opm travel comp time vs overtime

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Overtime, Comp Time, and Credit Hours

This Handbook page provides a brief overview of overtime, comp time, and credit hours.

There are several factors which affect how you could be compensated for working extra hours. One is your salary: if your salary is at - or close to - the maximum GS salary ($183,500 in FY23). Another factor is whether you are an , external, exempt or non-exempt employee .

You should obtain supervisor approval prior to working extra hours. And, your supervisor should understand your specific situation prior to approving overtime.

The guidance below is only a high level overview. You and/or your supervisor can reach out to PeopleOps anytime with questions about your specific situation.

Overtime and Comp Time

Overtime and comp time can be approved by your supervisor no matter what type of work schedule you have.

Overtime is when you are paid for extra hours that you work, whereas comp time is when you receive hours of leave instead of pay. To determine the maximum number of comp time hours that you can accrue per pay period, please use the , external, TTS-only, Bi-weekly Comp Time Cap Calculator .

You should use your accrued comp time before using Annual Leave. However, if the end of the leave year is approaching, your supervisor can approve your Annual Leave requests first if you are in danger of losing Annual Leave because of “ Use or Lose .”

Comp time expires one year (26 pay periods) after it is earned. When you reach the expiration date, you will forfeit the leave. If you leave GSA, your comp time will be paid out.

Credit Hours

Note: Credit hours are only available if you are on a flexible work schedule .

You can be approved for credit hours if you want to voluntarily work additional hours to your normal/approved schedule. If you are required to work additional hours, you will receive overtime or comp time.

• You can have up to 24 credit hours accrued, at any given time.
• The hours will rollover from one pay period to the next, and they never expire.
• Credit hours cannot be converted to cash, unless you leave GSA (then they will be paid out).

Credit hours example

You are on a Gliding schedule , and you work 8 hours every day. You are not required to stay late, but if you are in a productive headspace and want to work an extra hour to finish work, you can ask your supervisor about working 1 more hour, therefore receiving 1 credit hour. You will need to request the 1 hour in HR Links, and your supervisor will need to approve it.

Religious comp time

You can request an adjustment to your work schedule for religious observances, instead of taking leave. Document your request to your supervisor, via email, in advance of the time you’ll need to miss, along with the schedule of the time you will work outside of normal hours to compensate.

Note: religious comp time does not follow the salary cap rules that are outlined in the beginning of this document. Anyone can request religious comp time, regardless of their salary and what type of work schedule they are on.

Travel comp time

When you travel in connection to TTS, the time you spend traveling may be regular time, overtime, or travel comp time, depending on when the travel occurs.

You’ll complete overtime and comp time requests after you travel because you may encounter delays. Keep a copy of your travel itinerary to help you remember your trip.

Refer to the , external, TTS-only, Compensation for Government Travel slidedeck to determine the breakdown of your hours. This slidedeck is only open to GSA employees. Please contact your Timekeeper or an HR Specialist at your agency with questions.

Note: travel comp time does not follow the salary cap rules that are outlined in the beginning of this document. Anyone can request travel comp time, regardless of their salary and what type of work schedule they are on.

If you leave GSA, any unused travel comp time will be forfeited.

Entering the overtime, comp time, and/or credit hours you will be working into HRLinks

Entering your hours is a two step process.

Step 1 - Submit a time request in HRLinks

You need to enter your overtime, comp time, or credit hours into HRLinks. To determine the maximum number of comp time hours that you can accrue per pay period, please use the , external, TTS-only, Bi-weekly Comp Time Cap Calculator . Your supervisor will be notified to approve the hours requested.

• Click on the Employee Time Requests tile
• Select Additional Time Requests
• For Overtime , you will need to select a reason you worked overtime.
• Select Additional Time Type
• Enter Start Date and End Date
• Enter Requested Hours
• Enter Comments
• Click Submit

You’ll receive emails after submitting the request, and after it is approved. There is a , external, TTS-only, step-by-step guide to submitting time requests .

Step 2 - Update your timesheet

Currently, HR Links is not connecting Comp/Credit/Overtime hours to your timesheet. This means you will need to manually add the hours you earned to your timesheet on the day(s) when you earned them. You’ll do this after your supervisor has approved the hours in step 1.

There is a , external, TTS-only, step-by-step guide on adding the hours to your timesheet . Reach out to , external, TTS-only, #people-ops if you need assistance.

