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Washington, D.C.—The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) has suggested a number of changes to proposed revisions in federal regulations designed to make the new program of compensatory time off for federal employee travel “as simple and fair as possible.”

In comments submitted by NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Kelley said she believes interim regulations advanced by OPM “fairly establish” guidelines for federal agencies in implementing the program. Nonetheless, there are certain gaps that need to be filled and clarifications that need to be made to ensure that the intent of the Federal Workplace Flexibility Act of 2004 is followed.

NTEU led the successful effort to secure compensatory time off for official travel by federal employees outside of work hours. Legislation authorizing the program was signed last October.

Under the program, employees will now be eligible to receive compensatory time off for the time they spend in travel status away from their official duty station when they are not eligible for other forms of compensation for this time, such as overtime pay.

Kelley cited several “significant areas of concern” with OPM’s interim regulations, including those addressing usual wait time, bona fide meal periods and extended wait times.

These are the union’s specific recommendations:

· Agencies should not have unfettered discretion to determine ‘usual waiting time.’ Such discretion opens up the possibility for abuse and inequitable treatment, NTEU said, suggesting that “standard definitions” would be a more equitable approach;

· ‘Bona fide meal periods’ should be included in creditable time. Excluding it, NTEU said, would lead to “absurd results,” noting that “it should be obvious to anyone who travels that no one lingers at airports or train stations for personal amusement”;

· Narrowly define “extended waiting times.” Similar to the ‘usual wait time’ issue, NTEU said unusual or extended waiting times at the transportation site should not be excluded from creditable time. A fairer approach would be to credit the employee with the additional wait time if that additional time arises out of circumstances beyond the employee’s control and if the employee is not free to leave the transportation site;

· Agencies should be able to exempt employees from the forfeiture requirements of the law, which require that all such compensatory time be used within 26 pay periods after it is credited, except in limited circumstances;

· Current time increments for accrual and use of compensatory time should be maintained, rather than have agencies incur costly and administratively burdensome changes;

· Employees should be entitled to receive compensatory time off for required travel on holidays; and

· Employees who would be “otherwise compensated” but for a statutory pay cap should still be entitled to receive compensatory time for travel.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 employees in 30 agencies and departments.