Title: Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Amendments Act of 2018
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Amendments Act of 2018
This bill revises various elements of the compensation system for border patrol agents at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Among other things, the bill increases the overtime compensation available for border patrol agents who handle canines and limits the amount of overtime that is credited toward retirement for certain agents.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5896 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5896

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 21, 2018

   Mr. Hurd (for himself, Mr. Vela, and Ms. McSally) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
                           Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


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

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform 
Amendments Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE BORDER PATROL AGENT PAY REFORM ACT OF 2014.

    (a) Border Patrol Agent Pay.--
            (1) In general.--Section 5550 of title 5, United States 
        Code, is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ``agent'' 
                after ``applicable border patrol'';
                    (B) in subsection (b)(1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``Not 
                        later than 30 days before the first day of each 
                        year beginning after the date of enactment of 
                        this section, a border patrol agent shall make 
                        an election whether the border patrol agent 
                        shall, for that year, be assigned to'' and 
                        inserting ``Not later than December 1 of each 
                        year, a border patrol agent shall make an 
                        election whether the border patrol agent shall, 
                        for the next annual period beginning on the 
                        first day of the first pay period that 
                        commences on or after January 1, be assigned 
                        to'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``Not 
                        later than 60 days before the first day of each 
                        year beginning after the date of enactment of 
                        this section'' and inserting in its place ``Not 
                        later than November 1 of each year'';
                            (iii) in subparagraph (D)--
                                    (I) by amending clause (iv) to read 
                                as follows:
                            ``(iv) a border patrol agent shall be 
                        assigned a basic border patrol rate of pay 
                        during the period of initial training 
                        (including initial orientation sessions, basic 
                        training, and other preparatory activities) 
                        prior to the agent's first regular work 
                        assignment; and''; and
                                    (II) in clause (v), by striking 
                                ``or the level 2 border patrol rate of 
                                pay'';
                            (iv) in subparagraph (E)--
                                    (I) in clause (i), by striking ``or 
                                the level 2 border patrol rate of 
                                pay'';
                                    (II) clause (ii), by striking ``the 
                                analysis conducted under section 2(e) 
                                of the Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform 
                                Act of 2014'' and inserting in its 
                                place ``a written staffing analysis''; 
                                and
                                    (III) by adding at the end the 
                                following:
                            ``(iv) Exclusion of certain employees.--In 
                        applying any percentage limit under clause (i) 
                        or (ii) to a location population, U.S. Customs 
                        and Border Protection shall exclude from such 
                        population any border patrol agent who is 
                        assigned a basic border patrol rate of pay 
                        under subparagraph (D)(iii) or (D)(iv) or who 
                        would reach the premium pay cap under section 
                        5547 if assigned a level 1 border patrol rate 
                        of pay.
                            ``(v) Application frequency.--The 10 
                        percent limit under clause (i) or an 
                        alternative percentage limit under a waiver 
                        under clause (ii) shall be applied at the 
                        beginning of the first pay period beginning on 
                        or after January 1 each year.'';
                            (v) by amending subparagraph (F) to read as 
                        follows:
                    ``(F) Canine care.--(i) For a border patrol agent 
                assigned to provide care for a canine while not on duty 
                and assigned to the level 1 border patrol rate of pay 
                in accordance with subparagraph (D)(ii)--
                            ``(I) that rate of pay covers all such care 
                        and no other pay shall be paid to the border 
                        patrol agent for such care except as set forth 
                        in subclauses (II) through (V);
                            ``(II) the agent shall be credited with 1 
                        hour of such care for each calendar day on 
                        which such care occurs (without regard to the 
                        actual duration of such care);
                            ``(III) canine care hours credited under 
                        subclause (II) on a day when the agent performs 
                        regular time work under paragraph (2)(A)(i) 
                        shall--
                                    ``(aa) be counted as up to 1 hour 
                                of scheduled overtime (as described in 
                                paragraph (2)(A)(ii)) on that work day 
                                if the agent has not completed 2 hours 
                                of scheduled overtime (excluding the 
                                canine care hour credited under clause 
                                (ii)) on that workday; or
                                    ``(bb) be counted as up to 1 hour 
                                of overtime work that is officially 
                                ordered or approved in advance of the 
                                workweek under section 5542(g) based on 
                                the amount of canine care credit for 
                                the workday that is not converted to 
                                scheduled overtime under item (aa);
                            ``(IV) canine care hours credited under 
                        subclause (II) on a day when the agent does not 
                        perform regular time work under paragraph 
                        (2)(A)(i) shall be counted as 1 hour of 
                        overtime work that is officially ordered or 
                        approved in advance of the workweek under 
                        section 5542(g); and
                            ``(V) notwithstanding subclauses (III)(bb) 
                        and (V), overtime work credited under those 
                        subclauses is subject to substitution or 
                        application as provided in paragraph (2)(F) and 
                        subsection (f) as follows:
                                    ``(aa) Substitution for periods of 
                                absence during regular time or 
                                scheduled overtime (as described in 
                                paragraph (2)(A)(ii)) within the same 
                                work period in which the canine care 
                                credit was generated.
