VA Saturday premium pay for pay plans ws, wl, and wg WORKAROUND

Effective Pay Period 02, 2015 (PPE 02/07/15)

Updated 04/10/2015

Section 1: Purpose:

This workaround affects Veterans Health Administration Federal Wage System[1] (FWS) employees recently identified as Health Care Workers (HCWs). VA Human Resources Management Letter (HRML) No. 05-14-06[2]issued notice of expanded Title 38 weekend premium pay entitlementfor fifteen FWS Occupation Series (3511, 3566, 4742, 4801, 4805, 5306, 5309, 5402, 5406, 5415, 5703, 7304, 7305, 7404, and 7408) which are in pay plans WS (Wage Supervisor), WL (Wage Leader), or WG (Wage Grade). Title 38 weekend premium pay (also known as Saturday and Sunday premium pay) is equal to 25 percent of the employee’s basic hourly rate of pay.

Effective July 13, 2014, full-time, part-time, and intermittent FWS employees in eligible healthcare worker occupations are entitled to:

  • weekend premium (Saturday) for service performed on a tour of duty beginning Friday and ending on Saturday and/or service performed on a tour of duty on Saturday, and
  • weekend premium (Sunday) for service performed on a tour of duty beginning Saturday and ending on Sunday, service performed on a tour of duty on Sunday, and service performed on a tour of duty beginning Sunday and ending on Monday.

The Defense Civilian Pay System (DCPS) is programmed to pay Sunday premium pay for non-overtime hours to full-time and part-time FWS employees; however, DCPS is not programmed to pay FT/PT FWS healthcare workers Saturday premiumpay or weekend premium (Saturday or Sunday)for overtime hours. In addition, DCPS is not programmed to pay weekend premium (Saturday or Sunday) for any hours worked by intermittent FWShealthcare workers. Currently, if a FWS employee is scheduled and works regular hours on a Saturday, they are paid their regular wages plus applicable shift differentials and environmental/hazard pay. Upon implementation of System Change Request (SCR) Y5794, DCPS will pay VA FWS healthcare workers in pay plans WS, WL, and WG weekend premium for all eligible overtime and non-overtime hours worked on a weekend tour of duty in addition to regular wages plus applicable differentials and environmental/hazard pay.

NOTE: Undercurrent DCPS system limitations, this workaround will only generate Sunday premium for full-time and part-time FWS employees for qualifyingnon-overtime hoursof service performed on a weekend tour of duty. Once DCPS has completed implementation of SCR Y5794, additional guidance will be issued to local VA payroll office staff.

Section 2: Procedures:

VA Personnel (Customer Service Representatives (CSR) and Employees):

1)Current pay period processing and forward (effective with the issuance of this workaround) - for affectedFWS (ungraded)healthcare workers (HCW)whoare entitled to Saturday premium pay for time worked on a tour of duty which begins on Friday and ends on Saturday and/or time workedon a tour of duty which begins and ends on Saturday.

  1. For ETA stations:
  2. Timekeeper:
  3. If the employee is entitled to Saturday premium and the Saturday hours are unscheduledand performed on a tour of duty, change the employee’s work schedule to reflect Saturday as a scheduled dayand change one of the other workdays to reflect unscheduled hours.
  4. For qualifying regular hours worked on Saturday, code theETA time and attendance record as appropriate (worked or leave usage) and enter a remark stating “Saturday premium pay”.
  5. For qualifying overtime/compensatory time hours performed on a tour of duty, submit anOT/CT request for approval, code the timecardas appropriate (OT or CT) with time remarks code #9 – OT/CT on Premium T&L and enter a remark stating“HCW weekend premium pay”. Note: OT/CT hours input on Saturday or Sunday must exceed the daily/weekly overtime requirement.
  6. Send a list of FWS HCWs who are entitled to Saturday and/or Sunday premium pay to your local payroll office reflecting the number of weekend premium pay hours, pay period(s) and TL unit number(s).
  7. Payroll: The VA CSR will verify the information received from the timekeeper and update the DCPS time and attendance record as follows:
  8. Verify if the employee’s DCPS work schedule reflects Saturday hours. If Saturday regular hours are reflected, then input the corresponding DCPS Sunday time code for that day/week – SF (Sunday 1st shift), SS (Sunday 2nd shift), or ST (Sunday 3rd shift) on the Saturday tour of duty. If leave was taken, ensure leave hours are reflected. A typed remark must be included stating “Saturday premium pay”. If the Saturday hours worked fall on a holiday, then enter the corresponding DCPS time codes – HF (Sunday 1st shift), HS (Sunday 2nd shift), or HT (Sunday 3rd shift).
  9. If the DCPS work schedule reflects both Saturday & Sunday regular hours, then input the corresponding Sunday time code (SS or ST) on Monday. If Monday is a non-workday, a work schedule change will be required to reflect Monday as a workday with a corresponding Sunday time code (SS or ST).
  10. If Saturday hours are not reflected in the DCPS work schedule, then change the DCPS work schedule to reflect Saturday as a tour of dutyand one of the other workdays as unscheduled overtime (OU) hours. Update the DCPS timecard with the corresponding Sunday shift code (SF/SS/ST) for that day/week on the Saturday tour of duty.
  11. If qualifying Saturday or Sunday overtime/compensatory time hours are reflected on the ETA timecard, then ensure the appropriate corresponding OT/CT time code (OU–Overtime Unscheduled, OS-Overtime Scheduled, OC-Overtime Callback, CE-Compensatory Time Earned, CC-Compensatory Callback) is input for the correct day/week. Note: DCPS will not associate weekend premium entitlement with OT/CT hours for healthcare workers. Weekendpremium must be associated with regular hours in DCPS and may require a work schedule change to show sufficient non-overtime hours on Sunday, Monday or Saturday in the correct week. Work schedule changes require entry for the following pay period work schedule to return to the work schedule generated in automated process.
  12. Until further notice, local VA payroll must maintain documentation which reflects:

a)All manual adjustments entered on the DCPS timecard for this workaround;

b)Full-time and part-time FWS HCW who work overtime and/or compensatory time hours which are performed on a tour of duty and qualify for weekend (Saturday/Sunday) premium pay; and

c)Intermittent FWS HCW who perform service on a tour of duty and qualify for weekend (Saturday/Sunday) premium pay, to include regular time, holiday, overtime, and/or compensatory time hours.

d)Once DFAS’ system has been updated, local payroll will receive instruction on how to process retro payments for b & c.

e)This documentation will need to be maintained on file for a minimum of 6 years.

  • NOTE: If changes are input in DCPS to accommodate this workaround, the VA CSR must monitor and review any corrected timecards to ensure the manual DCPS entry for Saturday premium pay is accurately reflected in DCPS.
  1. For VATAS stations:
  2. Timekeeper:
  3. If the employee is entitled to Saturday premium and the Saturday hours are unscheduled and performed on a tour of duty, submit a temporary work schedule change to reflect Saturday as a scheduled day and another day as a day off.
  4. For qualifying regular hours worked on Saturday, applythe tour on the VATAS time and attendance record with the corresponding Sunday hourscode – SF (Sunday 1st shift), SS (Sunday 2nd shift), or ST (Sunday 3rd shift). If leave was taken, ensure leave hours are reflected. A typed remark must be included stating “Saturday premium pay”. If the Saturday hours worked fall on a holiday, then apply the corresponding hours codes – HF (Sunday 1st shift), HS (Sunday 2nd shift), or HT (Sunday 3rd shift).
  5. For qualifying overtime/compensatory time hours performedon a tour of duty on Saturday or Sunday, submit the appropriate premium pay request for approval,ensuring the corresponding OT/CT time code (OU–Overtime Unscheduled, OS-Overtime Scheduled, OC-Overtime Callback, CE-Compensatory Time Earned, CC-Compensatory Callback) is populated for the correct day/week. A typed remark must be included stating “HCW weekend premium pay”. Note: OT/CT hours input on Saturday or Sunday must exceed the daily/weekly overtime requirement.
  6. Send a list of FWS HCWs who are entitled to Saturday and/or Sunday premium pay to your local payroll office reflecting the number of weekend premium pay hours, pay period(s) and TL unit number(s).
  7. Payroll:
  8. It is recommended that no changes be entered by the VA CSR in DCPSif possible.
  9. The VA CSRwill verify the information entered on the timesheet by the timekeeper and verify if the employee’s DCPS work schedule reflects Saturday hours,ensuring the corresponding Sunday hours code (SF/SS/ST) for that day/week (or HF/HS/HT for a Saturday holiday) is reflected on the employee’s timesheet.
  10. If Saturday hours are not reflected in the DCPS work schedule, then the VA CSR will need to change the DCPS work schedule to reflect a Saturday tour of duty and change one of the other workdays to unscheduled overtime (OU) hours. Update the DCPS timecard with the corresponding Sunday hours code (SF/SS/ST) for that day/week on the Saturday tour of duty.
  11. If the DCPS work schedule reflects both Saturday & Sunday regular hours, the VA CSR will input the corresponding Sunday hours code on Monday. If Monday is a non-workday, a work schedule change will be required to reflect Monday as a workday with a corresponding Sunday hours code (SS or ST).
  12. If qualifying Saturday or Sunday overtime/compensatory time hours are worked, ensure the corresponding OT/CT hours code (OU/OS/OC/CE/CC) is input for the correct day/week. Note: DCPS will not associate weekend premium entitlement with OT/CT hours for healthcare workers. Weekend premium must be associated with regular hours in DCPS and may require a work schedule change to show sufficient non-overtime hours on Sunday, Monday or Saturday in the correct week. Work schedule changesrequire entry for the following pay period work schedule to return to the work schedule generated in automated process.
  13. Until further notice, local VA payroll must maintain documentation which reflects:

a)All manual adjustments entered on the DCPS timecard for this workaround;

b)Full-time and part-time FWS HCW who work overtime and/or compensatory time hours which are performed on a tour of duty and qualify for weekend (Saturday/Sunday) premium pay; and

c)Intermittent FWS HCW who perform service on a tour of duty and qualify for weekend (Saturday/Sunday) premium pay, to include regular time, holiday, overtime, and/or compensatory time hours.

d)Once DFAS’ system has been updated, local payroll will receive instruction on how to process retro payments for b & c.

e)This documentation will need to be maintained on file for a minimum of 6 years.

  • NOTE: If changes are input in DCPS to accommodate this workaround, the VA CSR must monitor and review any corrected timesheets to ensure the manual DCPS entry for Saturday premium pay is not overwritten and is accurately reflected in DCPS.

2)Retro-processing for pay periods beginning 7/13/14 for affected FWSHCWs who are entitled to Saturday premium pay for time worked on a tour of duty which begins on Friday and ends on Saturday and/or time worked which begins and ends on Saturday. Corrected timecards/timesheets will be required for retro-processing with an effective date beginning on or after 7/13/14. Note: Retro-processing should be completed as soon as possible for active, separated, and transferred employees who are eligible for Saturday premium pay.

  1. For ETA stations
  2. Timekeeper:
  3. If the employee is entitled to Saturday premium and the Saturday hours are unscheduled and performed on a tour of duty, submit a corrected timecard to change the employee’s work schedule to reflect Saturday as a scheduled dayand one of the other workdays as unscheduled hours.
  4. For qualifying regular hours worked on Saturday, code the ETA time and attendance record as appropriate (worked or leave usage) and enter a remark stating “Saturdaypremium pay”.
  5. For qualifying overtime/compensatory time hours performed on a tour of duty, submit anOT/CT request for approval, code thetimecard as appropriate (OT/CT) with time remarks code #9 – OT/CT on Premium T&L, and enter a remark stating “HCW weekend premium pay”. Note: OT/CT hours input on Saturday or Sunday must exceed the daily/weekly overtime requirement.
  6. Send a list of FWS HCWs who are entitled to Saturday and/or Sunday premium pay and have corrected timecardsto your local payroll office reflecting the number of weekend premium pay hours, pay period(s) and TL unit number(s).
  7. Payroll: The VA CSR will verify information received from the timekeeper and update the DCPS time and attendance record for the corrected ETA timecard as follows:
  8. Verify if the employee’s DCPS work schedule reflects Saturday hours. If Saturday regular hours are reflected, then input the corresponding Sunday shift code (SF/SS/ST) code for that day/week (or HF/HS/HT for a Saturday holiday).
  9. If Saturday hours are not reflected in the DCPS work schedule, then change the DCPS work schedule to reflect Saturday hours as a tour of dutyand one of the other workdays as unscheduled overtime (OU) hours. Update the DCPS timecard with the corresponding Sunday shift code (SF/SS/ST) for that day/week on the Saturday tour of duty.
  10. If the DCPS work schedule reflects both Saturday & Sunday regular hours, then input the corresponding Sunday time code (SS or ST) on Monday. If Monday is a non-workday, a work schedule change will be required to reflect Monday as a workday with a corresponding Sunday time code (SS or ST).
  11. If qualifying Saturday or Sunday overtime/compensatory time hours are reflected on the ETA timecard, then ensure the appropriate corresponding OT/CT time code (OU/OS/OC/CE/CC) is input for the correct day/week. Note: DCPS will not associate weekend premium entitlement with OT/CT hours for healthcare workers. Weekend premium must be associated with regular hours in DCPS and may require a work schedule change to show sufficient non-overtime hours on Sunday, Monday or Saturday in the correct week. Work schedule changes require entry for the following pay period work schedule to return to the work schedule generated in automated process.
  12. Until further notice, local VA payroll must maintain documentation which reflects:

a)All manual adjustments entered on the DCPS timecardfor this workaround;

b)Full-time and part-time FWS HCW who work overtime and/or compensatory time hours which are performed on a tour of duty and qualify for weekend (Saturday/Sunday) premium pay; and

c)Intermittent FWS HCW who perform service on a tour of duty and qualify for weekend (Saturday/Sunday) premium pay, to include regular time, holiday, overtime, and/or compensatory time hours.

d)Once DFAS’ system has been updated, local payroll will receive instruction on how to process retro payments for b & c.

e)This documentation will need to be maintained on file for a minimum of 6 years.

  • NOTE: If changes are input in DCPS to accommodate this workaround, the VA CSR must continue to monitor and review any corrected timecards to ensure the manual DCPS entry for Saturday premium pay is accurately reflected in DCPS.
  1. For VATAS stations
  2. Timekeeper:
  3. If the employee is entitled to Saturday premium and the Saturday hours are unscheduled and performed on a tour of duty, submit a temporary work schedule change for the affected pay period to change the employee’s work schedule to reflect Saturday as a scheduled day. Create the corrected timesheet so the temporary work schedule can be populated following the supervisor’sapproval.
  4. For qualifying hours worked on Saturday, apply the tour on the VATAS time and attendance record ensuring the corresponding hours code – SF (Sunday 1st shift), SS (Sunday 2nd shift), or ST (Sunday 3rd shift) is reflectedand/or leave entry is correct, if leave was taken. A typed remark must be included stating “Saturday premium pay”. If the Saturday hours worked fall on a holiday, then apply the corresponding time codes – HF (Sunday 1st shift), HS (Sunday 2nd shift), or HT (Sunday 3rd shift).
  5. For qualifying overtime/compensatory time hoursperformed on a tour of duty and worked on Saturday or Sunday, enter the appropriate premium pay request with a typed remark stating “HCW weekend premium pay”and submit the request forapproval. After the request is approved and populated to the corrected timesheet,ensure that the corresponding OT/CT hours code (OU/OS/OC/CE/CC) is populated for the correct day/week. Note: OT/CT hours input on Saturday or Sunday must exceed the daily/weekly overtime requirement.
  6. Send a list of FWS HCWs who are entitled to Saturday and/or Sunday premium pay and have corrected timesheets to your local payroll office reflecting the number of weekend premium pay hours, pay period(s) and TL unit number(s).
  1. Payroll:
  2. It is vital that the VA CSR review the corrected timesheet(s) and the original DCPS postingsprior to the SDA timesheet transmissionto ensure the corrected timesheet information will be accurately populated in DCPS.
  3. Once the corrected timesheet has been transmitted through the SDA, the VA CSR will verify if the employee’s DCPS work schedule reflects Saturday hours and ensure the corresponding Sunday shift code (SF/SS/ST) code for that day/week (or HF/HS/HT for a Saturday holiday) is reflected on the employee’s timesheet.
  4. If Saturday hours are not reflected in the DCPS work schedule, then the VA CSR will need to change the DCPS work schedule to reflect Saturday hours as a tour of dutyand one of the other workdays as unscheduled overtime (OU) hours. Update the DCPS timecard with the corresponding Sunday hours code (SF/SS/ST) for that day/week on the Saturday tour of duty.
  5. If the DCPS work schedule reflects both Saturday & Sunday regular hours, the VA CSR will input the corresponding Sunday hours code on Monday. If Monday is a non-workday, a work schedule change will be required to reflect Monday as a workday with a corresponding Sunday hours code (SS or ST).
  6. If qualifying Saturday or Sunday overtime/compensatory time hours are worked on a tour of duty, ensure the corresponding OT/CT hours code (OU/OS/OC/CE/CC) is input for the correct day/week. Note: DCPS will not associate weekend (Sunday) premium entitlement with OT/CT hours for healthcare workers. Weekend premium must be associated with regular hours in DCPS and may require a work schedule change to show sufficient non-overtime hours on Sunday, Monday or Saturday in the correct week. Work schedule changes require entry for the following pay period work schedule to return to the work schedule generated in automated process.
  7. Until further notice, local VA payroll must maintain documentation which reflects:

a)All manual adjustments entered on the DCPS timecard for this workaround;