United States Department of Agriculture

Marketing and Regulatory Programs

Agricultural Marketing Service

Administrative 

Notice

AMS 23-01 06/06/2023

Distribution: AMS Expiration Date: 06/06/2024 Originating Office: AMS-OA

AMS Maxiflex Policy

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) values its employees and to the extent possible, 

supports a work-life balance. At the same time, AMS must not waiver from our mission to create 

domestic and international marketing opportunities for U.S. producers of food, fiber, and 

specialty crops; and to provide the agriculture industry with valuable services to ensure the 

quality and availability of wholesome food for consumers across the country. We achieve this 

mission through a variety of Program Areas, each having skillsets and work environments that 

contribute to the collective goal. 

This document supersedes previous AMS maxiflex policies, to serve as an overarching policy 

within which Programs may establish their own internal parameters that optimize mission 

delivery while supporting a work-life balance for employees. 

AMS Program Consistency: AMS will follow consistent Agencywide practices in establishing 

formal tours of duty, scheduling both work time and lunch periods, and earning/using credit 

hours. These practices may not be modified by individual Programs.

1. All employees under maxiflex must complete MRP-346, Designation of Work Schedule 

and Employee Tour of Duty and obtain supervisory approval for their designated tour.

The completed document must be securely stored by servicing timekeepers in the 

employee’s Time and Attendance file.

2. All employees working five or more hours must take an unpaid lunch period of 30-45-60 

minutes in length. The lunch period and exceptions are outlined in Human Resources 

Desk Guide Subchapter 4610, Tours of Duty, Section C. Scheduling a lunch break at the 

end of the workday to end the workday earlier is prohibited. 

3. Credit hours may not be earned until 80 hours of paid time (work time and paid leave) is 

reached in a pay period. However, if permitted in Program parameters, credit hours may 

be earned on the first Sunday of the pay period.

4. The “stacking” of work hours at the beginning of the pay period to shorten the work week 

at the end of the pay period is prohibited. If, due to mission demands, an employee is 

required to work more hours than their approved daily tour of duty (per the MRP-346), 

then the employee is responsible for notifying and obtaining pre-approval from the 

supervisor as soon as possible.

5. First level supervisors are authorized to approve workdays, (i.e., base, credit hours, 

overtime, compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay, compensatory time off for 

travel) of up to 12-hours for mission related reasons on a limited basis (gliding does not 
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require pre-approval – see #4 below). The following are excluded from consideration of a 

workday: the unpaid meal period and the normal home-to-work commute.

6. Workdays longer than 12 hours require prior written approval by the Program's Deputy 

Administrator. The Program's Deputy Administrator may re-delegate this authority to a

GS-15 designee (i.e., Associate Deputy Administrator or Division Director) within the 

employee’s chain of command.

Program Area Authority: In addition to establishing specific, Agency-wide practices, this 

policy identifies several areas where Deputy Administrators may establish Program parameters

to optimize mission delivery. Deputy Administrators may delegate this authority to Program 

units (i.e. Divisions or Branches) to facilitate mission accomplishment. The following outlines 

AMS’ maxiflex policy and identifies the areas that may be modified.

1. The AMS-wide maxiflex time band is Monday – Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., local time 

zone. Each Program Deputy Administrator may establish their maxiflex program 

parameters (i.e., time bands) within this overarching policy. The time band may be 

expanded but not contracted. Employee regular and recurring tours of duty must occur 

within Program policy using the MRP-346. 

2. Customer Service Hours. Each Program must establish and ensure office coverage 

during customer service hours based on mission requirements. 

3. Core Times. AMS minimum core times are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10 

a.m. to 3 p.m., local time zone. Deputy Administrators may expand this timeframe based 

on mission requirements. This does not preclude nor restrict the use of core time 

deviations. The minimum core times may not be further constricted.

4. Daily Flexing. Flexing (gliding) is used by employees to vary the arrival/departure time 

and may be used to make-up time during the pay period in lieu of a charge to leave. 

Employees eligible for maxiflex may flex up to two hours each day, based on their MRP346, without prior supervisory approval. Deputy Administrators may adjust this 

timeframe as appropriate; however, some level of flexing must be permitted as it is 

inherent to the maxiflex work schedule. 

5. Weekend Work. Deputy Administrators may limit the earning of base and credit hours 

on Saturdays and/or Sundays consistent with organizational needs. Before approving base 

or credit hours on weekends, supervisors must first consider current workloads for parity 

across their staff, i.e., does the request impact a singular employee who is unable to 

complete an individual assignment or does it impact an entire staff under pressure to 

complete a larger assignment?
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Program Documentation: Once Program-specific maxiflex parameters are established, all 

employees under maxiflex must abide and operate by them. Programs must educate employees 

on their respective parameters and the AMS maxiflex policy. This includes training new AMS 

employees and those who transfer between AMS Programs.

The policies outlined in this Administrative Notice will not apply to AMS bargaining unit 

employees until bargaining obligations are met.

