Section 1 – Official Business Hours
A. The Employer’s official business hours are the Employer’s designated hours of availability to the public. During official business hours, the Employer must provide to the public sufficient office coverage in each Division/Office/Regional Office.
B. At Headquarters Offices, the official business hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday-Friday. At the Employer’s other Offices, the official business hours are Monday-Friday and as follows:
- New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta: 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. EST,
- Chicago: 8:45 a.m. - 5:15 p.m. CST,
- Fort Worth: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CST,
- Denver and Salt Lake City: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. MST, and
- Los Angeles and San Francisco: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. PST.
C. An employee working a schedule conforming to the official business hours of his or her Office (a “conforming schedule”) need not take any action to stay on a conforming schedule.
Section 2 - Core Hours
A. The Employer’s core hours are the established duty hours within a specified tour of duty during which every full-time employee (who is not on an approved absence) is required to be at work.
B. At the Employer’s Headquarters Offices, the core hours during which every full-time employee must be scheduled to work are 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST, Monday-Friday. At the Employer’s other Offices, the core hours are Monday-Friday and as follows:
- New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. EST,
- Chicago: 9:30 a.m. - 3: 00 p.m. CST,
- Fort Worth: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. CST,
- Denver and Salt Lake City: 9:30 a.m. - 3: 00 p.m. MST,
- Los Angeles and San Francisco: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. PST.
C. All full-time work schedules, and part-time work schedules in which an employee works more than six hours on a given day, must include an unpaid lunch break extending the employee’s hours of work by thirty (30) minutes.
Section 3 - Flexible Hours/Bands
A. The Employer’s flexible hours or bands are the established duty hours within which an employee may request to schedule his or her arrival and departure times, so as to create a set tour of duty that varies from his or her Office’s official business hours.
B. At the Employer’s Headquarters Offices, the flexible bands are 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. EST and 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST, Monday-Friday. At the Employer’s other Offices, the flexible bands are Monday-Friday and as follows:
- New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta: 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. EST and 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST,
- Chicago: 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. CST and 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. CST,
- Fort Worth: 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. CST and 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. CST,
- Denver, Salt Lake City: 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. MST and 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. MST,
- Los Angeles and San Francisco: 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. PST and 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. PST.
C. An employee working a flexible schedule described below in Section 5.A. may report at set times during his or her Office’s morning flexible band so long as the employee’s hours of work are consistent with working his or her Office’s designated core hours. An employee working a compressed schedule described below in Section 5.B. may report at set times during his or her Office’s morning flexible band, and leave during the Office’s afternoon flexible band, so long as the employee’s tour of duty ends no later than 6:00 p.m.
Section 4 - Alternative Work Schedules: Generally
A. The term “Alternative Work Schedule” shall mean any of the following: a Flexible Work Schedule (Flexitour) schedule as described in Section 5.A. and a Compressed 5-4/9 or 4-10 schedule as described in Section 5.B.
B. The Employer recognizes that Alternative Work Schedules may assist employees in balancing work and other responsibilities.
C. An employee’s participation in an Alternative Work Schedule is not an entitlement. The Employer will reasonably consider an employee’s request to participate in the program.
D. The Employer will implement its Alternative Work Schedule programs in a way that will not interfere with maintaining uninterrupted functional coverage during each Office’s official business hours. The responsibilities assigned to certain employees may require them to be present during all of their Office’s official business hours. Before excluding or removing a position, the Employer will notify the Union, and will provide the Union an opportunity to bargain as permitted by law.
E. If the Employer approves an employee’s request for an Alternative Work Schedule, that schedule will remain fixed, unless and until changed in accordance with this Article.
Section 5 - Alternative Work Schedules: Available Schedules
A. Flexible Work Schedule (“Flexitour”) with Credit Hours.
1. A full-time employee on this Alternative Work Schedule has an 80-hour bi-weekly basic work requirement, and fulfills that requirement by working eight hours a day, Monday-Friday. The employee must be present for work during all of his or her Office’s designated core hours, but may request set arrival and departure times within the established flexible bands.
2. A part-time employee on this Alternative Work Schedule has a 32-to-64-hour bi-weekly basic work requirement. To fulfill that requirement, he or she may work up to eight (8) hours a day, Monday-Friday. The employee may request set arrival and departure times within the established flexible bands consistent with being present for work during a significant portion of his or her Office’s designated core hours.