Using the comp time and/or credit hours you’ve earned

You will submit a leave request , just like you do for other types of leave. When searching in HR Links for the leave type to request, the codes and leave names are:

• 041 - Comp Time Used
• 037 - Credit Hours Used
• 047 - Religious Comp Time Used
• 043 - Travel Comp Time Used

OPM Resources

• , external, Adjustment of Work Schedules for Religious Observances
• , external, Overtime Fact Sheet
• , external, Comp Time Fact Sheet
• , external, Credit Hours Fact Sheet

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askFW » Federal Government Policies » Comp Time Off for Federal Employees

Comp Time Off for Federal Employees

Compensatory time, or comp time, is time off with pay in lieu of overtime pay for irregular or occasional overtime work, or when permitted under agency flexible work schedule programs.

For example, it can be earned if you are traveling outside normal work hours for agency-related work purposes but not if you are on union-related business. Further, compensatory time can be earned if you are traveling between an official duty station and a temporary one or between two temporary ones; however, it can’t be earned if you are moving between to permanent duty stations.

Separately, employees may work additional hours to compensate for time they are away from regularly scheduled work for religious purposes.

Comp time policies vary

Policies on compensatory time off in lieu of overtime vary between those who are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act and those who are exempt from it. Exempt employees are generally those in executive, administrative and professional positions, whether they are under the general schedule or the wage system. Nonexempt employees include all employees in grades GS-4, those in GS-5 through 10 (and any prevailing rate employees) who aren’t in executive, administrative or professional positions.

Whether you are exempt or nonexempt from the FLSA, your agency can approve comp time for you. It can also approve it if you are a prevailing rate employee. However, if you are either a nonexempt or prevailing rate employee, it can’t require you to accept comp time in lieu of overtime pay for any irregular or occasional overtime work. On the other hand, if you are an FLSA exempt employee, you can be required to accept comp time in lieu of overtime pay in those situations, but only if your basic pay rate is above that of a GS-10, step 10.

Compensatory time off in lieu of overtime generally must be used within 26 pay periods. If you are an FLSA exempt employee and you don’t use your comp time within those limits, you will lose it unless you were unable to do so because of circumstances beyond your control. If you are an FLSA nonexempt employee and don’t take the comp time within the limit, your agency will have to pay you for that overtime work at the overtime rate that was in effect during the pay period in which the overtime work was completed.

Rules at 5 CFR 550 subpart J create a presumption that employee requests to adjust their work schedules for religious observances are to be granted, saying that they should be approved unless they would “interfere with the efficient accomplishment of an agency’s mission”—which the agency would have to document in writing.

Agency officials are not charged with determining whether an employee’s belief is the correct interpretation of a religious creed. It is sufficient that the employee’s sincerely held personal religious beliefs cause the employee to feel an obligation that he or she should be absent from work for a religious purpose.

An employee must make up the missed time within 13 pay periods before to 13 after the absence. The overtime pay provisions of Title 5, U.S. Code, and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) do not apply to employees who work different hours or days because of religious observances, even if an employee voluntarily works in excess of 40 hours per week or eight hours per day for this purpose.

TSP Returns Summary

Source: TSP.gov

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Compensable overtime travel.

Travel performed during overtime is compensable if it meets the definition of one of the below categories.  Senior Executive Service and Senior Foreign Service employees are not eligible for compensable overtime travel.

*GS = General Schedule or equivalent / FWS = Federal Wage System

With the exception of category 7, all travel must be authorized or approved.

Interpretation of Criteria and Definitions :

To qualify as compensable, "performance of actual work while traveling," must be inseparable from travel, e.g., as driving is for a driver, or travel is for a courier.  If the work performed while traveling could as easily be performed in an office, the travel is not compensable.

Travel which is "incident to travel" means deadhead travel.  A courier who travels to make a connection at which he or she is to pick up and transport a package performs deadhead travel.  Another example is driving an empty truck back to the point of origin.  The work performed under this heading must meet the test in the paragraph above.

"Arduous and unusual conditions" during travel means more than long waits at airports, travel on rural or slippery roads, or travel during snowy conditions, and something less than conditions that qualify for hazard pay.  

Travel resulting from an international or non-government meeting is administratively controllable (and the overtime is not compensable) if the agency had the opportunity as a participant to address the schedule, but accommodated the schedule proposed by other participants. 

Travel connected with training is administratively controllable (and the overtime is not compensable) if the training is given or sponsored by a government agency, training is given by a non-federal agency but aimed at government interests, or the majority of attendees at such training are government employees. 

If planning, e.g. a properly implemented preventive maintenance plan, could have avoided emergency travel on overtime to perform repairs, the event that causes the travel is administratively controllable, and the overtime is not compensable.

