IIB 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5896 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

AN ACT 

To amend title 5, United States Code, to modify the authority for pay and work schedules of border patrol agents, 

and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Border Patrol Agent 

3 Pay Reform Amendments Act of 2018’’. 

4 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE BORDER PATROL AGENT PAY 

5 REFORM ACT OF 2014. 

6 (a) BORDER PATROL AGENT PAY.—Section 5550 of 

7 title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘agent’’ 

9 after ‘‘applicable border patrol’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (b)(1)— 

11 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘Not 

12 later than 30 days before the first day of each 

13 year beginning after the date of enactment of 

14 this section, a border patrol agent shall make 

15 an election whether the border patrol agent 

16 shall, for that year, be assigned to’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘Not later than December 1 of each year, 

18 a border patrol agent shall make an election 

19 whether the border patrol agent shall, for the 

20 next annual period beginning on the first day of 

21 the first pay period that commences on or after 

22 January 1, be assigned to’’; 

23 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘Not 

24 later than 60 days before the first day of each 

25 year beginning after the date of enactment of 


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1 this section’’ and inserting in its place ‘‘Not 

2 later than November 1 of each year’’; 

3 (C) in subparagraph (D)— 

4 (i) by amending clause (iv) to read as 

5 follows: 

6 ‘‘(iv) a border patrol agent shall be 

7 assigned a basic border patrol rate of pay 

8 during the period of initial training (in9 cluding initial orientation sessions, basic 

10 training, and other preparatory activities) 

11 prior to the agent’s first regular work as12 signment; and’’; 

13 (ii) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘or the 

14 level 2 border patrol rate of pay’’; 

15 (D) in subparagraph (E)— 

16 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or the 

17 level 2 border patrol rate of pay’’; 

18 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘the 

19 analysis conducted under section 2(e) of 

20 the Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act 

21 of 2014’’ and inserting in its place ‘‘a writ22 ten staffing analysis’’; and 

23 (iii) by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(iv) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN EM2 PLOYEES.—In applying any percentage 

3 limit under clause (i) or (ii) to a location 

4 population, U.S. Customs and Border Pro5 tection shall exclude from such population 

6 any border patrol agent who is assigned a 

7 basic border patrol rate of pay under sub8 paragraph (D)(iii) or (D)(iv) or who would 

9 reach the premium pay cap under section 

10 5547 if assigned a level 1 border patrol 

11 rate of pay. 

12 ‘‘(v) APPLICATION FREQUENCY.—The 

13 10 percent limit under clause (i) or an al14 ternative percentage limit under a waiver 

15 under clause (ii) shall be applied at the be16 ginning of the first pay period beginning 

17 on or after January 1 each year.’’; 

18 (E) by striking subparagraph (G); 

19 (3) in subsection (b)(2)— 

20 (A) by amending subparagraph (C)(i) to 

21 read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(i) any compensation under this sec23 tion or any other provision of law in addi24 tion to the compensation provided under 

25 subparagraph (B); or’’; 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (E)— 

2 (i) by striking ‘‘paid leave’’ and in3 serting ‘‘leave’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘absent from work’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘excused from work’’; 

6 (C) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by striking 

7 ‘‘and’’; 

8 (D) by amending subparagraph (G) to 

9 read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(G) if the border patrol agent participates 

11 in a full day of advanced training but does not 

12 perform the entire required amount of sched13 uled overtime work under subparagraph (A)(ii) 

14 on that day, the border patrol agent shall be 

15 deemed to have performed scheduled overtime 

16 work during nonwork periods to the extent nec17 essary to reach the required amount, but such 

18 deemed credit may be applied to no more than 

19 180 hours in a calendar year; otherwise, the 

20 agent shall accrue a debt of hours for scheduled 

21 overtime not worked on such a day; and’’; 

22 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(H) a border patrol agent may choose to 

24 reduce any debt of obligated overtime hours 

25 that the agent has incurred by applying any acVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Sep 28, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5896.RFS H5896

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1 crued compensatory time off for travel pursuant 