3. While a full-time employee on this Alternative Work Schedule may report at set times during his or her morning flexible band, the employee’s hours of work must be consistent with working his or her Office’s designated core hours.
4. In a given week or pay-period, an employee on this Alternative Work Schedule may request that the Employer approve additional hours to his or her basic work requirement (credit hours) to allow him or her to be absent an equal number of hours with no loss of basic pay. The law only provides for credit hours for those on flexible schedules (5 U.S.C. §§6121, 6122).
B. Compressed “5-4/9” or “4-10” Work Schedule.
1. A full-time employee on this Alternative Work Schedule will fulfill his or her 80-hour basic work requirement in a bi-weekly period over nine (9) workdays (on a Compressed 5-4/9 schedule) or (8) workdays (on a Compressed 4-10 schedule), Monday-Friday. An employee on a Compressed 5-4/9 schedule works nine (9) hours on eight (8) of the workdays, and eight (8) hours the other workday. The same day in each pay-period must be elected as the non-workday. An employee on a Compressed 4-10 schedule works four (4) ten-hour days each week. The same day in each week must be elected as the non-workday. The employee must be present for work during his or her Office’s designated core hours on scheduled workdays, but may request set arrival and departure times within the established flexible bands.
2. A part-time employee on this Alternative Work Schedule may fulfill his or her 32-to-64-hour basic work requirement in fewer than ten (10) workdays, and may request to work more than eight (8) hours (up to ten (10) hours) on any given day(s) of his or her approved work schedule.
3. While an employee on this Alternative Work Schedule may report at set times during his or her Office’s morning flexible band, his or her tour of duty must end no later than 6:00 p.m.
4. An employee working a Compressed 5-4/9 or 4-10 schedule may not earn or use credit hours.
Section 6 - Procedures for Requesting Flexitour Schedule
A. An employee wishing to work a Flexitour Schedule under Section 5.A. will submit in writing his or her first, second, and third choices for work schedules to his or her supervisor.
B. The Employer will respond to a complete Flexitour request within 14 calendar days. In the event of denial, upon the employee’s request, the Employer will provide the employee with reasons for the denial in writing.
C. In determining whether to grant or deny an employee’s request for a Flexitour Schedule, the Employer will consider whether the proposed schedule interferes with the ability to meet workload and programmatic objectives and is otherwise in accordance with this Article.
D. In this regard, the Employer also will consider whether the responsibilities of employees in certain positions require those employees to be present during all of the Office’s official business hours. The Employer may exclude or remove certain positions from participation in a Flexitour Schedule for this and other significant business reasons, such as where job responsibilities cannot be covered adequately when one or more employees in such positions are on the same Flexitour Schedule. Before excluding or removing a position, the Employer will notify the Union.
E. In determining whether to grant or deny an employee’s request for a Flexitour Schedule, the Employer also may consider, among other things, whether the employee is on a performance improvement plan or has significant performance weaknesses communicated to the employee in writing, documented time or attendance issues, is undergoing training in a new job, is serving a probationary period or has received any disciplinary or adverse action in the preceding twelve (12) months.
F. A Division/Office/Regional Office may adopt and rely on numerical staffing requirements (such as minimum percentages of staff scheduled for work throughout each workday) to ensure that adequate coverage for office responsibilities is available. The Employer may deny a request for a Flexitour Schedule based on the need to maintain such minimum coverage requirements.
G. If multiple employees in the same branch request similar Flexitour Schedules, and not all can be accommodated by the Employer, such pending Flexitour Schedule requests will be determined by the Employer based on grade and Agency seniority.
Section 7 - Procedures for Requesting a Compressed 5-4/9 or 4-10 Schedule
A. Eligibility Requirements
1. An employee is eligible to request approval of a Compressed 5-4/9 or 4-10 schedule under Section 5.B. if he or she:
a. is not on a performance improvement plan and does not have any significant performance weaknesses communicated to the employee, has a current “acceptable” rating of record and there is no reasonable cause to believe that his or her level of performance will drop;
b. does not have documented time or attendance issues; and
c. has worked a Compressed 5-4/9 work schedule for at least one year prior to being eligible to request a Compressed 4-10 work schedule.
