3 FAM 2330
HOURS OF WORK
(CT:PER-1182; 03-26-2024)
(Office of Origin: GTM/ER/WLD)
3 FAM 2331 GENERAL INFORMATION
3 FAM 2331.1 Authority
(CT:PER-925; 09-24-2018)
(Uniform State/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA/USAID)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
Authorities for this subchapter are:
(1) Chapter 61, Title 5, United States Code;
(2) 5 U.S.C. 5541(2) (xiv)-(xvi);
(3) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (as amended), Chapter 8, Title 29, United States Code;
(4) 5 CFR 550, 5 CFR 551, 5 CFR 610, and 5 CFR 630.
3 FAM 2331.2 Purpose
(CT:PER-925; 09-24-2018)
(Uniform State/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA/USAID)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
These regulations establish the basic workweek and regular administrative workweek, and the options for an irregular workweek and alternative work schedules (including flexible and compressed work schedules), for Foreign Service and Civil Service employees, including Foreign Service officers (FSOs), Senior Foreign Service officers (SFS) who have not elected presidential appointee pay, and part-time employees. SFS who are presidential appointees and elect presidential appointee pay and Civil Service presidential appointees under presidential appointee pay are excluded from these provisions because they are paid by virtue of their position and not based on hours worked.
3 FAM 2331.3 Definitions
(CT:PER-1182; 03-26-2024)
(Uniform State/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA/USAID)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
Administrative workweek: Any period of 7 consecutive 24-hour periods designated in advance by the head of agency. For Department of State domestic offices and most posts abroad, the administrative workweek extends from Sunday, 12:00 a.m., to Saturday, 11:59 p.m.
Basic workweek: For full-time employees, the 40-hour workweek established in accordance with this section. Unless otherwise altered under 3 FAM 2333 or 3 FAM 2335, an employee’s basic workweek in Washington, DC, is Monday – Friday, 8:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with 45 minutes of noncompensated time for lunch. Bureaus also have discretion to establish a 30 or 60 minute lunch break for their Washington, DC offices (e.g. 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., 8:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.). An employee’s basic workweek in other locations, domestic or abroad, will be established in accordance with the guidance in 3 FAM 2333 and will include at least 30 minutes but no more than 1 hour for lunch. Bargaining unit employees are subject to the workweek and lunch period provisions of their applicable collective bargaining agreement.
Basic work requirement: The number of hours, excluding overtime hours, an employee is required to work or to account for by charging leave, credit hours, excused absence, holiday hours, compensatory time off, or time off as an award. A full-time employee has a basic work requirement of 80 hours in a pay period.
Core hours: The daily hours when employees on a flexible work schedule must be present for work. Each bureau/post must establish its own core hours. As a minimum requirement, bureaus/posts must have at least 2 core hours on each of 2 workdays within a biweekly pay period. A bureau/post may choose, for example, core hours of 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. or establish other core hours. Core hours should be within a band of 2 consecutive hours to 5 consecutive hours long. Core hours should not begin before 6:00 a.m. or extend past 6:00 p.m.
Credit hours: Those hours within a flexible work schedule that an employee elects to work in excess of their basic work requirement so as to vary the length of a workweek or workday. Credit hours are not the same as overtime hours of work or compensatory time off. Credit hours may only be worked by employees on a flexible work schedule and require supervisor approval.
Fixed schedule: A work schedule that once established remains the same from pay period to pay period.
Flexible hours: The band of hours at the beginning and end of the workday during which an employee on a flexible work schedule may choose to vary their time of arrival and departure. Each bureau/post must establish its own flexible hours consistent with the duties and requirements of the position. For example, if the core hours are 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., flexible hours might be from 6:15 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.
Holiday work: Nonovertime work performed by an employee during a regularly scheduled daily tour of duty on a holiday listed in 3 FAM 2338.1.
Irregular or occasional overtime work: Overtime work that is not part of an employee’s regularly scheduled administrative workweek; i.e., overtime work that is scheduled after the start of the administrative workweek.
Night work: Regularly scheduled nonovertime work performed by an employee between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. An overseas post can establish a different start and end time of night work based upon the customary hours of business at that location.
Overtime work: Subject to certain exceptions and exclusions set forth by law or regulation, overtime work generally includes work in excess of 8 hours in a day or in excess of 40 hours in an administrative workweek.