2 to section 5550b, and such compensatory time 

3 off for travel may be applied towards such debt 

4 only after other forms of overtime or earned 

5 compensatory time credited to the border patrol 

6 agent have been exhausted.’’; 

7 (4) in subsection (b)(3)— 

8 (A) by amending subparagraph (C)(i) to 

9 read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(i) any compensation under this sec11 tion or any other provision of law in addi12 tion to the compensation provided under 

13 subparagraph (B); or’’; 

14 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘paid 

15 leave’’ and inserting ‘‘leave’’; 

16 (C) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by striking 

17 ‘‘and’’; 

18 (D) by amending subparagraph (G) to 

19 read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(G) if the border patrol agent participates 

21 in a full day of advanced training but does not 

22 perform the entire required amount of sched23 uled overtime work under subparagraph (A)(ii) 

24 on that day, the border patrol agent shall be 

25 deemed to have performed scheduled overtime 


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1 work during nonwork periods to the extent nec2 essary to reach the required amount, but such 

3 deemed credit may be applied to no more than 

4 90 hours in a calendar year; otherwise, the 

5 agent shall accrue a debt of hours for scheduled 

6 overtime not worked on such a day; and’’; 

7 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(H) a border patrol agent may choose to 

9 reduce any debt of obligated overtime hours 

10 that the agent has incurred by applying any ac11 crued compensatory time off for travel pursuant 

12 to section 5550b; such compensatory time off 

13 for travel may be applied towards such debt 

14 only after other forms of overtime or earned 

15 compensatory time credited to the border patrol 

16 agent have been exhausted.’’; 

17 (5) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT AS BASIC PAY.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any overtime supplement 

21 in addition to the basic border patrol rate of pay for 

22 a border patrol agent resulting from application of 

23 the level 1 border patrol rate of pay or the level 2 

24 border patrol rate of pay shall be treated as part of 

25 basic pay only— 


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1 ‘‘(A) except as otherwise provided in para2 graph (3), for purposes of the definitions in sec3 tion 8331(3) and 8401(4) and the provisions in 

4 chapters 83 and 84 that rely on those defini5 tions (consistent with section 8331(3)(I)); 

6 ‘‘(B) except as otherwise provided in para7 graph (3), for purposes of sections 5595(c) and 

8 8704(c); 

9 ‘‘(C) for the purpose of section 8114(e); 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(D) subject to paragraph (2) and any 

12 limitation established under paragraph (3), any 

13 other purpose that the Director of the Office of 

14 Personnel Management may by regulation pre15 scribe. 

16 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIONS.—The overtime supplement 

17 described in paragraph (1) shall not be treated as 

18 part of basic pay for purposes not covered by that 

19 paragraph, including the purposes of calculating— 

20 ‘‘(A) overtime pay, night pay, Sunday pay, 

21 or holiday pay under section 5542, 5545, or 

22 5546; 

23 ‘‘(B) locality-based comparability payments 

24 under section 5304 or special rate supplements 

25 under section 5305; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) cost-of-living allowances in nonforeign 

2 areas under section 5941. 

3 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—During the control pe5 riod described in subparagraph (B), the amount 

6 of the overtime supplement that is considered 

7 basic pay under paragraphs (1)(A) and (1)(B) 

8 may not exceed the amount derived by multi9 plying the border patrol agent’s basic border 

10 patrol rate of pay by the percentage rep11 resenting the agent’s career average of assigned 

12 overtime supplement percentages (including 0 

13 percent for periods of time during which no 

14 overtime supplement was payable). That career 

15 average percentage is computed without regard 

16 to the effect of the limitation on premium pay 

17 under section 5547, but the premium pay limi18 tation remains applicable in determining the 

19 dollar amount of any overtime supplement com20 puted using the career average percentage. 