2. The Employer may exclude or remove certain positions from
participation in a Compressed 5-4/9 or 4-10 work schedule for significant business reasons, such as where job responsibilities cannot be covered adequately when one or more employees in such positions are on a Compressed schedule. Before excluding or removing a position, the Employer will notify the Union.
B. Approval Process
1. An eligible full-time employee wishing to work a Compressed 5-4/9 or 4-10 schedule will submit in writing his or her first, second and third choices for work schedules, regular day(s) off, and “eight-hour day for a Compressed 5-4/9 schedule” to his or her supervisor. An eligible part-time employee will also submit his or her choices, as appropriate.
2. The Employer may determine that the responsibilities of specific employees in certain positions require those employees to be present during specific weekdays during each pay-period. The Employer will attempt to accommodate employee choices of regular day off. A decision not to accommodate an employee's choice of regular day off may be based on the fact that the responsibilities of specific individual employees in certain positions require those employees to be present on particular days of the week.
3. An employee who has responsibilities that are typically performed on a specified day of the workweek (i.e., timekeepers) may not request to be off on that day.
4. The Employer will respond to a completed request for a Compressed 5-4/9 or 4-10 schedule within fourteen (14) calendar days. In the event of denial, upon the employee’s request, the Employer will provide the employee with reasons for the denial in writing.
5. The Employer’s decision to grant or deny an employee’s request will be based on whether the proposed schedule interferes with the ability to meet workload and programmatic objectives and is otherwise in accordance with this Article. In this regard, the Employer also will consider whether the responsibilities of employees in certain positions require those employees to be present during all of their Office’s official business hours. The Employer may exclude or remove certain positions from participation in a Compressed 5-4/9 or 4-10 work schedule for this and other significant business reasons, such as where job responsibilities cannot be covered adequately when one or more employees in such positions are on the same Compressed 5-4/9 or 4-10 schedule. Before excluding or removing a position, the Employer will notify the Union.
6. The Employer also may consider whether the employee is on a performance improvement plan, has documented time or attendance issues, is undergoing training in a new job, is serving a probationary period, or has received any disciplinary or adverse action in the preceding twelve (12) months.
7. A Division/Office/Regional Office may adopt and rely on numerical staffing requirements (such as minimum percentages of staff scheduled for work throughout each workday) to ensure that adequate coverage for office responsibilities is available. The Employer may deny a request for a Compressed 5-4/9 or 4-10 schedule based on the need to maintain such minimum coverage requirements.
8. If multiple employees in the same branch request similar Compressed 5-4/9 or 4-10 schedule and not all can be accommodated by the Employer, such pending work schedule requests will be determined by the Employer based on grade and Agency seniority.
9. Any employee allowed to work a Compressed 4-10 work schedule will be subject to a one year trial period. During this trial period, the Employer may require an employee on a Compressed 4-10 work schedule to return to a Flexitour Schedule with credit hours or a Compressed 5-4/9 work schedule for any reason set forth in 2, 3, 5, 6 and/or 7 above, provided the employee is given two (2) weeks advance written notice. Thereafter, with two (2) weeks advance written notice, such employee may be required to return to a Compressed 5-4/9 schedule, for any of the reasons set forth in Section 9 below.
Section 8 - Employee-Initiated Changes
A. An employee on an Alternative Work Schedule may submit a written request to work a conforming schedule at any time. If approved, the new schedule will begin with the next full pay-period after approval.
B. An employee on a Compressed 5-4/9 or 4-10 work schedule may request to change his or her non-workday to another workday in the pay period because of mission or workload requirement.
C. An employee may submit a written request to change his or her established Alternative Work Schedule once each calendar quarter. The employee must provide at least fourteen (14) calendar days notice of the proposed change. If approved, the employee’s new schedule will begin with the next full pay-period after approval. In the event of denial, upon the employee’s request, the Employer will provide the employee with reasons for the denial in writing.
D. In exceptional circumstances, an employee may submit a written request to change his or her Alternative Work Schedule more than once each quarter or amend his or her choice of a non-work day under a Compressed 5-4/9 or 4-10 schedule to another day in the same week or bi-week. The Employer will consider such requests in accordance with mission, staffing, and workload requirements.