                                    ``(bb) Application towards a debt 
                                of obligated overtime hours.
                    ``(ii) Canine care hours credited under subclauses 
                (III) or (IV) shall not be credited as overtime work 
                under any other provision of law.''; and
                            (vi) by striking subparagraph (G);
                    (C) in subsection (b)(2)--
                            (i) by amending subparagraph (C)(i) to read 
                        as follows:
                            ``(i) any compensation under this section 
                        or any other provision of law in addition to 
                        the compensation provided under subparagraph 
                        (B); or'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (E)--
                                    (I) by striking ``paid leave'' and 
                                inserting ``leave''; and
                                    (II) by striking ``absent from 
                                work'' and inserting ``excused from 
                                work'';
                            (iii) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by striking 
                        ``and'';
                            (iv) by amending subparagraph (G) to read 
                        as follows:
                    ``(G) if the border patrol agent participates in a 
                full day of advanced training but does not perform the 
                entire required amount of scheduled overtime work under 
                subparagraph (A)(ii) on that day, the border patrol 
                agent shall be deemed to have performed scheduled 
                overtime work during nonwork periods to the extent 
                necessary to reach the required amount, but such deemed 
                credit may be applied to no more than 180 hours in a 
                calendar year; otherwise, the agent shall accrue a debt 
                of hours for scheduled overtime not worked on such a 
                day; and''; and
                            (v) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(H) a border patrol agent may choose to reduce 
                any debt of obligated overtime hours that the agent has 
                incurred by applying any accrued compensatory time off 
                for travel pursuant to section 5550b, and such 
                compensatory time off for travel may be applied towards 
                such debt only after other forms of overtime or earned 
                compensatory time credited to the border patrol agent 
                have been exhausted.'';
                    (D) in subsection (b)(3)--
                            (i) by amending subparagraph (C)(i) to read 
                        as follows:
                            ``(i) any compensation under this section 
                        or any other provision of law in addition to 
                        the compensation provided under subparagraph 
                        (B); or'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 
                        ``paid leave'' and inserting ``leave'';
                            (iii) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by striking 
                        ``and'';
                            (iv) by amending subparagraph (G) to read 
                        as follows:
                    ``(G) if the border patrol agent participates in a 
                full day of advanced training but does not perform the 
                entire required amount of scheduled overtime work under 
                subparagraph (A)(ii) on that day, the border patrol 
                agent shall be deemed to have performed scheduled 
                overtime work during nonwork periods to the extent 
                necessary to reach the required amount, but such deemed 
                credit may be applied to no more than 90 hours in a 
                calendar year; otherwise, the agent shall accrue a debt 
                of hours for scheduled overtime not worked on such a 
                day; and''; and
                            (v) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(H) a border patrol agent may choose to reduce 
                any debt of obligated overtime hours that the agent has 
                incurred by applying any accrued compensatory time off 
                for travel pursuant to section 5550b; such compensatory 
                time off for travel may be applied towards such debt 
                only after other forms of overtime or earned 
                compensatory time credited to the border patrol agent 
                have been exhausted.'';
                    (E) by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
    ``(d) Treatment as Basic Pay.--
            ``(1) In general.--Any overtime supplement in addition to 
        the basic border patrol rate of pay for a border patrol agent 
        resulting from application of the level 1 border patrol rate of 
        pay or the level 2 border patrol rate of pay shall be treated 
        as part of basic pay only--
                    ``(A) except as otherwise provided in paragraph 
                (3), for purposes of the definitions in section 8331(3) 
                and 8401(4) and the provisions in chapters 83 and 84 
                that rely on those definitions (consistent with section 
                8331(3)(I));
                    ``(B) except as otherwise provided in paragraph 
                (3), for purposes of sections 5595(c) and 8704(c);
                    ``(C) for the purpose of section 8114(e); and
                    ``(D) subject to paragraph (2) and any limitation 
                established under paragraph (3), any other purpose that 
                the Director of the Office of Personnel Management may 
                by regulation prescribe.