21 ‘‘(B) CONTROL PERIOD.—For the purposes 

22 of applying subparagraph (A), the control pe23 riod described in this subparagraph is the pe24 riod that begins 3 years before the date a bor25 der patrol agent will meet age and service reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Sep 28, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5896.RFS H5896

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1 quirements associated with entitlement to an 

2 immediate annuity and continues throughout 

3 the remainder of the individual’s career as a 

4 border patrol agent. 

5 ‘‘(C) ASSIGNED OVERTIME SUPPLEMENT

6 PERCENTAGES.—For the purpose of applying 

7 subparagraph (A), a border patrol agent’s ini8 tial career average of assigned overtime supple9 ment percentages is the average for the border 

10 patrol agent’s career (excluding any period of 

11 initial training prior to the agent’s first regular 

12 work assignment) prior to the beginning of the 

13 control period described in subparagraph (B). 

14 During such control period, the career average 

15 shall be recomputed at the end of each annual 

16 period (as described in subsection (b)(1)(A)). In 

17 computing such career average, any periods of 

18 service as a border patrol agent prior to the 

19 first day of the first pay period beginning on or 

20 after January 1, 2016, shall be included, and 

21 the agent’s assigned overtime supplement dur22 ing such periods shall be deemed to be 25 per23 cent. 

24 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL LEAVE PAYMENT.—For the pur25 pose of computing an agent’s lump-sum annual leave 


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1 payment under section 5551 or 5552, the pay the 

2 agent is projected to receive shall include a deemed 

3 overtime supplement derived under this paragraph. 

4 Such overtime supplement shall be based on the 

5 lower of the agent’s actual overtime supplement per6 centage in effect at separation or the average per7 centage of the agent’s overtime supplement over the 

8 26 full biweekly pay periods immediately preceding 

9 that separation, and shall not exceed the amount 

10 that is or would be payable under the premium pay 

11 limitation in section 5547.’’; 

12 (6) in subsection (f)— 

13 (A) in the heading of such subsection, by 

14 striking ‘‘AND SUBSTITUTION OF HOURS’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘DURING REGULAR TIME; ABSENCES

16 DURING SCHEDULED OVERTIME’’; and 

17 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) LIMITATION ON SUBSTITUTION.— 

20 Notwithstanding paragraph (1), scheduled over21 time (as described in paragraph (2)(A)(ii) or 

22 (3)(A)(ii) of subsection (b)) may not be sub23 stituted for leave without pay on a day when a 

24 border patrol agent has a full day of leave with25 out pay. 


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1 ‘‘(B) LEAVE WITHOUT PAY.—As provided 

2 in paragraphs (2)(A)(ii) and (3)(A)(ii) of sub3 section (b), a border patrol agent shall incur no 

4 scheduled overtime obligation on a day when 

5 the agent has a full day of leave without pay.’’; 

6 and 

7 (7) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(h) ALTERNATIVE WORK SCHEDULES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

10 provision in this section or section 6101, U.S. Cus11 toms and Border Protection may assign a border pa12 trol agent an alternative work schedule as described 

13 in this subsection, subject to any regulations pre14 scribed by the Director of the Office of Personnel 

15 Management. No alternative work schedule may be 

16 established under subchapter II of chapter 61. 

17 ‘‘(2) LEVEL 2 BORDER PATROL AGENT.—A bor18 der patrol agent receiving a level 2 border patrol 

19 rate of pay may, in lieu of the standard work sched20 ule described in subsection (b)(3)(A), be assigned to 

21 an alternative work schedule under the following 

22 terms and conditions: 

23 ‘‘(A) The alternative work schedule shall 

24 be a regular tour of duty consisting of 9 work25 days per biweekly pay period, with— 


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1 ‘‘(i) 8 workdays including 9 hours of 

2 regular time per workday and 1 additional 

3 hour of scheduled overtime for each day 

4 the agent performs work during regular 

5 time; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) 1 workday including 8 hours of 

7 regular time per workday and 2 additional 

8 hours of scheduled overtime when the 

9 agent performs work during such regular 

10 time. 