Section 9 - Employer-Initiated Changes
A. The Employer may change an employee’s Alternative Work Schedule or his or her regular day off for thirty (30) days or fewer because of mission, staffing or workload requirements. The Employer may consider an employee’s request under this provision. The Employer will strive to give the employee at least one (1) week notice of such a temporary change.
B. Except in the case of unforeseen contingencies, an employee working a Compressed 5-4/9 or 4-10 work schedule will not be expected to forego a regularly scheduled day(s) off. If an employee must forego his or her regularly scheduled day(s) off, it will be rescheduled for another workday(s) in the same pay-period.
C. The Employer may suspend or terminate an employee’s Alternative Work Schedule if the Employer finds that:
1. the employee’s continued participation is inconsistent with the requirements of this Article;
2. the employee’s performance has declined (for example, where the employee fails to meet established deadlines or fails to progress satisfactorily on assignments but excluding insignificant fluctuations or declines in performance);
3. the employee fails truthfully to report time worked, or fails to comply with the requirements and provisions of this Article;
4. the employee has documented time or attendance issues; or
5. adequate coverage for office responsibilities is not available.
D. Where possible, the Employer will give an employee fourteen (14) calendar days advanced notice of a suspension or termination of the employee’s Alternative Work Schedule.
E. The suspension or termination of an employee’s approved Alternative Work Schedule pursuant to this section is not a disciplinary action.
Section 10 - Changes Due to Travel or Training
An employee on an Alternative Work Schedule will revert to a conforming schedule during a pay-period in which he or she is on travel status or on official business outside of his or her official duty station (including training), unless he or she can reach an alternative agreement with the Employer. Such an alternative arrangement may not increase the cost of the travel, official business, or training to the Employer, nor may it violate any rule, regulation or statute, or this or any other Article of the Agreement.
Section 11 - Changes Due to Promotion, Reassignment or Detail
If an employee is promoted, reassigned or detailed, he or she must request
approval from his or her new supervisor of the employee’s previously elected Alternative Work Schedule, or must submit a request to the new supervisor for a new schedule.
Section 12 - Credit Hours (Conforming and Flexitour Schedules Only)
A. An employee on a Conforming or Flexitour Schedule may earn and use credit hours to accommodate appointments or other personal needs without using leave.
B. An employee may not use credit hours to create or increase entitlement to overtime pay.
C. An employee may request to use credit hours to take off an entire day or days of work. However, an employee may not earn or use credit hours to create a de facto change in his or her approved tour of duty. For example:
1. an employee may not work 10 hours every day to get one day off each week; or
2. if an employee’s approved tour of duty is 9:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m., he or she may not request to arrive at 8:00 a.m. every day in order to create a Compressed 5-4/9 schedule or request to arrive at 7:00 a.m. every day in order to create a Compressed 4-10 schedule using credit hours.
An employee seeking to establish a schedule with a regularly scheduled day-off (either the same day of the pay-period or on different days every pay-period) must request to change his or her work schedule to a Compressed 5-4/9 or 4-10 work schedule provided for by this Article.
D. An employee’s written request to earn credit hours must be approved, normally in advance and in writing, by the employee’s supervisor. The Employer may, in its sole discretion, approve credit hours retroactively.
The Employer’s decision regarding an employee’s request to earn credit hours will be based on whether there is sufficient work available to keep the employee productively occupied during the entire period for which credit hours are requested, and whether that work can be performed at the requested time. An employee may not save work that otherwise could be completed during the regular tour of duty in order to earn credit hours.
E. An employee’s written request to use credit hours must be approved in advance and in writing by the employee’s supervisor. In the event of a denial, the Employer will provide the employee with reasons for the denial in writing.
The Employer will approve an employee’s written request to use credit hours already earned unless the employee’s absence would have an adverse effect on staffing, workload and mission requirements.
F. An employee may request to earn up to two (2) credit hours per workday, and up to eight (8) hours on a non-workday weekend between 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m., subject to the other requirements of this Section. An employee may not earn credit hours during a holiday or an excused absence.
G. An employee may request to earn credit hours in 15-minute increments, subject to a 30-minute minimum. An employee may request to use credit hours in 15-minute increments.
H. A full-time employee may earn up to twenty-four (24) credit hours in a pay-period. The number of credit hours a part-time employee may earn is equal to the number of hours worked per pay-period times twenty-four (24) divided by eighty (80).