            ``(2) Exclusions.--The overtime supplement described in 
        paragraph (1) shall not be treated as part of basic pay for 
        purposes not covered by that paragraph, including the purposes 
        of calculating--
                    ``(A) overtime pay, night pay, Sunday pay, or 
                holiday pay under section 5542, 5545, or 5546;
                    ``(B) locality-based comparability payments under 
                section 5304 or special rate supplements under section 
                5305; or
                    ``(C) cost-of-living allowances in nonforeign areas 
                under section 5941.
            ``(3) Limitations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--During the control period 
                described in subparagraph (B), the amount of the 
                overtime supplement that is considered basic pay under 
                paragraphs (1)(A) and (1)(B) may not exceed the amount 
                derived by multiplying the border patrol agent's basic 
                border patrol rate of pay by the percentage 
                representing the agent's career average of assigned 
                overtime supplement percentages (including 0 percent 
                for periods of time during which no overtime supplement 
                was payable). That career average percentage is 
                computed without regard to the effect of the limitation 
                on premium pay under section 5547, but the premium pay 
                limitation remains applicable in determining the dollar 
                amount of any overtime supplement computed using the 
                career average percentage.
                    ``(B) Control period.--For the purposes of applying 
                subparagraph (A), the control period described in this 
                subparagraph is the period that begins 3 years before 
                the date a border patrol agent will meet age and 
                service requirements associated with entitlement to an 
                immediate annuity and continues throughout the 
                remainder of the individual's career as a border patrol 
                agent.
                    ``(C) Assigned overtime supplement percentages.--
                For the purpose of applying subparagraph (A), a border 
                patrol agent's initial career average of assigned 
                overtime supplement percentages is the average for the 
                border patrol agent's career (excluding any period of 
                initial training prior to the agent's first regular 
                work assignment) prior to the beginning of the control 
                period described in subparagraph (B). During such 
                control period, the career average shall be recomputed 
                at the end of each annual period (as described in 
                subsection (b)(1)(A)). In computing such career 
                average, any periods of service as a border patrol 
                agent prior to the first day of the first pay period 
                beginning on or after January 1, 2016, shall be 
                included, and the agent's assigned overtime supplement 
                during such periods shall be deemed to be 25 percent.
            ``(4) Annual leave payment.--For the purpose of computing 
        an agent's lump-sum annual leave payment under section 5551 or 
        5552, the pay the agent is projected to receive shall include a 
        deemed overtime supplement derived under this paragraph. Such 
        overtime supplement shall be based on the lower of the agent's 
        actual overtime supplement percentage in effect at separation 
        or the average percentage of the agent's overtime supplement 
        over the 26 full biweekly pay periods immediately preceding 
        that separation, and shall not exceed the amount that is or 
        would be payable under the premium pay limitation in section 
        5547.'';
                    (F) in subsection (f)--
                            (i) in the heading of such subsection, by 
                        striking ``and Substitution of Hours'' and 
                        inserting ``During Regular Time; Absences 
                        During Scheduled Overtime''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Special rules for leave without pay.--
                    ``(A) At least 1 workday.--If a border patrol agent 
                takes leave without pay for a period of at least 1 
                workday, the agent shall not receive any pay for the 
                hours during which the border patrol agent took leave 
                without pay.
                    ``(B) No accrual of overtime debt.--A border patrol 
                agent shall not accrue an overtime debt for any full 
                workdays during which a border patrol agent uses leave 
                without pay, regardless of the border patrol rate of 
                pay to which the border patrol agent is assigned.