11 ‘‘(B) Subparagraphs (B) through (H) of 

12 subsection (b)(3) shall continue to apply to an 

13 agent assigned to an alternative work schedule 

14 under this paragraph. References in this section 

15 to regular time under subsection (b)(3)(A)(i) 

16 and scheduled overtime under subsection 

17 (b)(3)(A)(ii) shall be deemed to be references to 

18 regular time and scheduled overtime described 

19 in subparagraph (A), respectively. 

20 ‘‘(3) BASIC BORDER PATROL AGENT.—A border 

21 patrol agent receiving a basic border patrol rate of 

22 pay may, in lieu of the standard work schedule de23 scribed in subsection (b)(4)(A), be assigned to an al24 ternative work schedule that is a regular tour of 


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1 duty consisting of 4 workdays per week with 10 

2 hours of regular time per workday. 

3 ‘‘(4) SUNDAY PAY; PREMIUM PAY.—A border 

4 patrol agent assigned to an alternative work sched5 ule under this subsection, may receive, as applica6 ble— 

7 ‘‘(A) Sunday pay for no more than 8 hours 

8 of regular time associated with a given Sunday, 

9 consistent with section 5546(a); 

10 ‘‘(B) premium pay for work on a holiday 

11 for no more than 8 hours of regular time asso12 ciated with a given holiday, consistent with sec13 tion 5546(b); and 

14 ‘‘(C) basic pay for all regular time hours 

15 that qualify for holiday time off pay when an 

16 agent is relieved or prevented from working 

17 during such regular time on a day designated 

18 as a holiday by Federal statute or Executive 

19 order. 

20 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION.—For purposes of admin21 istering sections 6303(a), 6304, 6307(a) and (d), 

22 6323, 6326, 6327, and 8339(m), in the case of an 

23 employee assigned to an alternative work schedule 

24 under this subsection, references to a day or work25 day (or to multiples or parts thereof) contained in 


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1 such sections shall be considered to be references to 

2 8 hours (or to the respective multiples or parts 

3 thereof). 

4 ‘‘(i) REGULATIONS.—The Director of the Office of 

5 Personnel Management shall promulgate regulations to 

6 carry out this section, including regulations governing— 

7 ‘‘(1) elections and assignments of a border pa8 trol rate of pay for newly hired border patrol agents 

9 who complete initial training during an annual pe10 riod; 

11 ‘‘(2) situations in which an agent receives more 

12 than one type of border patrol rate of pay in a bi13 weekly pay period or is employed as a border patrol 

14 agent for only part of a biweekly pay period; and 

15 ‘‘(3) the treatment of hours that are substituted 

16 for nonpay status hours during regular time.’’. 

17 (b) OVERTIME RATES.—Section 5542(g)(5) of title 

18 5, United States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘leave 

20 year’’ and inserting ‘‘an annual period, as described 

21 in section 5550(b)(1)(A)’’; and 

22 (2) by amending subparagraph (E) to read as 

23 follows: 


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1 ‘‘(E) shall not receive credit towards com2 putation of the border patrol agent’s annuity 

3 based on unused compensatory time off; and’’. 

4 (c) PREMIUM PAY CAP.—Section 5547(c) of title 5, 

5 United States Code, is amended by inserting after ‘‘duty,’’ 

6 the following: ‘‘or to border patrol agents who receive an 

7 overtime supplement for overtime hours within their reg8 ular tour of duty under section 5550,’’. 

9 (d) BASIC PAY FOR RETIREMENT.—Section 

10 8331(3)(I) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 

11 adding before the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, 

12 subject to the limitation prescribed in section 5550(d)(3)’’. 

13 (e) SCHEDULED OVERTIME WORK.—Section 2(c)(2) 

14 of the Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act of 2014 (Pub15 lic Law 113–277) is amended by inserting after ‘‘sched16 uled overtime work’’ the following: ‘‘(other than scheduled 

17 overtime work within the regular tour of duty)’’. 

18 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

19 The amendments made by section 2 shall take effect 

20 on the first day of the first pay period beginning on or 


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1 after the day that is 90 days after the date of the enact2 ment of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 26, 

2018. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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