A full-time employee may carry over up to twenty-four (24) credit hours from one pay-period to the next. The number of hours a part-time employee may carry over is equal to the number of hours worked per pay-period divided by four (4).
I. An employee will not be compensated for excess credit hours that cannot be carried over. An employee must use any earned credit hours before beginning a Compressed 5-4/9 or 4/10 work schedule.
J. Although an employee may request to work credit hours on weekends, and at early and late times on workdays, the Parties recognize that building services (e.g., heating, air conditioning, ventilation) may not be available during such times. Therefore, an employee who earns credit hours during these times may do so at his or her own inconvenience.
K. While an employee may only earn credit hours at his or her Official Duty Station, an employee working an approved telework schedule on a given day(s) may request to earn credit hours at his or her approved alternate work site on that day/those days.
L. A full-time employee may earn credit hours consistent with his or her office’s morning and afternoon flexible bands, as well as the band for non-workday weekends. Therefore, credit hours may not be earned before or after the employee’s Office’s flexible and weekend bands. A part-time employee may earn credit hours within these bands as well as during his or her Office’s core hours.
M. An employee may not earn credit hours when at Employer-required training.
N. An employee may not earn credit hours during his or her lunch break.
O. An employee may earn credit hours while on travel status en route to/from the TDY in accordance with Article 12 of this Agreement. Under this Section, an employee on travel status may earn credit hours at a temporary duty station only when the employee’s written request to earn credit hours has been approved in advance and in writing by the employee’s supervisor.
Section 13 – Pay/Leave
A. An employee working a Compressed 5-4/9 or 4-10 work schedule is entitled to basic pay for the number of hours of the work schedule that fall on a holiday. When a legal holiday falls on a workday, the employee will be excused with pay and without charge to leave for the number of duty hours scheduled that day.
B. When a legal holiday falls on a scheduled regular day off, an employee working a Compressed 5-4/9 or 4-10 work schedule is entitled to an in-lieu of holiday. An in-lieu of holiday is the same as a legal public holiday for pay and leave purposes. The number of hours of paid holiday leave granted on an in-lieu of holiday is the number of hours the employee would otherwise have worked that day. In-lieu of holidays always will be the workday preceding the normal holiday, unless a holiday falls on a Monday, in which case the in-lieu of holiday will be the following workday.
No in-lieu holiday will be granted when administrative leave is approved because of bad weather or other emergency conditions on an employee’s regular day off.
C. When an employee is absent from the job other than for a holiday, he or she will be charged with leave equal in hours to the scheduled length of his or her work day.
D. Implementation of this Article will in no way change current leave practices except as otherwise provided for by this Agreement.
E. An employee is not entitled to night differential pay if he or she voluntarily works a flexitour work schedule extending beyond 6:00 p.m. (e.g., 10:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m.).
Section 14 - Lunch
An employee’s lunch break normally should be taken between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. An employee may not save any part of his or her lunch break so as to shorten his or her workday, or to extend subsequent lunch periods.
Section 15 - Time Reporting
The Employer will not require employees to sign in or sign out while working Alternative Work Schedules or earning/using credit hours. Instead, the Employer will use its time and attendance system to record, certify, and report time and attendance. The Employer also will continue to use its “STATS” system for related purposes.
However, during the one year trial period that an employee is working on an approved Compressed 4-10 work schedule, he or she may be required to use a centrally located sequential sign-in/sign-out sheet for timekeeping and accountability. Such employees will log their time upon arrival and departure. Such employees working at an alternate work location will log their times via either a voice or e-mail message to their supervisor. Failure to do so may result in removal from the Compressed 4-10 work schedule.
The Employer may impose additional time reporting requirements on an employee who consistently arrives late and/or leaves early after being warned by the Employer to correct the problem. If the problem is not corrected, the Employer will inform the employee in writing of the additional requirements.
Section 16 - Reports
Within ninety (90) days of the end of each fiscal year, the Employer will report to the NTEU the following information for all bargaining unit employees:
1. Division/Office/Regional Office;
2. position/series;
3. grade;
4. type of compressed or non-conforming flexitour work schedule.
In addition, the Employer will provide the Union with other information in accordance with Section 7114 of the Labor Management Relations Statute.
Section 17
This Article will take effect sixty (60) days after the effective date of this agreement.