Regularly scheduled administrative workweek: For full-time employees, the period within an administrative workweek when the employee is regularly scheduled to work. For part-time employees, a regularly scheduled administrative workweek is the officially prescribed days and hours within an administrative workweek during which the employee is regularly scheduled to work. An employee’s regularly scheduled administrative workweek includes the basic workweek plus any regularly scheduled overtime work.
Regularly scheduled overtime work: Overtime work that is part of an employee’s regularly scheduled administrative workweek; i.e., overtime work that is scheduled in advance of the start of the administrative workweek.
Regularly scheduled work: Work that is scheduled in advance of the administrative workweek. Any work to which availability pay applies is excluded from the definition of regularly scheduled work.
Sunday work: Nonovertime work performed by an employee during a regularly scheduled daily tour of duty when any part of that daily tour of duty is on a Sunday. For any such tour of duty, not more than 8 hours of work are Sunday work, unless the employee is on a compressed work schedule, in which case the entire regularly scheduled daily tour of duty constitutes Sunday work.
Tour of duty: The hours of a day (a daily tour of duty) and the days of an administrative workweek (a weekly tour of duty) that constitute an employee’s regularly scheduled administrative workweek. For employees on a flexible work schedule, the tour of duty defines the limits within which an employee must complete their basic work requirement and is comprised of all hours and days for which flexible and core hours have been designated.
3 FAM 2332 RESPONSIBILITIES
3 FAM 2332.1 Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS)/Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS)
(CT:PER-810; 04-12-2016)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
In the Washington, DC metropolitan area, the bureau principal deputy assistant secretary (PDAS)/deputy assistant secretary (DAS) is responsible for approving a regular basic workweek in each bureau. Unless altered by the PDAS or DAS, the regular basic workweek is Monday – Friday, 8:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with 45 minutes of noncompensated time for lunch.
3 FAM 2332.2 The Office of Employee Relations (GTM/ER)
(CT:PER-989; 05-14-2020)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
The Office of Employee Relations (GTM/ER) is responsible for:
(1) Establishing policies and procedures for the Department’s alternative work schedules and part-time employment programs;
(2) Responding to inquiries from domestic bureaus and/or posts abroad on these subjects; and
(3) Reviewing bureau plans, as needed, and providing guidance on work schedules.
3 FAM 2332.3 Executive Directors/Management or Principal Officers
(CT:PER-810; 04-12-2016)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
Executive directors/management or principal officers are responsible for:
(1) Establishing a basic workweek of 40 hours for each full-time employee in the bureau and/or post;
(2) Prescribing an irregular basic workweek of 40 hours for individual employees or groups of employees under that bureau’s authority as needs of the bureau require;
(3) Establishing a special tour of duty of not less than 40 hours per administrative workweek to enable employees to take courses in nearby colleges, universities, or other educational institutions that will equip them for more effective work in the Department;
(4) Authorizing the use of flexible and compressed work schedules provided it is determined that the use of such schedules has the potential to improve productivity and/or provide greater service to the public;
(5) Identifying positions which must be excepted from the provisions of this subchapter in order to carry out the mission of the Department; and
(6) Administering part-time and job-share employment.
3 FAM 2332.4 Managers and Supervisors
(CT:PER-810; 04-12-2016)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
Managers and supervisors are responsible for:
(1) Establishing irregular basic workweeks at domestic locations and for employees abroad;
(2) Obtaining approval from the executive office prior to implementation of flexible and/or compressed work schedules;
(3) Approving, in advance, a schedule for each employee working an alternative work schedule;
(4) Ensuring that employees adhere to their basic workweek schedules, and, where applicable, their alternative workweek schedules;
(5) Scheduling overtime work as necessary to meet the workload needs of the office and approving, in writing and in advance, all regular and irregular/occasional overtime work; and
(6) Supporting requests for part-time and job-share employment if such requests can be reasonably accommodated.
3 FAM 2332.5 Employees’ Responsibilities
(CT:PER-810; 04-12-2016)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
Employees are responsible for:
(1) For alternate work schedules, requesting and submitting their schedules, in writing, to their appropriate supervisor for approval; and
(2) Working overtime only when approved, in writing, by their supervisor in advance.
