I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 826

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for appropriate overtime

pay for National Weather Service forecasters performing essential services during severe weather events, and to limit Sunday premium pay

for employees of the National Weather Service to hours of service actually

performed on Sunday.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 24, 1999

Mr. DAVIS of Virginia (for himself, Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma, Mr. KING, Mr.

SNYDER, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mrs. MEEK of

Florida, Mr. KUCINICH, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. FROST, and Mr.

MCNULTY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform

A BILL

To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for appropriate overtime pay for National Weather Service forecasters performing essential services during severe weather events, and to limit Sunday premium pay for employees of the National Weather Service to hours of service

actually performed on Sunday.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Weather

3 Service Flexible Work Scheduling Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. OVERTIME RATES.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5542(a) of title 5, United

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow7 ing:

8 ‘‘(5) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2) of

9 this subsection, for an employee of the National

10 Weather Service who occupies a nonmanagerial posi11 tion in GS–14 or under and, as determined by the

12 Secretary of Commerce—

13 ‘‘(A) the duties of which are essential to

14 the immediate daily operation of the forecast

15 and warning responsibilities of the National

16 Weather Service and directly affect public and

17 aviation safety;

18 ‘‘(B) in which overtime work is usually un19 scheduled due to the vicissitudes of severe

20 weather; and

21 ‘‘(C) in which overtime work is therefore

22 unusually taxing;

23 the overtime hourly rate of pay is an amount equal

24 to one and one-half times the hourly rate of basic

25 pay of the employee, and all that amount is pre26 mium pay.’’.
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1 (b) EXEMPTION FROM LIMITATION.—Section

2 5547(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended in the

3 second sentence by striking ‘‘title.’’ and inserting ‘‘title,

4 or to any employee of the National Weather Service who

5 occupies a position described in section 5542(a)(5) of this

6 title.’’.

7 SEC. 3. FLEXIBLE WORK SCHEDULING.

8 Subsection (a) of section 5546 of title 5, United

9 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘(a)’’ and inserting

10 ‘‘(a)(1)’’ and by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(2)(A) In the case of an employee of the National

12 Weather Service, the first sentence of paragraph (1) shall

13 be applied by substituting ‘, with respect to that portion

14 of such period of service which is performed on Sunday,

15 to pay’ for ‘to pay for the entire period of service’.

16 ‘‘(B) The Office of Personnel Management shall, for

17 purposes of subparagraph (A), by regulation provide for

18 the rounding of any fraction of an hour of service per19 formed on Sunday to the next highest whole number, with

20 offsetting rounding in non-Sunday service so that total

21 service for the period involved remains the same.’’.

22 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

23 The amendments made by this Act shall apply with

24 respect to service performed on or after the first day of

25 the first applicable pay period beginning after the end of
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1 the 30-day period beginning on the date of enactment of

2 this Act.

Æ