Travel in categories 5, 6, and 7 is compensable for hours in excess of 40 hours a week only, and for non-exempt employees only. This may result in a non-exempt employee's having an entitlement to overtime when an exempt fellow-traveler has none.  All other conditions constitute overtime for purposes of meeting the daily or weekly overtime standards for exempt or non-exempt employees. 

“Suffered or permitted travel” is compensable only if the supervisor knows it was being performed or had reason to think it was being performed, had an opportunity to prevent it, and failed to act (5 CFR 551.104).  Travel under this heading is compensable work for non-exempt employees only, and only for time over 40 hours a week.

Reviewed by OHRM, March 2020

References: OPM Fact Sheet, “Hours of Work for Travel;” 5 CFR 551.104, 550.112(g), 551.422(a); 5 United States Code 5542(b)(2)

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Comp Time vs. Credit Hours

I would like to better understand the differences between the two types of Premium Hours. What are the rules dictating how credit hours and comp time are earned, accumulated and used? What are the relative advantages and disadvantages for each?

Q:  I am an FLSA Exempt employee and ordinarily work a standard 40-hour week.  My employer requires me to go on temporary duty (TDY) on a monthly basis for 5-7 days at a time, however, and during these trips I generally work 12-14 hours a day — including weekends.

My employer has urged me to take credit hours, but I would prefer to take comp time. That said, I would like to better understand the differences between the two types of Premium Hours. What are the rules dictating how credit hours and comp time are earned, accumulated and used? What are the relative advantages and disadvantages for each?

A:  Your model schedule indicates that you are scheduled 30 days in advance to work 0800 – 2200 on Thursday and Friday, and 1000 – 2200 on Saturday and Sunday on a typical TDY assignment.  As a result of being regularly scheduled overtime none of the overtime can be compensated with comp time (nor with credit hours because the employee is not working on a flexible work schedule). Comp time is a form of overtime compensation for those who work irregular overtime .  Irregular, in this case meaning, that the work is assigned and worked during the same workweek (see 5 C.F.R. § 550.103; see also the comp time language limiting it to those who have worked irregular overtime – 5 C.F.R. § 550.114).

However, if you are notified 30 days in advance of the TDY and directed by your supervisor to work the schedule mentioned, then it is regularly scheduled overtime and the ONLY form of compensation authorized in the regulations is overtime pay.

About the Author

Wayne Coleman is a compensation consultant whose career at various Federal agencies and in private practice spans almost 40 years. During this time he has written about and provided training on overtime and premium pay, on the principles of FLSA coverage and exemption, and on related Federal compensation issues. Wayne is available to help your agency avoid premium pay claims through consulting services and training. You can contact him at [email protected] .

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Credit Hours Under a Flexible Work Schedule

Fact sheet: credit hours under a flexible work schedule.

Credit hours are hours that an employee elects to work, with supervisory approval, in excess of the employees basic work requirement under a flexible work schedule. (Information on flexible work schedules is available in OPMs Handbook on Alternative Work Schedules .) The basic work requirement for full-time employees is 80 non-overtime hours in a 2-week pay period. Agency policies or union agreements may place restrictions on earning or using credit hours.

Employees are not paid basic pay or overtime pay for credit hours when they earn them. An employee may use credit hours during a subsequent day, week, or pay period, with supervisory approval, to allow the employee to be absent from an equal number of hours of the employees basic work requirement with no loss of basic pay. (See the definitions of basic work requirement and credit hours in 5 U.S.C. 6121(3) and (4), respectively.)

Full-time or part-time employees under flexible work schedules may earn credit hours if agency policies for flexible work schedules or union agreements permit. Agencies may permit GS employees, wage employees, senior level or scientific professional employees (SL/ST) and DOD nonappropriated fund employees under flexible work schedules to earn credit hours. Members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) may not earn credit hours. See 5 U.S.C. 6121(2) and 5 CFR 610.408.

Agency policies or union agreements may permit part-time employees to earn credit hours if they elect to work in excess of their basic work requirement. Part-time employees under flexible work schedules may have a basic work requirement of between 32 and 64 hours during a biweekly pay period. See 5 U.S.C. 3401(2). Overtime pay standards do not have to be met before part-time employees may earn credit hours. Part-time employees may accumulate a maximum of one-fourth of the hours in their biweekly basic work requirement as credit hours for carryover to the next biweekly pay period. See 5 U.S.C. 6126(a).