3 FAM 2333 ESTABLISHMENT OF A BASIC WORKWEEK
3 FAM 2333.1 Establishing a Regular Basic Workweek
3 FAM 2333.1-1 General Rules
(CT:PER-1098; 07-26-2022)
(Uniform State/USAGM/USAID/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
A regular basic workweek will meet the following requirements:
(1) The basic 40-hour workweek is scheduled on 5 days, Monday through Friday, when possible, and the 2 days outside the basic workweek are consecutive;
(2) The basic workday is in multiples of 15 minutes;
(3) Assignments to days and hours of duty are scheduled in advance of an administrative workweek for periods of not less than 1 week;
(4) The working hours in each day in the basic workweek are the same (except for employees on a first 40-hour workweek);
(5) The basic nonovertime workday should not exceed 8 hours;
(6) The occurrence of holidays does not affect the designation of the basic workweek, and days and hours of duty cannot be rescheduled either to permit or prevent the inclusion of holidays within the basic workweek;
(7) Lunch breaks of more than 1 hour may not be scheduled in any basic workday; and
(8) No part of the lunch break can be substituted for leave during the basic workday. The lunch break should not be taken during the first or last 2 and 1/2 hours of the workday. Employees who are scheduled to work less than 7 hours in a workday (part-time employees) have the option of omitting the lunch break.
3 FAM 2333.1-2 Regular Basic Workweek at Domestic Bureaus and Posts Abroad
(CT:PER-925; 09-24-2018)
(Uniform State/USAGM/USAID/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
a. Each domestic bureau and post abroad will establish the basic workweek for its employees. When possible, the basic workweek will be the same for all agencies at the same geographic location.
b. A basic workweek of 40 hours in length, which does not extend over more than 6 of any 7 consecutive days, will be established for each group of full-time employees.
c. Whenever it is impracticable to prescribe a regular schedule of definite hours of duty for each workday, the first 40 hours of work performed within a period of not more than 6 out of 7 consecutive days may be established as the basic workweek. All work performed within the 40-hour period is considered regularly scheduled work for hours of duty and premium pay purposes. Additional hours of officially ordered or approved work within that 7-day period will be treated as overtime.
3 FAM 2333.1-3 Regular Basic Workweek for Washington, DC
(CT:PER-957; 08-30-2019)
(Uniform State/USAGM/USAID/Commerce/Foreign Services Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
Unless modified in accordance with the authorities provided for in this section, the regular basic workweek in the metropolitan area of Washington, DC, is 8 hours a day, Monday through Friday, beginning at 8:15 a.m. and ending at 5:00 p.m. with 45 minutes of noncompensated time for lunch. Bureaus also have discretion to establish a 30 or 60 minute lunch break for their Washington, DC offices (e.g. 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., 8:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.). Employees may not forfeit the lunch break in order to arrive late or leave early from work. Bargaining unit employees are subject to the workweek and lunch period provisions of their applicable collective bargaining agreement.
3 FAM 2333.2 Authority to Establish an Irregular Basic Workweek
(CT:PER-925; 09-24-2018)
(Uniform State/USAGM/USAID/Commerce/Foreign Services Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
a. Irregular basic workweeks may be established at domestic bureaus or posts abroad whenever necessary because of:
(1) Extremes of climate;
(2) Local customs, traditions or practices;
(3) Differences in time zones; or
(4) Other factors requiring duty at irregular hours.
b. Irregular basic workweeks should conform to as many of the requirements listed in 3 FAM 2333.1-1 as practicable. Irregular basic workweeks may not be scheduled on more than 6 out of 7 consecutive days in an administrative workweek.
c. Hours and days of work may not be rescheduled either to permit or prevent the inclusion or exclusion of holidays within the basic workweek.
d. The workday is in multiples of 15 minutes.
3 FAM 2333.3 Variation in Basic Workweek for Educational Purposes
(CT:PER-925; 09-24-2018)
(Uniform State/USAGM/USAID/Commerce/Foreign Services Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
a. Each domestic bureau and post abroad may authorize an irregular basic workweek of not less than 40 hours to permit an employee to take one or more courses in a college, university, or other educational institution when it is determined that:
(1) The courses being taken are not training under 5 U.S.C. 4101 through 5 U.S.C. 4118;
(2) The rearrangement of the employee’s basic workweek will not appreciably interfere with the accomplishment of the employee’s duties;
(3) Additional costs for personnel services will not be incurred; and
(4) Completion of the course will equip the employee for more effective performance.
b. The bureau/post may not pay the employee any premium pay solely because the irregular workweek authorized under this section causes the employee to work on a day, or at a time during the day, for which premium pay would otherwise be payable.
