job was in error is entitled to a night differential for any
    part of the 5 hours that is performed between the hours of 6:00 p.m.
    and 6:00 a.m. The [extra hour]{.underline} is [irregular or
    occasional overtime]{.underline} with [no]{.underline} entitlement
    to a night differential. However, if the employee works only 4 hours
    rather than 5, the employee is entitled to only 4 hours of regularly
    scheduled overtime, plus up to 4 hours night differential. This is
    because the overtime work must be performed before any compensation
    is paid (see 55 Comp. Gen.629) .

I.  An employee with a total amount of paid leave of 8 hours or more
    during a pay period, day or night, cannot earn a night differential
    for that leave period.

550-1-100 PAY FOR WORK ON A HOLIDAY

A.  Pay for work performed on a holiday during [hours which correspond
    to regularly scheduled hours of duty]{.underline} is double time.
    Double time as defined by law for Federal employees is the basic pay
    normally received for the holiday, plus a premium equal to the
    employee\'s basic rate of pay. Work performed in excess of 8 hours
    on a holiday is paid on the basis of time and one-half for full-time
    employees. Pay for work on a holiday is applicable only to the time
    within the regularly scheduled duty hours. Employees on fixed
    compressed schedules receive pay for work on a holiday not to exceed
    the number of hours of the compressed work schedule for that day.
    Hours in excess of scheduled work requirements for that day are paid
    at the overtime pay rate and in accordance with overtime pay rules.
    Employees on flexible schedules may not receive holiday pay for more
    than 8 hours.

B.  Pay for work on a holiday for part-time employees is applicable only
    to their regularly scheduled tour of duty for the day on which the
    holiday occurs, provided that day is one of their scheduled work
    days (see Comp. Gen. B-194821, April 24, 1980) . Work in excess of
    the employees scheduled tour of duty is paid at the basic rate, not
    to exceed 8 hours. Work in excess of 8 hours is paid at the overtime
    rate of pay.

550-1-110 SUNDAY DIFFERENTIAL

5 U.S. Code 5546 provides a 25 percent differential for
[full-time]{.underline} employees regularly scheduled for
[non-overtime]{.underline} work on a Sunday. This differential is not
authorized for part-time employees (see 46 Comp. Gen 337 and 63 Comp.
Gen. 316).

550-1-120 HAZARDOUS DUTY PAY

Hazardous duty pay may be paid to GS employees for certain irregular and
occasional hazards. For conditions and circumstances qualifying for
hazardous duty pay, see 5 CFR 550.904. Requests to consider conditions
other than those specified in the regulations must be sent to the Office
of Personnel Management through the Office of the Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Human Resources, OASMB .

550-1-130 PRESHIFT AND POSTSHIFT ACTIVITY

Preshift activity is a preparatory activity performed prior to the
commencement of the principal activities. Postshift activity is a
concluding activity performed after the completion of the principal
activities. Employees who perform preshift or postshift activities
outside their daily scheduled tour of duty must be compensated for
irregular or occasional overtime, if all of the following criteria are
met:

1.  The preshift or postshift activity is closely related to the
    employees\' principal activities and is indispensable to performance
    of the principal activities.

2.  The preshift or postshift activity occupies a time of more than 10
    minutes (i.e., at least 11 minutes) a day.

3.  The time period for the preshift or postshift activity has to be
    scheduled by an official with authority to approve irregular or
    occasional overtime. The overtime credited must not exceed the time
    scheduled.

Preshift and postshift work are distinguished from preliminary or
postliminary work which do not meet the criteria described above and are
not compensated. For example, if an employee has a preference for
showering after work, that is postliminary, and he or she would not be
compensated.

DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY TO APPROVE PREMIUM PAY

A.  Authority Delegated

    1.  I hereby delegate to the Heads of OPDIVs (including AHCPR,
        ATSDR, CDC, FDA, HRSA, IHS, NIH, SAMHSA, the Program Support
        Center, HCFA, ACF, and AOA), the Assistant Secretary for
        Management and Budget for employees of the Office of the
        Secretary (OS), and the Inspector General (for OIG) the
        authority to:

        a.  Approve irregular and occasional or regularly scheduled
            overtime payment for work performed at the work site, at
            home, or at other alternate work sites;

        b.  Approve additional annual compensation as authorized under 5
            CFR 550.141, 550.151, and 550.181 (standby and
            administratively uncontrollable work (AUW) and availability
            pay for criminal investigators;

        c.  Approve other premium pay authorized by 5 U.S. Code, Chapter
            55 and 5 CFR Part 550; and

        d.  Determine that an emergency situation exists for the purpose
            of permitting pay limits in 5 U.S. Code 5547 to be exceeded.

    2.  These authorities may be redelegate with further redelegations
        authorized.

B.  [Prior Delegations\
    \
    ]{.underline}This delegation supersedes all prior delegations. To
    the extent that previous delegations of authority covering the above
    subjects are consistent with the provisions of this delegation, they
    may remain in effect until new redelegations are made under the
    authority of this delegation.

C.  [Effective Date]{.underline}\
    \
    This delegation is effective on the date of this transmittal.