Overtime

If overtime is required to meet an emergency or temporary workload peak, authorization of occasional or irregular overtime should be requested.  Request for authorization shall be processed through appropriate channels to the official who approves overtime stating:

-- Why the overtime is needed.

-- The period during which it will be needed.

-- The approximate number of employees in each grade or salary level who may be asked to work overtime or the names of all such employees.

-- The approximate number of hours of overtime that may be required of employees at each grade or salary level and the total amount.

-- The individual who will be supervising the employees while the overtime is being performed.

If overtime or standby duty will be required regularly over a substantial period of time, it must be included in the employee?s regularly scheduled duty hours.  In such case, establishment of a special workweek in excess of 40 hours should be requested.  The Office Services Branch or IHS Personnel Operations Branch can instruct you how to do this.

Overtime is reported on the Time and Attendance Report for the period in which it is worked as instructed in the Time and Leave Accounts Manual.  It may be recorded and compensated in units of 15 minutes.  When the amount of overtime worked in any day is not evenly divisible by 15, the excess time is dropped.  All employees except those in General Schedule (GS) positions whose rate of pay exceeds the top scheduled rate of GS-15 must be paid for regular overtime.  This is all regularly scheduled hours of duty in excess of 40 hours in the administrative workweek or 8 hours in a day.

GS employees whose salaries are at or below the maximum rate of GS-10 (this could include some employees in higher grades) are also paid unless they request compensatory time instead.  The overtime rate is one and one-half times the employee?s basic pay rate and may not exceed the minimum rate for grade GS-10.  For an employee whose basic pay rate exceeds the maximum rate for grade GS-10, the overtime rate is one and one-half times the minimum rate for GS-10.  Employees at or above the maximum rate of pay for GS-15, Step 10, do not receive pay or compensatory time for overtime work.  (The salary for a GS-15, Step 10 is $65,327.00.  However, the rate of basic pay for employees at these rates is limited for Level V of the Executive Schedule, which is expected to remain at $63,000.00).  Therefore, the overtime rate applies to those GS-15 employees who are at the statutory limit of $66,000.00.

1. Overtime.  All official overtime must be approved in advance by the Associate Directors, other delegates or their designees.  Form PHS-1912, "Request for Approval and Authorization of Overtime Work" must be submitted for approval prior to employee(s) actually performing the work.  Form PHS-1912 must be completed as outlined above and forwarded to the appropriate Associate Director by 3:00 PM the night the employee is scheduled to work or by 3:00 PM Friday if the employee is scheduled to work Saturday and/or Sunday.  A copy of the approved PHS-1912 will be submitted to the Associate Director for Administration and Management for his file.  Authorization for overtime for procedures outlined by Headquarters West at Albuquerque will be determined by the Associate Director for Administration and Management.
2. Compensatory Time.  Compensatory time off is time off from duty for an equal amount of approved overtime previously worked.  Compensatory time off may be taken in multiples of 1/4 hour.  (Note:  The overtime rate is one and one-half times the employees basic pay rate and may not exceed the minimum rate for grade GS-10.  For an employee whose basic pay rate exceeds the maximum rate for grade GS-10, the overtime rate is one and one-half times the minimum rate for GS-10.  Employees at or above the maximum rate of pay for GS-15, Step 10, do not receive pay or compensatory time for overtime work).

   Employees whose salaries are at or below the maximum rate for GS-10 who desire compensatory time instead of overtime pay must make such a request before the end of the pay period in which the overtime is worked.  Overtime work for which an eligible employee requests compensatory time must be authorized in advance on PHS-1912, ?Request for Approval and Authorization of Overtime Work.?  Approved, earned compensatory time will be recorded on time care for that period. PHS-1912?s will be routinely submitted with time cards to the Payroll-Liaison Representative, IHS in the Office of Financial Management each pay period.  The time off need not be taken during that pay period for non-Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) employees; however, compensatory time will be cancelled if not used by the end of the 8th pay period following the pay period in which the overtime is worked.  Every effort to provide an opportunity to take the time off within the time limit must be made.  Absences taken as compensatory time are shown on the Time and Attendance Report in accordance with the Time and Leave Accounts Manual.

   For employees not covered by the FLSA - primarily professional staff - compensatory time for overtime work should be considered overtime pay for the period in which it is earned.  The number of hours of compensatory time to be credited each pay period is limited to the extent that the aggregate rate of pay (basic pay and compensatory time) for any pay period does not exceed the basic rate of pay for GS-15, Step 10 as described above.  For Example, 1) an employee with a basic rate of pay at GS-15, Step 10, may not be credited any hours of compensatory time; 2) an employee with a basic rate of pay below the GS-15, Step 10, salary level may be credited hours of compensatory time only in the amount that the aggregate amount for any pay period does not exceed the GS-15, Step 10, basic rate of pay or in this case $63,800.

   Employees covered by the FLSA, primarily secretarial and clerical staff, may be granted compensatory hours in lieu of overtime pay as long as the compensatory hours are used in the same week in which they are earned.  Employees working overtime on Friday or Saturday must accept overtime pay rather than compensatory leave because it is the end of the week and they would have no chance to use the leave.

   All official compensatory time must be approved in advance by the Associate Directors or their designee.  A written request should be prepared by the employee to his or her supervisor through the Branch/Chief to the Associate Director.  Such requests must be submitted and approved before the end of the pay period in which the overtime is worked.