3 FAM 2333.4 Hours of Work for Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) and Senior Foreign Service (SFS)
3 FAM 2333.4-1 Basic Workweek
(CT:PER-925; 09-24-2018)
(Uniform State/USAGM/USAID/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)
Applies to Foreign Service Employees only)
a. The basic workweek for Foreign Service officers (FSO) and Senior Foreign Service (SFS), is a 40-hour week, with biweekly pay periods derived from per annum salaries, during which employees accrue and charge leave under chapters 3 FAM 3300, 3 FAM 3400, and 3 FAM 3500. NOTE: Senior FSOs who have opted for presidential appointee pay are not covered by these provisions.
b. FSOs and SFSs are subject to working additional hours over the 40 hours of the basic workweek as the needs of the Service require.
c. Foreign Service employees are eligible to participate in an alternative work schedule when approved by their supervisors.
3 FAM 2333.4-2 Additional Compensation for Overtime Work
(CT:PER-925; 09-24-2018)
(Uniform State/USAGM/USAID/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service Employees Only)
Tenured and commissioned Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) in the FS pay plan are not eligible to receive premium compensation for overtime work. They can be granted special compensatory time off for additional hours of work that have been ordered or approved pursuant to 3 FAM 3133.5. SFS are not eligible for premium compensation or special compensatory time off.
3 FAM 2334 Authority to Establish and Modify Alternative Work Schedules
3 FAM 2334.1 General
(CT:PER-1182; 03-26-2024)
(Uniform State/USAGM/USAID/Commerce/USDA-Foreign Service)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees Only)
a. Flexible and compressed work schedules may be authorized for selected individuals, components of a bureau/post, or for all employees.
b. Management may experiment with the use of these schedules, and subject to appropriate collective bargaining obligations, may revert to previous tours of duty if the determination is made that using such schedules is not effective, efficient, or in the best interest of the bureau/post.
c. Subject to applicable collective bargaining agreements, and bargaining status, an employee’s alternative work schedule may be altered or terminated when the employee is placed on leave restriction, when there are conduct issues such as tardiness, poor performance or misconduct of a serious nature, or when the alternative work schedule adversely affects the employee’s work performance. The supervisor must document the adverse impact of the alternative work schedule on the employee’s conduct or performance and give the employee written notice at least 2 weeks in advance of the administrative work week in which the change will take effect.
d. An employee may voluntarily terminate their AWS, in writing to the supervisor. Changes will not be implemented until the following pay period.
e. An alternative work schedule agreement is mandatory including the days and work hours of a compressed work schedule, and signed by the employee and supervisor. Form DS-1901 is available for this purpose.
3 FAM 2334.2 Obligation to Negotiate
(CT:PER-925; 09-24-2018)
(Uniform State/USAGM/USAID/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
Where employees have exclusive representation, the establishment of flexible and compressed work schedules must be negotiated before implementation.
3 FAM 2335 ALTERNATIVE WORK SCHEDULES
3 FAM 2335.1 General
(CT:PER-989; 05-14-2020)
(Uniform State/USAGM/USAID/Commerce/USDA-Foreign Service)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees Only)
a. Alternative Work Schedules (AWS) include both flexible work schedules and compressed work schedules and may be authorized in accordance with the policies in 3 FAM 2335. Each bureau/post must determine if an AWS will be made available to its employees, subject to any obligation to negotiate with the exclusive representatives of bargaining unit employees prior to implementation. Each bureau/post must establish the flexible hours and core hours for the AWS and notify all employees in writing of the established core and flexible hours. Bureaus/posts are also responsible for ensuring that offices are complying with the specific requirements in 3 FAM 2331.1.
b. Supervisors are responsible for tracking the hours of work performed by their employees and may establish record-keeping procedures to facilitate this.
c. For additional information on establishing and using alternative work schedules, contact:
(1) State–Bureau of Global Talent Management, Office of Employee Relations;
(2) Commerce–Office of Foreign Service Human Resources;
(3) USAID–Office of Human Resources;
(4) USAGM–Office of Personnel, Operations and Benefits Division; and
(5) USDA–Human Resources Division, PMBAB.
d. Additional information may be also obtained on the OPM website (see OPM’s Handbook on Alternative Work Schedules).
e. Work-Life Division, Office of Employee Relations (GTM/ER/WLD), in the Bureau of Global Talent Management, provides additional policy guidance on alternative work schedules on their website.