Refer questions on Program Policy to the Program’s Resource Management Staff. Operational 

questions may be referred to your servicing Leave and Compensation Specialist, Human 

Resources Operations. Questions on this AMS Administrative Notice may be referred to the 

Human Resources Division Policy Branch’s Pay, Leave and Tours of Duty Specialist. 

All policy changes described in this Administrative Notice remain in effect for one year from the 

date of its issuance, or until superseded by an AMS or MRP directive, whichever occurs first. 

Attachments: 

1. Program Considerations

2. Definitions

/s/ 

Erin Morris

Associate Administrator

Agricultural Marketing Service
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Attachment 1: 

Program Considerations

Programs may establish specific internal maxiflex parameters within the overarching AMS 

policy. Because of the variety of work carried out by the Programs, there is no limit to the 

number of parameters that may be established within a Program. Program parameters must 

describe, in writing, the standards with which regular and recurring employee tours of duty (base 

hours) will usually conform to facilitate mission accomplishment. The parameters must be made 

available to employees and will be published in a future update to the MRP Human Resources 

Desk Guide. These parameters may cover an entire Program, a unit within the Program, or 

employees who carry out specific functions. Program options include:

• Which staffs/functions/types of employees are covered. 

• The core hours for each staff/function/type of employee. 

• Whether there are restrictions within the 24/7 time-band for when regularly scheduled 

hours will normally be approved (e.g., 6am – 6pm, Monday – Friday).

• The approval requirements for an employee to flex (i.e., to earn base and/or credit hours) 

on Saturdays and/or Sundays (base hours would include a Sunday differential).

• Whether there are restrictions on how much employees may flex their start and stop times 

without supervisory approval (e.g., up to two hours before or after the scheduled time; 

employees are expected to be on time for meetings).

• The organizational level(s) with authority to approve short-term (e.g., up to four pay 

periods) and long-term deviations from the scheduling norms (e.g., first line supervisor).

Program considerations for Program parameter(s) may be dependent on the nature of the 

Program’s work including, but not limited to: 

• Frontline/external customer-facing roles;

• Days/hours not controlled by USDA, e.g., external stakeholder business hours;

• Laboratory tasks;

• Front desk and administrative assistance; and/or

• Availability of employees for meetings and other regular business needs throughout a 

traditional workday. 
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Attachment 2:

Definitions

AMS Umbrella Maxiflex Policy: The overall policy under which AMS Programs must establish 

their maxiflex parameters.

Base Hours: The number of hours, excluding overtime hours, an employee is required to work or 

to account for by charging leave, credit hours, excused absence, holiday hours, compensatory 

time off, or time off award.

Compensatory Time Off In Lieu of Overtime Pay (“comp”): Comp time is time off in an amount 

that is equal to the number of irregular or occasional overtime hours worked. Under the maxiflex 

work schedule, comp time may also be earned for regular overtime. Compensatory time must be 

used within 26 pay periods after the pay period it was earned. Also, compensatory time must be 

used before annual leave is used, unless this would result in a forfeiture of annual leave.

Core Hours: The time periods during the workday, workweek, or pay period during which an 

employee covered by a flexible work schedule is required by the agency to be present for work. 

(An employee must account for missed core hours [if approved] with a core time deviation, 

leave, credit hours, or compensatory time off.)

Core Time Deviation: Under maxiflex, this is an absence specifically authorized by the 

supervisor during the core time that may be made up within the same pay period during flexible 

time bands in lieu of a charge to any type of leave.

Credit Hours: Any hours worked that are in excess of a full-time employee's basic workweek 

requirement of 80 hours of work in a pay period and that the employee elects to work during 

flexible times so as to vary the length of the workweek. Credit hours are distinguished from 

overtime hours (and compensatory time) in that they do not constitute overtime work. Overtime 

work is work in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week that is officially ordered and

approved by management in advance of the work being performed by the employee. 

Compensatory time is earned in lieu of overtime pay for irregular or occasional or regular 

overtime. Credit hours are worked at the employee's option.

Flexible Hours: The times during the workday, workweek, or pay period during which an 

employee covered by a flexible work schedule may choose to vary their times of arrival to and 

departure from the work site consistent with the duties and requirements of the position (i.e., 

supervisors are not obligated to approve regular work schedules that incorporate evenings and 

Saturdays/Sundays if those hours are not conducive to mission accomplishment).

Flexible Work Schedule: A biweekly basic work requirement that allows an employee to 

determine their own schedule within the limits set by the agency.

Maxiflex: A type of flexible work schedule that contains core hours on fewer than 10 workdays 

in the biweekly pay period and in which a full-time employee has a basic work requirement of 

80 hours for the biweekly pay period, but in which an employee may vary the number of hours 
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worked on a given workday or the number of hours each week within the limits established by 

this policy and Program maxiflex parameters. The AMS umbrella maxiflex policy establishes 

overarching Agency policy under which Programs may establish internal parameters to support 

supervisors and employees managing the maxiflex work schedule. 

Program Parameters: Based on the AMS Umbrella Maxiflex Policy, each Program will establish 

and rely on these specific parameters.