EFFECTIVE DATE: 07/01/96
DURATION: Effective until superseded or removed / 6109.11,20
Page 2 of 9
FSH 6109.11 – pay administration, attendance, and leave handbook
Chapter 20 – attendance and leave
Forest Service Handbook
gifford pinchot national forest (region 6)
VANCOUVER, WA
fsH 6109.11 – pay administration, attendance, and leave handbook
chapteR 20 – attendance and leave
Supplement No.: R6/Gifford Pinchot-6109.11-96-1
Effective Date: July 1, 1996
Duration: Effective until superseded or removed
Approved: ted c. stubblefieldForest Supervisor / Date Approved: 07/01/96
Posting Instructions: Supplements are numbered consecutively by Handbook number and calendar year. Post by document name. Remove entire document and replace with this supplement. Retain this transmittal as the first page of this document.
New Document(s): / 6109.11,20 / 9 PagesSuperseded Document(s):
(Last supplement was 6109.11-94-1) / 6109.20
(6109.11-94-1) / 8 Pages
Digest: Insert digest information here
22.2b – 22.22f / Incorporates and clarifies recent Forest Leadership Team decision on earned credit hours and flexible time bands. This is an interim supplement pending further review and clarification of Alternative Work Schedules.
22.2 - Alternative Work Schedules. General Policy and Guidelines
22.2a - Work schedules will be approved to assure work objectives are met. This includes productivity: level of direct or indirect services furnished to the public; and the cost of operations, other than reasonable administrative costs. Each Line Officer and Forest Staff has the authority to approve and use AWS and may redelegate this authority.
1. Every employee must have a scheduled tour of duty.
2. Once established, each supervisor is responsible to ensure they are managed properly.
3. When a bargaining unit employee requests a schedule and the request is denied, both Local 1373 and the employee will receive a written copy of the denial. (Article 18)
4. All offices must be adequately staffed to conduct normal business during regular business hours, Monday through Friday. Regular business hours are 7:45 a.m. through 4:30 p.m.
5. All scheduling must meet a USDA requirement that a key staff member or supervisor be available on all workdays unless there is a special or emergency situation.
6. Management will not adjust employees work schedules for the sole purpose of avoiding overtime or other premium or extra compensation.
7. All leave and scheduling must be approved in advance by the work supervisor.
22.22 - Variable Day, Variable Week, and Maxiflex Schedule Guidelines. While all available flexible schedules are authorized and available for use on the Forest, it is recommended that maxiflex be used for ALL flexible schedules. The more restrictive variable day and variable week schedules can be accommodated within a maxiflex schedule.
Supervisors may document a flexible work schedule on the T&A or in a memo or other locally developed form. If a memo or form is used, it is to be filed with the time and attendance (T&A) records.
22.22a - Scheduled Tour of Duty. Every employee shall have a scheduled tour of duty.
1. If over 6 hours, it must have a scheduled lunch break of at least 1/2 hour.
2. A fifteen-minute rest break is authorized each morning and afternoon. Breaks are considered hours of employment, they are NOT authorized leave of absence. Breaks are to be taken midway between work periods and CANNOT be "saved" to add on to a lunch break or to allow an individual to leave early at the end of the day.
22.22b - Flexible Time Bands. The standard flexible time band for the Gifford Pinchot National Forest shall be 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on all scheduled workdays.
1. Any other flexible time band must be based on the requirements of the work, approved by the Line or Staff Officer, and must be documented in the T&A file. An example of another flexible time band would be 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. to accommodate radio coverage during fire season. Premium night pay must be paid in this example.
2. Flexible time bands are consecutive hours and may not exceed 12 hours per day.
3. Approved travel within the flexible time band is work hours as either "01" hours or as earned credit hours. It is the employee's option to flex their schedule within the established time bands to accommodate approved travel.
4. Employees may "flex" outside of the flexible time band of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. with the approval of their supervisors.
22.22c - Core Time Bands. The standard core time band for the Gifford Pinchot National Forest shall be 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on scheduled workdays.
1. Any other core time band must be based on the requirements of the work, approved by the Line or Staff Officer, and must be documented in the T&A file.
2. Employees must have supervisory approval not to work during the core time band. Annual leave, sick leave, leave without pay, and credit hours used can be taken with supervisory approval.
3. It is the employee's option, with supervisory concurrence, to "flex" the periods outside of the core time band (9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.) and within the flexible time band (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.).
4. Supervisory concurrence is expected unless it can be documented that flexing interferes with the requirements of the work.
22.22d - Core Time Deviation. Supervisors may permit core time deviations on a case-by-case basis. This approval can be made by signing the T&A with the actual work hours shown.
22.22e - Scheduled Work Requirement.
1. Flexible work schedules are based on a scheduled tour of duty. Employees shall work their scheduled tour of duty unless otherwise approved to flex, to use credit hours, or to work credit hours.
2. Maxiflex. The basic work requirement for maxiflex is 80 hours each pay period. The employee must account for core hours on 3 workdays per workweek. Employee may vary length of the workweek, the workday, and the number of days per week. Employees scheduled tour of duty must include at least 4 days per week.