Yes. An employees election to work a flexible work schedule and earn credit hours is subject to limitations prescribed by an agency to ensure that the duties and responsibilities of a position are fulfilled. Subject to any applicable negotiated agreement, the head of an agency may determine that any organization within the agency is being substantially disrupted in carrying out its functions or is incurring additional costs because of use of flexible work schedules. If such a finding is made, the agency head may restrict the use of credit hours, limit flexible time bands, or exclude any employee or group of employees from using flexible work schedules.

Even without such a finding, an agency may establish limitations on how credit hours are earned and the number of credit hours that may be earned. (See 5 U.S.C. 6122(b).)

The definition of credit hours in law (5 U.S.C. 6121(4)) provides that credit hours may be earned only within an employees flexible work schedule. This means that an employee may earn credit hours only by working within the flexible time bands established by the agency or union agreement. Hours that will count toward the basic work requirement may not be considered credit hours. For example, if an employee would otherwise complete 9 hours of his or her 80-hour basic work requirement on a workday, the ninth hour is not a credit hour. If the agencys flexible time bands are broad enough, the agency may permit the employee in this situation to work a 10th hour voluntarily and earn 1 credit hour.

Yes, agency policies or an applicable union agreement may permit employees to earn credit hours on Saturdays or Sundays. An agency that wishes to permit employees to earn credit hours on Saturday or Sunday must establish flexible time bands on Saturdays or Sundays.

No. Credit hours are worked voluntarily by employees in excess of their regularly scheduled 80-hour biweekly basic work requirement, which may include flexible hours. (See 5 CFR 610.111(d).)

For a full-time employee, only 24 credit hours may be carried over to the next pay period. For a part-time employee, not more than one-fourth of the hours in the employee's biweekly basic work requirement may be carried over to the next pay period. An agency policy or union agreement may place stricter limitations on how many credit hours may be accumulated or carried over.

Only 1 credit hour is earned for each hour of voluntary work in excess of the basic work requirement. (See 5 U.S.C. 6126(a).)

No. There is no authority in law or regulation to advance credit hours. Time cannot be charged against credit hours until credit hours have been earned. For this reason, some agencies do not permit employees to use credit hours until the pay period following the one in which they are earned.

Even if an agency has such a policy, the agency may still permit supervisors to approve changes in the time when employees will work flexible hours (part of the basic work requirement) after the beginning of a week or a pay period. For example, an employee may be permitted or required to shift some flexible hours from the first week of a pay period to the second week of the pay period. As long as the employee completes his or her 80-hour basic work requirement during the pay period, this can be done without any charge to leave. (See OPM Handbook on Alternative Work Schedules, Flexible Work Schedules, Overtime Work Determinations, paragraph 2).

A full-time employee receives pay for a maximum of 24 unused credit hours at his or her current rate of basic pay when Federal employment ends, when the employee transfers to another agency (as defined in 5 U.S.C. 6121(1)), or when the employee otherwise is no longer subject to an agency's flexible work schedule program. A part-time employee who is no longer subject to an agency's flexible work schedule program receives basic pay for accumulated credit hours that are not in excess of one-fourth of the hours in the employee's biweekly basic work requirement. Agencies should have policies for determining whether employees continue to be subject to an agency's flexible work schedule program after other personnel actions or work schedule changes occur. (See 5 U.S.C. 6126.)

The premium pay limitations in 5 U.S.C. 5547 do not apply to payment for credit hours even though they apply to payments for unused compensatory time off.

Typically, credit hours may not be earned for travel since travel is always ordered by an agency. Travel hours are not hours that an employee elects to work with supervisory approval. Subject to agency policies or the provisions of negotiated agreements, agencies should consider placing employees on standard work schedules during extended periods of travel. (See OPM Handbook on Alternative Work Schedules , Flexible Work Schedules, Travel, paragraph 5.)Under certain conditions, an agency may permit an employee to earn credit hours by performing productive and essential work while in a travel status. For example, while traveling, employees may use a laptop computer to write speeches and draft or edit reports and other correspondence. Since travel itself does not generally constitute hours of work, the work that is done must be approved and verified by a supervisor. All of the following conditions must be met to allow an employee to earn credit hours while in a travel status are:

• The employee must be under a flexible work schedule;
• The employee must perform work within designated hours when credit hours may be earned under the agencys flexible work schedule policy (see 5 U.S.C. 6122(a)(2));
• The employee must elect to perform the work voluntarily;
• The hours of work must be in excess of the basic work requirement for the employee;
• Travel must be scheduled during the regularly scheduled working hours for the employee to the maximum extent practicable (see 5 U.S.C. 6101(b)(2) and 5 CFR 610.123); and
• The agency must ensure that a policy permitting employees to earn credit hours for working during travel time is consistent with applicable legal and regulatory requirements, as well as with agency policies.

