U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

79–010 

" ! SENATE 115TH CONGRESS

1st Session 

REPORT

2017

115–167 

Calendar No. 236 

TO AMEND TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, 

TO REQUIRE THAT THE OFFICE OF 

PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT SUBMIT AN 

ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS RELATING 

TO THE USE OF OFFICIAL TIME BY 

FEDERAL EMPLOYEES 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

TO ACCOMPANY

H.R. 1293 

OCTOBER 5, 2017.—Ordered to be printed 


E:\Seals\Congress.#13
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

JON TESTER, Montana 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

GARY C. PETERS, Michigan 

MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire 

KAMALA D. HARRIS, California 

CHRISTOPHER R. HIXON, Staff Director 

GABRIELLE D’ADAMO SINGER, Chief Counsel 

COURTNEY J. ALLEN, Counsel 

MARGARET E. DAUM, Minority Staff Director 

STACIA M. CARDILLE, Minority Chief Counsel 

CHARLES A. MOSKOWITZ, Minority Senior Legislative Counsel 

THOMAS J.R. RICHARDS, Minority Professional Staff Member 

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Chief Clerk 

Calendar No. 236 

115TH CONGRESS SENATE REPORT " ! 1st Session 115–167 

TO AMEND TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, TO REQUIRE THAT THE OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT SUBMIT AN ANNUAL REPORT TO 

CONGRESS RELATING TO THE USE OF OFFICIAL TIME BY FEDERAL EMPLOYEES 

OCTOBER 5, 2017.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. JOHNSON, from the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1293] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

to which was referred the bill (H.R. 1293), to amend title 5, United 

States Code, to require the Office of Personnel Management to submit an annual report to Congress relating to the use of official time 

by Federal employees, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do 

pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

I. Purpose and Summary .................................................................................. 1 

II. Background and Need for the Legislation ................................................... 2 

III. Legislative History ......................................................................................... 6 

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis .......................................................................... 6 

V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact .................................................................. 7 

VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ................................................ 7 

VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Act, as Reported ........................... 8 

I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

The purpose of H.R. 1293 is to require the Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) to submit an annual report to Congress on the 

use of official time by Federal employees. 

2 

1 Civil Service Reform Act 701, Pub. L. No. 95–454, 92 Stat. 1191 (1978). See also 5 U.S.C. 

§ 71. 2 5 U.S.C. § 7114(a)(1). 

3 5 U.S.C. § 7131. See also Off. of Personnel Mgmt., Official Time Usage in the Federal Government: Fiscal Year 2014, 1, available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/labor-management-relations/reports-on-official-time/reports/2014-official-time-usage-in-the-federal-government.pdf. 4 Id. 

5 S. Gov’t Accountability Office, GAO–15–9, Labor Relations Activities: Actions Needed to Improve Tracking and Reporting of the Use and Cost of Official Time 1 (Oct. 2014), available at 

http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/666619.pdf. 6 Id. 

7 5 C.F.R. § 9701.523 

8 5 U.S.C. § 7131(a). 

9 5 U.S.C. 7131(c). 10 5 U.S.C. § 7131(d). See also 5 C.F.R. § 9701.523(d). 11Off. of Personnel Mgmt., supra note 3 at 2. 12Supra note 5 at 23. 13 5 U.S.C. § 7131(b). 

II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (Civil Service Reform Act), 

codified the right of Federal employees to organize, voluntarily join, 

and participate in labor unions.1 The Civil Service Reform Act requires labor unions with exclusive representation of a bargaining 

unit within a Federal agency to represent all the unit’s employees, 

regardless of the employees’ union membership status.2 In consideration of the possible resources expended by the labor unions to 

represent Federal employees who are not members of the union, 

the Civil Service Reform Act permits Federal employees to be compensated under ‘‘official time.’’ 3 Official time is when a Federal employee conducts representational activities for the union during 

regular work hours instead of performing regularly assigned duties.4 Employees working on official time are compensated by the 

Federal Government at their regular salaries and benefits while 

performing representational activities for the union in lieu of regularly assigned duties.5

