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NTEU, CBP Reach Settlement Agreement On Pay For Sixth Weekly Day of Basic Training at FLETC

Press Release May 2, 2006

Washington, D.C.—The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are pleased to announce that they have successfully reached an agreement which allows CBP Officers who attended basic training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) to receive compensation for their participation in Saturday training sessions.

Payments will be issued to CBP Officers represented by NTEU who attended FLETC basic training over a nearly three-year period ending in October 2004. The payments will be based on the employees' grade level at the time of their FLETC attendance. Payments are expected to issue this summer.

Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the federal government answered the challenge of securing our borders by authorizing a significant increase in the number of employees who perform this important function. This increase in recruitment of inspection and other law enforcement personnel resulted in a significant swell in demand for training provided by organizations like FLETC. In order to fulfill this post-September 11th demand as quickly as possible, FLETC expanded its training schedule from five to six days per week.

As a result, CBP Officers recruited during this period attended basic training on FLETC's Monday through Saturday schedule. CBP determined that statutory restrictions prohibited the payment of Saturday overtime to students who attended basic training under this expanded schedule. NTEU challenged this determination and, subsequently, NTEU and CBP agreed to explore options to ensure that employees who attended basic training under this expanded schedule could be compensated.

These efforts have resulted in a settlement agreement by which CBP Officers who have not previously received payment will be compensated. Additional information will be provided to employees in June of 2006.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 federal workers in 30 agencies and departments, including nearly 16,000 in CBP.

Contact: NTEU-PR@NTEU.org, 202-572-5500