If work is required during travel time outside of the employees basic work requirement, overtime pay must be paid for work that is ordered in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. (See 5 U.S.C. 6121(6).)

No, credit hours cannot be earned if training or homework is required by an agency. If training is required, it does not constitute hours that an employee elects to work with supervisory approval. (See the definition of credit hours in 5 U.S.C. 6121(4).)

Agencies may place employees on a standard work schedule (8 hours a day, 5 days a week, Monday through Friday) during a period of training or on a work schedule that corresponds to the hours of training. Employees must be notified of changes in their basic work schedule in advance of the agencys administrative workweek.

No overtime pay or compensatory time off may be paid when employees earn credit hours or when credit hours are liquidated because Federal employment ends. (See 5 U.S.C. 6123(b) and 6126.)

No night pay may be paid when credit hours are earned. That is because when employees earn credit hours, they are not performing regularly scheduled work. By contrast, night pay is authorized for work performed at night during an employees regularly scheduled tour of duty. See 5 U.S.C. 5545(a).

No night pay may be paid for credit hours that are used at night to be absent from the employees basic tour of duty. This is because under 5 U.S.C. 5545(a) and OPM regulations, employees must generally perform work at night to earn night pay. There is no provision of law or OPM regulations that permits night pay to be paid when credit hours are used to be absent from regularly scheduled nightwork.

For requirements on entitlement to night differential when credit hours are earned by wage (prevailing rate) employees and employees employed under title 38, United States Code, see 5 U.S.C. 6123(c)(2).

No. Credit hours may be earned only when employees work voluntarily, with supervisory approval, in excess of their regularly scheduled basic work requirement. Sunday premium pay is paid only when full-time employees are required to work during a Sunday tour of duty that is part of their regularly scheduled basic work requirement. Sunday premium pay is limited to 8 hours for each regularly scheduled basic tour of duty that begins or ends on Sunday. Thus, Sunday premium pay may not be paid when employees earn credit hours.

Also, employees may not receive Sunday premium pay if they are permitted to use credit hours in order to be absent from their regularly scheduled basic work requirement on a Sunday. Employees may not receive Sunday premium pay for any period of time when they do not actually perform work on Sunday. (See Section 624 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999, which is a permanent restriction.)

When a GS employee performs work during any part of a day for which hazardous duty pay is authorized, the employee is entitled to hazardous duty pay for all hours in a pay status on that day. (See 5 CFR 550.905). This means that if an employee is entitled to hazardous duty pay during any part of a day when credit hours are earned or used, the employee must be paid hazardous duty pay for the credit hours as well. Subject to the provisions of any applicable negotiated agreement, an agency may establish a policy that employees cannot earn and/or use credit hours on any day when the employee is entitled to hazardous duty pay.

No. Excused absence means that employees are excused from their basic work requirement on that day. As explained in the answer to the first question above, credit hours are hours worked voluntarily by employees in excess of the their basic work requirement, with supervisory approval.

If employees work during the hours of their basic work requirement despite having been excused from work, they are not entitled to any additional compensation or to credit hours. However, if permitted by agency policies or negotiated agreements, supervisors may approve requests from employees under flexible work schedules to earn credit hours for work in excess of their basic work requirement on a day when excused absence is granted.

Employees may not earn any additional compensation or credit hours for working voluntarily during holiday hours. If permitted by agency policies or negotiated agreements, supervisors may approve requests from employees under flexible work schedules to earn credit hours for work in excess of their basic work requirement on a holiday.

Full-time employees under flexible work schedules are excused only from 8 hours of their basic work requirement because of a holiday. (See 5 U.S.C. 6124.) Therefore, an agency may find it desirable to schedule only 8 hours of an employees basic work requirement on a holiday. Flexible work schedules may be changed to accommodate this policy. If an employee is scheduled to complete 9 or 10 hours of his or her basic work requirement on a holiday, the agency may permit the employee to use previously accrued credit hours or annual leave in order to be absent with pay during the 9 th and 10 th hours.

If employees under flexible work schedules are required by an agency to work during holiday hours (their basic work requirement if not for the holiday), they are entitled to holiday premium pay for a maximum of 8 hours.

• 5 U.S.C. 6120-6133
• 5 CFR part 610, subpart D
• Comptroller General opinions: 60 Comp.Gen. 6 (1980); B-199206, October 7, 1980; B-201031, August 3, 1981
• OPM Handbook on Alternative Work Schedules