Management of official time can vary within and between agencies for a number of reasons. For example, agencies and unions can 

negotiate the use of official time at the department, component, bureau, operating administration, facility, or local level, and the results of those negotiations can vary.6 Additionally, use of official 

time must be authorized by the agency, or otherwise agreed upon 

between a manager and his or her employees.7

Official time is permitted when Federal employees participate in 

collective bargaining agreement negotiations,8 in proceedings before the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA),9 and other activities that are deemed ‘‘reasonable, necessary, and in the public 

interest’’ 10The FLRA has interpreted reasonable, necessary and in 

the public interest as constituting activities such as participation 

in labor-management working groups, representation of bargaining 

unit employees in meetings with management, negotiation of contracts, representation of employees in grievances and disciplinary 

actions.11 Federal agencies develop internal controls and negotiate 

provisions in collective bargaining agreements to monitor the use 

of official time.12

Federal law prohibits the use of official time for internal union 

business, ‘‘including the solicitation of membership, elections of 

labor organization officials, and collection of dues.’’ 13 However, the 

FLRA has ruled that official time can be used by Federal employVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Oct 07, 2017 Jkt 079010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR167.XXX SR167
3 

14 Am. Fed’n of Gov’t Employees, Local 12, and U.S. Dep’t of Labor, 61 FLRA 40, 209–16 

(2005). See also U.S. Dep’t of Health and Human Services, U.S. Social Security Admin., and Am. 

Fed’n of Gov’t Employees, Local 3231, 11 FLRA 7 (1983); Off. of the Adj. Gen., N.H. Nat’l Guard, 

and Granite State Chapter Ass’n of Civilian Technicians, 54 FLRA 301 (1998). 15See U.S. Gov’t Accountability Office, supra note 5 at 6–7. See e.g. U.S. Off. of Personnel 

Mgmt., Reports on Official Time, available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/labormanagement-relations/reports-on-official-time/#url=appendix4l2002. 16 U.S. Gen. Accounting Office, GAO–FPCD–79–77, Inadequate Recordkeeping on Official 

Time Used for Representational Functions (Sept. 17, 1979), available at http://www.gao.gov/assets/130/127702.pdf. 17 Id. at 6. 18 U.S. Gov’t Accountability Office, supra note 5 at 6. 19 Id. 20 Id. 21 U.S. Gen. Accounting Office, Federal Labor Relations: Official Time Used for Union Activities, GAO/T–GGD–96–191, 8, Sept. 11, 1996, available at http://www.gao.gov/assets/110/ 

106634.pdf. 22 Id. at 1. 

ees to lobby Congress about legislation concerning the union members’ conditions of employment.14

There is no requirement under law that Federal agencies have 

to report on the use of official time by Federal employees. As a result, agency monitoring and reporting on its employees’ use of official time has been inconsistent and infrequent since the enactment 

of the Civil Service Reform Act.15 In 1979, the General Accounting 

Office, now known as the Government Accountability Office (GAO), 

reported that over 70 percent of agency Federal employee units 

failed to keep records on the use of official time.16 GAO recommended that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM): 

revise the recordkeeping requirement [for representational 

functions] to include all official time used for collective bargaining negotiations, direct agency compliance with the 

recordkeeping requirement, require agencies to prepare reports on all official time authorized for this purpose to provide greater accountability . . . [and] require annual reports from agencies on [official] time . . .17

OPM issued a Federal Personnel Manual letter in 1981 directing 

Federal agencies to establish a recordkeeping system to record the 

use of official time by Federal employees for union activities.18 This 

OPM letter did not require agencies to report annually on the use 

of official time by their employees.19 When the Federal Personnel 

Manual was abolished in 1994, the recordkeeping requirements on 

official time were rescinded.20

GAO reported in 1996 that the total amount and costs of official 

time for union activities were unknown and that ‘‘no reporting requirement exists for agencies to generate comprehensive data on 

their support of union activities.’’ 21 GAO advised that: 

If decisionmakers hope to resolve the question of the extent to which federal taxpayers subsidize the activities of 

federal employee unions, better data are needed on (1) the 

amount and cost of the hours used for union activities, as 

well as the number of employees using those hours; (2) the 

types of activities covered by the hours used; and (3) the 

overall costs of agencies’ support for union activities.22

In 1997, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations directed OPM to report by October 1, 1998, on the use of 

official time by Federal agencies for the first six months of fiscal 

4 

23 H. Rep. No. 105–240, at 89–90 (1997). 24 Id. 25Memorandum from U.S. Off. of Personnel Mgmt. on Official Time for Labor-Management 