3. Credit Hours are hours worked in excess of the employee's basic work requirements which the employee elects to work so as to vary the length of the workday or workweek.
a. Within the flexible time bands, flexing and credit hours are worked at the employee's option with the concurrence of the supervisor. They do not need to be officially ordered and approved in advance.
b. Outside the flexible time bands, flexing and credit hours are worked at the employee's option with the approval of the supervisor. Working outside of the flexible time bands requires supervisor advanced approval. Supervisor approval is documented by the supervisor's signature on the employee's time sheet.
c. Credit hours must be earned and used during the flexible time bands of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
d. Credit hours are not earned until after the basic work requirement of 80 hours is met.
e. Credit hours can be earned for authorized travel if the travel occurs during the flexible time band of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
f. Employees may not earn or use credit hours when assigned to an incident command (e.g., fire) where the employee is being paid out of EFFS or other special funds.
g. An employee may elect to earn credit hours in lieu of any compensable overtime, EXCEPT when assigned to an incident command. (An exception to this rule is when a NFFE representative is dispatched to an incident by the NFFE Regional Vice President).
h. The maximum amount of credit hours allowed at the end of any pay period is 24.
i. Approval to use credit hours is exactly the same as approval to use annual leave.
j. Credit hours cannot be earned or used on holidays or other situations where premium pay is involved.
22.22f - Overtime Hours. Hours officially ordered and approved in advance by management in excess of 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week.
1. The requirement that all hours must be officially ordered and approved in advance also applies to nonexempt employees under FLSA as there is NO concept of "suffer and permit" under AWS.
2. Hours worked outside of the flexible time band (normally 6 a.m. - 6 p.m.) must be officially ordered and approved in advance and paid as overtime or compensatory time, unless the work schedule has been changed.
3. Travel outside of the flexible time band must be covered under appropriate overtime regulations to be compensable.
4. Compensatory time is hours officially ordered and approved in exactly the same manner as overtime. All employees may request compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay.
22.22g - Night Pay. Night differential is paid to employees only on hours that are part of regularly scheduled tours of duty between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. An hour in a flexible time band is within the regularly scheduled tour of duty.
22.22h - Sunday Pay. Sunday differential is paid to full time employees (part-time employees are not eligible) only on tours that are regularly scheduled on a Sunday.
22.22i - Holiday Pay. A full time employee relieved from working on a holiday is entitled to pay for 8 hours regardless of how many hours they are scheduled for that day. A part-time employee is entitled to pay for the hours scheduled to work on that day. An employee cannot receive more than 8 hours of Holiday Pay.
22.22j - Leave.
1. Sick and Annual Leave. Sick and annual leave can be taken in excess of 8 hours per day if the employee has a pattern of work in excess of 8 hours, or has an approved work schedule of more than eight hours.
2. Administrative Leave. In the event the work site is closed for the day or the employee is other-wise administratively excused from reporting to work, the employee is entitled to a maximum of 8 hours administrative leave. If there is no established work schedule, the stop and start hours will be the regular business hours of 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
22.22k - Fire Assignments (Incident Command). When employees are assigned to an emergency fire tour, they will convert to a first 8-hour tour. No credit hours can be used or accrued for the duration of the tour.
22.22l - Unearned Credit Hours (Training). Travel to and from a training session, meeting, workshop, etc., can be flexed (22.22b3). Actual days of session are 8 hours per day. Conversion to a standard tour for the pay period is not required, but the situation should be carefully reviewed prior to the session to ensure the employee will have the 80 hours base pay. Credit hours cannot be used or accrued during a training situation.
22.23 - 5-4/9 Compressed Schedule Guidelines (4/10 schedule and 5-4/9 schedule). Work schedules will be approved to assure work objectives are met. This includes productivity, level of direct or indirect services furnished to the public, and the cost of operations, other than reasonable administrative costs. Each Line Officer and Forest Staff has the authority to approve and use CWS and may redelegate this authority. The only exception is that 4-10 schedules are not approved for office personnel unless authorized by the line officer. See FSH 6109.11(22.23) for additional information and requirements.
GP Supplement 6109.11-96-1EFFECTIVE DATE: 07/01/96
DURATION: Effective until superseded or removed / 6109.11,20
Page 9 of 9
FSH 6109.11 – pay administration, attendance, and leave handbook
Chapter 20 – attendance and leave
EXHIBIT 1
5 8-HOUR/DAY VARIABLE DAY VARIABLE WEEK MAXIFLEX 5-4/9 4-10 FIRST 40
SCHEDULED TOUR OF DUTY 5 8-hour days 5 days per 40 5 days per work At least 4 days 8 9-hour days + 4 10-hour days 1st 40 hours
Full-time tour per workweek hour workweek week, 80 hrs/pp per wrkweek, 80 8-hour day per workweek in pay status
hours per pay period per pay period per work week
Part-time tour 16-32 hours/week 16-32 hours/week 16-32 hours/week 16-32 hours/week At least one At least one Does not
9-hour day 10-hour day apply
WORK SCHEDULE 5 days/week 5 days/week 10 days/pay period 3 "core" days 5 or 4 days/ 4 days/week 5 or 6 days
REQUIREMENTS each week week of workweek
STANDARD FLEXIBLE Does not apply - - - - Normal week between 0600 and 1800 hours ------Does not apply Does not apply Does not apply
TIME BAND
STANDARD CORE HOURS Does not apply 0930-1100 0930-1100 0930-1100 Does not apply Does not apply Does not apply
Changes may 1300-1430 1300-1430 1300-1430
be approved by the 5 days/week each workday 3 days/week
supervisor
CORE TIME DEVIATION Does not apply - - Can use approved leave during core time hours ------Does not apply Does not apply Does not apply
EARN CREDIT HOURS Does not apply Does not apply - - Can earn Credit Hours for all - -- - - Does not apply Does not apply Does not apply
compensable work time
USE CREDIT HOURS Does not apply Does not apply - - Can use credit hours to vary - - - - - Does not apply Does not apply Does not apply
the length of the workweek
EXHIBIT 1 (Continued)
5 8-HOUR/DAY VARIABLE DAY VARIABLE WEEK MAXIFLEX 5-4/9 4-10 FIRST 40
CARRY OVER CREDIT HOUR Does not apply Does not apply Maximum of 24 Maximum of 24 Does not apply Does not apply Does not apply