                    ``(C) Calculation of pay.--For pay periods during 
                which a border patrol agent takes 1 or more full days 
                of leave without pay, the amount of border patrol pay 
                that the agent would normally receive shall be reduced 
                proportionally by the amount of overtime hours that the 
                agent has not worked due to being on leave without pay. 
                The total amount of border patrol pay that a border 
                patrol agent would normally receive in a pay period 
                described in the preceding sentence shall be decreased 
                based on the percentage of work days for which the 
                border patrol agent takes leave without pay.''; and
                    (G) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Alternative Work Schedules.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision in 
        this section or section 6101, U.S. Customs and Border 
        Protection may assign a border patrol agent an alternative work 
        schedule as described in this subsection, subject to any 
        regulations prescribed by the Director of the Office of 
        Personnel Management. No alternative work schedule may be 
        established under subchapter II of chapter 61.
            ``(2) Level 2 border patrol agent.--A border patrol agent 
        receiving a level 2 border patrol rate of pay may, in lieu of 
        the standard work schedule described in subsection (b)(3)(A), 
        be assigned to an alternative work schedule under the following 
        terms and conditions:
                    ``(A) The alternative work schedule shall be a 
                regular tour of duty consisting of 9 workdays per 
                biweekly pay period, with--
                            ``(i) 8 workdays including 9 hours of 
                        regular time per workday and 1 additional hour 
                        of scheduled overtime for each day the agent 
                        performs work during regular time; and
                            ``(ii) 1 workday including 8 hours of 
                        regular time per workday and 2 additional hours 
                        of scheduled overtime when the agent performs 
                        work during such regular time.
                    ``(B) Subparagraphs (B) through (H) of subsection 
                (b)(3) shall continue to apply to an agent assigned to 
                an alternative work schedule under this paragraph. 
                References in this section to regular time under 
                subsection (b)(3)(A)(i) and scheduled overtime under 
                subsection (b)(3)(A)(ii) shall be deemed to be 
                references to regular time and scheduled overtime 
                described in subparagraph (A), respectively.
            ``(3) Basic border patrol agent.--A border patrol agent 
        receiving a basic border patrol rate of pay may, in lieu of the 
        standard work schedule described in subsection (b)(4)(A), be 
        assigned to an alternative work schedule that is a regular tour 
        of duty consisting of 4 workdays per week with 10 hours of 
        regular time per workday.''.
            (2) Regulations.--The Director of the Office of Personnel 
        Management shall promulgate regulations to carry out the 
        amendments made by this subsection, including regulations 
        governing--
                    (A) elections and assignments of a border patrol 
                rate of pay for newly hired border patrol agents who 
                complete initial training during an annual period;
                    (B) situations in which a border patrol agent 
                receives more than one type of border patrol rate of 
                pay in a biweekly pay period or is employed as a border 
                patrol agent for only part of a biweekly pay period; 
                and
                    (C) the treatment of hours that are substituted for 
                nonpay status hours during regular time.
    (b) Overtime Rates.--Section 5542(g)(5) of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``leave year'' and 
        inserting ``an annual period, as described in section 
        5550(b)(1)(A)''; and
            (2) by amending subparagraph (E) to read as follows:
                    ``(E) shall not receive credit towards computation 
                of the border patrol agent's annuity based on unused 
                compensatory time off; and''.
    (c) Premium Pay Cap.--Section 5547(c) of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting after ``duty,'' the following: ``or to 
border patrol agents who receive an overtime supplement for overtime 
hours within their regular tour of duty under section 5550,''.
    (d) Basic Pay for Retirement.--Section 8331(3)(I) of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended by adding before the semicolon at the 
end the following: ``, subject to the limitation prescribed in section 
5550(d)(3)''.
    (e) Scheduled Overtime Work.--Section 2(c)(2) of the Border Patrol 
Agent Pay Reform Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-277) is amended by 
inserting after ``scheduled overtime work'' the following: ``(other 
than scheduled overtime work within the regular tour of duty)''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by section 2 shall take effect on the first day 
of the first pay period beginning on or after the day that is 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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