Relations (June 17, 2002), available at https://www.chcoc.gov/content/official-time-labor-management-relations. 26 Id. 27 U.S. Off. of Personnel Mgmt., Reports on Official Time, available at https://www.opm.gov/ 

policy-data-oversight/labor-management-relations/reports-on-official-time/#url=appendix4l2002. 28 U.S. Off. of Personnel Mgmt., supra note 3. 29Telephone Conversation with Off. of Personnel Management representative and Committee 

Majority staff (Sept. 6, 2017). 30 Id. 31 U.S. Off. of Personnel Mgmt., Guidance for Reporting Union Official Time Fiscal Year 2016, 

2 (on file with Committee staff). 32 Id. 33 Id. 34Supra note 27. 

year 1998.23 The House committee requested that OPM include a 

description of the benefits and disadvantages of official time; the 

specific activities conducted by Federal employees on official time; 

the total number of hours spent on official time; the number of employees who used official time; the valuation in terms of salary 

spent on official time activities; and the valuation of Federal office 

space, equipment and other materials provided for official time activities.24

OPM began reporting on the use of official time on a more regular annual basis after a June 17, 2002, memorandum to all Federal agencies instructed annual reporting on the use of official 

time.25 In this memorandum, OPM noted that ‘‘[e]stablishing a 

clear set of reporting requirements for official time sends a strong 

signal that labor and management understand their joint obligation to use public funds wisely.’’ 26 From 2002 to 2012, OPM collected data from Federal agencies and issued voluntary annual fiscal year reports on the use of official time in the Federal Government.27 OPM did not issue a report for fiscal year 2013, but did 

so for fiscal year 2014.28 In early 2015, then-OPM Director Katherine Archuleta decided to limit the issuance of an official time report to every two years.29

There is no requirement regarding the type of information that 

must be collected by agencies to inform these annual reports to 

OPM; 30 instead, OPM issues guidance to agencies for collecting 

and reporting information on official time usage.31 Under this guidance, Federal agencies report to OPM on the total number of union 

employees in the agency, the total amount of official time hours 

used by agency employees, an explanation for any unusually high 

or low usage of official time compared to prior years, and the total 

number of official time hours used in each of the following categories: term negotiations, mid-term negotiations, dispute-resolution, and general labor-management relations.32 If an agency reports corrections to the data provided to OPM’s human resource 

database system, the agency must also report on the cause of the 

data discrepancy, efforts to correct the data, and actions to improve 

the quality of the data.33

Once the data is collected and corrected, OPM includes in its report the total number of official time hours, the rate of official time 

per bargaining unit employee, a cost estimate of official time, and 

the percentage of change from one year to the next, as well as a 

brief narrative explanation for the changes, for each agency and 

governmentwide.34 In 2014, GAO questioned the reliability of 

5 

35 Id. 36 Id. at 16 (emphasis supplied). 37 Id. 38 Id. at 18. 39 Id. at 18. 40 Id. at 18–19. 41 Id. at 19. 42 Id. 43 Id. 44 Id. at 14. 45 U.S. Gov’t Accountability Office, GAO–17–105, Union Activities: VA Could Better Track the 

Amount of Official Time Used by Employees 13 (Jan. 2017), available at https://www.gao.gov/ 

assets/690/682250.pdf. 46Letter from Bertrand Tzeng, HQ Disclosure FOIA and Program Operations, Internal Revenue Service, to William Wilson, Americans for Limited Government (June 6, 2013), available 

at http://algfoiafiles.com/images/5/5b/IRSlCoverlLetterlwl06.06.13.PDF and http:// 

algfoiafiles.com/images/a/ad/IRSlResponsivelRecordslwl06.06.13.PDF. 

OPM’s cost estimate for official time usage noting that ‘‘OPM’s cost 

estimate is not reliable because it lacks assurance of its accuracy 

and also lacks adequate documentation.’’ 35 OPM produces a cost 

estimate by multiplying an agency’s total reported official time 

hours by the average salary for bargaining unit employees.36 GAO 

used an alternative methodology to calculate the cost estimate of 

official time for six agencies in fiscal year 2012 by multiplying the 

official time reported by a union employee by the actual salary data 

of the employee.37 GAO’s alternative cost estimate for the agencies was $5 million more than OPM’s cost estimate, and led GAO to recommend that OPM ‘‘consider other approaches to developing its 

cost estimate.’’ 38

GAO also reported that only four of the ten selected agencies for 

the 2014 report collected data on non-payroll costs of official time, 

including travel expenses, office space, telephone service, or other 

related costs.39 One agency that did collect such non-payroll costs 

reported $700,000 in travel and per diem expenses, $1.1 million for 

office space, telephones, and supplies, and $200,000 in interest and 

arbitration expenses.40 Another agency told GAO that ‘‘it [is] useful 

to track administrative costs attributable to official time-union office space and travel cost-to support agency proposals when negotiating with the union, and for responding to outside inquiries.’’ 41

GAO made two other recommendations that would help provide 

greater transparency and oversight of official time. GAO recommended that OPM should work with agencies to make better 

use of existing human resources data tracking systems for collecting and reporting on official time and OPM should use existing 

governmentwide forums to share best practices among agencies for 

monitoring and reporting on the use of official time.42 OPM partially concurred with the three recommendations noting some limitations of human resources data systems and limitations on OPM’s 

authority to require other agencies to take certain actions.43

OPM does not require agencies to report on the number of union 

employees that work solely on official time. In the 2014 GAO report, eight of the ten selected Federal agencies reported having 

Federal employees who spend 100 percent of their time as a Federal employee working on official time doing union activities.44 At 

the Department of Veterans Affairs, 346 union employees worked 

solely on official time in fiscal year 2015.45 The IRS reported 201 

employees spending all their work on official time in 2012.46

OPM also does not require agencies to collect or report with specificity on activities conducted on official time. Instead, OPM guidVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:03 Oct 07, 2017 Jkt 079010 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR167.XXX SR167
6 

47 U.S. Off. of Personnel Mgmt., supra note 27 at 1. 48 U.S. Off. of Personnel Mgmt., supra note 3 at 8. 

ance instructs agencies to report the number of official time hours 

used within four categories: term negotiations, mid-term negotiations, dispute-resolution, and general labor-management relations.47 For fiscal year 2014, 78 percent of official time charged by 

union employees fell under the general labor-management relations 

category.48 Under OPM’s guidance, general labor-management relations includes ‘‘time used for activities not included in the [other] 

three categories. 

The Committee believes annual reporting on Federal employees’ 

use of official time promotes government transparency and accountability. H.R. 1293 achieves this by implementing standardized requirements for agencies to report annually with detailed information about official time. In these annual reports, Federal agencies, 

unions, Congress, and taxpayers will be better informed on the extent to which official time is used, the estimated amount of taxpayer dollars spent on the salaries and non-payroll costs for official 

time, the number of Federal employees working exclusively on official time, and the type of activities conducted on official time. 

III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 1293 was introduced on March 1, 2017, by Rep. Dennis Ross 

(R–FL–15). The bill as amended was passed by the House of Representatives on May 24, 2017, by voice vote. The Act was received 

in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

and Governmental Affairs on May 25, 2017. 

The Committee considered H.R. 1293 at a business meeting on 

July 26, 2017. No amendments were offered. The legislation was 

passed by voice vote with Senators Johnson, Portman, Lankford, 

Daines, McCaskill, Tester, Heitkamp, Peters, Hassan, and Harris 

present. Senators Hassan and Harris were recorded as voting ‘‘no’’ 

for the record. 

IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE ACT, AS REPORTED

Section 1. Reporting Requirement 

This section requires OPM to submit an annual report to Congress on Federal employees’ use of official time no later than March 

31 of each calendar year. Each Federal agency is required to provide information for each fiscal year to OPM no later than December 31 of each calendar year so that it can be included in OPM’s 

annual report. 

The annual report must include the following: the total amount 

of official time granted to Federal employees; the average amount 

of official time expended per bargaining unit employee; the activities or purposes for which official time was granted and the effects 

of the official time on agency operations; the total amount of compensation provided to employees in connection with official time activities; the total amount of official time spent representing nonbargaining unit employees; the total number of Federal employees 

who solely conduct union activities under official time; and the description of the use of Federal properties for official time activities. 

7 

This report is required to provide information about each Federal 

agency’s use of official time. 

V. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT

Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of 

the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has considered 

the regulatory impact of this Act and determined that the Act will 

have no regulatory impact within the meaning of the rules. The 

Committee agrees with the Congressional Budget Office’s statement that the Act contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 

mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

VI. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

AUGUST 4, 2017. 

Hon. RON JOHNSON, 

Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1293, an act to amend 

title 5, United States Code, to require that the Office of Personnel 

Management submit an annual report to Congress relating to the 

use of official time by federal employees. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew Pickford. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 1293—An act to amend title 5, United States Code, to require 

that the Office of Personnel Management submit an annual report to Congress relating to the use of official time by federal 

employees 

H.R. 1293 would require the Office of Personnel Management 

(OPM) to provide annual reports to the Congress on the use of official time by federal employees who also serve as union officers. Official time is paid time off from assigned government duties to represent a labor union. The act would require the OPM report to include the purpose for the use of official time, the amount of compensation paid for official time, and the locations where the official 

time duty occurs. 

OPM collects some information on the use of official time. CBO 

expects that information currently collected would be combined 

with other aggregate and estimated information to prepare the report for the Congress. Thus, CBO estimates that any additional 

costs would be less than $500,000 annually; such spending would 

be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. 

Enacting H.R. 1293 could affect direct spending by agencies not 

funded through annual appropriations; therefore, pay-as-you-go 

procedures apply. CBO estimates, however, that any net increase 

in spending by those agencies would be negligible. Enacting the 

legislation would not affect revenues. 

8 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1293 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2028. 

H.R. 1293 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

On March 17, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 

1293 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Oversight 

and Government Reform on March 8, 2017. The two versions of legislation are identical and CBO’s estimates of the budgetary effects 

are the same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew Pickford. The 

estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 

Director for Budget Analysis. 

VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE ACT, AS REPORTED

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill, as 

reported, are shown as follows: (existing law proposed to be omitted 

is enclosed in brackets, new matter is printed in italic, and existing 

law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

UNITED STATES CODE 

* * * * * * * 

TITLE 5—GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND 

EMPLOYEES 

* * * * * * * 

PART III—EMPLOYEES 

* * * * * * * 

SUBPART F—LABOR-MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE 

RELATIONS 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 71—LABOR-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS 

* * * * * * * 

SUBCHAPTER IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND OTHER 

PROVISIONS 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 7131. OFFICIAL TIME. 

(a) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(e) 

(1) 

(A) Not later than March 31 of each calendar year, the 

Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the 

9 

Office of Management and Budget, shall submit to each 

House of Congress a report on the operation of this section 

during the fiscal year last ending before the start of such 

calendar year. 

(B) Not later than December 31 of each calendar year, 

each agency (as defined by section 7103(a)(3)) shall furnish 

to the Office of Personnel Management the information 

which such Office requires, with respect to such agency, for 

purposes of the report which is next due under subparagraph (A). 

(2) Each report by the Office of Personnel Management under 

this subsection shall include, with respect to the fiscal year described in paragraph (1)(A), at least the following information: 

(A) The total amount of official time granted to employees. 

(B) The average amount of official time expended per 

bargaining unit employee. 

(C) The specific types of activities or purposes for which 

official time was granted, and the impact which the granting of such official time for such activities or purposes had 

on agency operations. 

(D) The total number of employees to whom official time 

was granted, and, of that total, the number who were not 

engaged in any activities or purposes except activities or 

purposes involving the use of official time. 

(E) The total amount of compensation (including fringe 

benefits) afforded to employees in connection with activities 

or purposes for which they were granted official time. 

(F) The total amount of official time spent by employees 

representing Federal employees who are not union members 

in matters authorized by this chapter. 

(G) A description of any room or space designated at the 

agency (or its subcomponent) where official time activities 

will be conducted, including the square footage of any such 

room or space. 

(3) All information included in a report by the Office of Personnel Management under this subsection with respect to a fiscal year— 

(A) shall be shown both agency-by-agency and for all 

agencies; and 

(B) shall be accompanied by the corresponding information (submitted by the Office in its report under this subsection) for the fiscal year before the fiscal year to which 

such report pertains, together with appropriate comparisons and analyses. 

(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘‘official time’’ 

means any period of time, regardless of agency nomenclature— 

(A) which may be granted to an employee under this 

chapter (including a collective bargaining agreement entered into under this chapter) to perform representational 

or consultative functions; and 

10 

(B) during which the employee would otherwise be in a 

duty status.’’ 

* * * * * * * 

Æ