3 FAM 2335.2 Types of Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules
(CT:PER-1182; 03-26-2024)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Services and Civil Service Employees)
a. Flexible work schedules (FWS): Schedules which consist of workdays with designated core hours when all employees must be present at work, and flexible hours when employees may choose to work in order to complete their basic (nonovertime) work requirement. The following flexible work schedules may be available to eligible employees:
(1) Flexitour: A schedule in which there are established core hours and a basic work requirement of 8 hours each day and 40 hours in each week for a full-time employee (or a predetermined daily and weekly schedule for a part-time employee), and the employee selects arrival and departure times within a bureau/post’s established flexible hours. Once selected, the hours are fixed until the employing bureau/post provides an opportunity to change arrival and departure times;
(2) Gliding schedule: A schedule in which there are established core hours and a basic work requirement of 8 hours each day and 40 hours in each week for a full-time employee (or a predetermined daily and weekly schedule for a part-time employee), and the employee may select arrival and departure times each day, and may change arrival and departure times daily within the established flexible hours;
(3) Variable day schedule: A schedule in which there are established core hours on each workday in the workweek and a basic work requirement of 40 hours in each week of the biweekly pay period for a full-time employee (or a predetermined weekly schedule for a part-time employee), but in which an employee may vary the number of hours worked in a given workday within the week within the limits established by the employing bureau/post; and
(4) Variable week schedule: A schedule in which there are established core hours on each workday in the biweekly pay period and a basic work requirement of 80 hours for the biweekly pay period for a full-time employee (or a predetermined biweekly schedule for a part-time employee), but in which an employee may vary the number of hours worked on a given workday or the number of hours each week within the limits established by the bureau/post.
b. Compressed work schedules (CWS): Fixed work schedules in which an employee’s basic work requirement of 80 hours in a biweekly pay period is scheduled in less than 10 workdays. The following compressed work schedules may be available to eligible employees:
(1) 4-day workweek: A fixed schedule in which a full-time employee must work 10 hours per day for 4 days in a workweek for a total of 40 hours per week, and 80 hours per biweekly pay period. A part-time employee must complete the part-time weekly work requirement in less than 5 days; and
(2) 5/4-9 plan: A fixed schedule in which a full-time employee must work eight 9-hour days and one 8-hour day for a total of 80 hours in a biweekly pay period. A part-time employee must work a fixed part-time biweekly work requirement in less than 10 days.
3 FAM 2335.3 Training and Official Travel Duty
(CT:PER-1182; 03-26-2024)
(Uniform State/USAGM/USAID/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)
Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
An employee on a flexible or compressed work schedule may be required to convert to a traditional 40-hour workweek during pay periods in which the employee has training or is on TDY status in order to conform to operations at the temporary work site.
3 FAM 2335.4 Credit Hours
(CT:PER-1182; 03-26-2024)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
a. Eligibility:
(1) Subject to bureau/post approval, credit hours may only be earned and used in conjunction with the flexible work schedules outlined in 3 FAM 2335.2. Credit hours are not available to members of the Senior Executive Service and Senior Foreign Service. Credit hours are available only if adopted by the employing bureau/post and approved by the employee’s supervisor. Every position may not be suitable for earning credit hours. For example, there may not be sufficient work for more than 8 hours per day, work may only be generated at certain times of the day, or the requirements for office coverage may prevent a schedule that allows an employee to apply credit hours to make up their basic work requirement. Employees on a compressed work schedule are not eligible to earn credit hours; and
(2) Credit hours are worked at the election of the employee consistent with agency policies and must be worked within an employee's nonovertime tour of duty. Management cannot require an employee to work credit hours for any purpose, including as a means of meeting the basic work requirement.
b. Establishing credit hours as part of a flexible work schedule:
(1) Bureau/post responsibility:
(a) Each bureau/post must determine if the earning and use of credit hours will be permitted for employees on a FWS within the bureau/post;
(b) Each bureau/post must establish flexible and core hours which cover a minimum of 10 hours and 45 minutes each day in order to permit an employee to work up to 2 credit hours in a day. In addition, at least 8 hours and 45 minutes must fall between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. so that the bureau/post is not obligated to pay night differential for credit hours worked before 6:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m.;
(b) When an employee uses credit hours, such hours are to be counted as part of the basic work requirement to which they are applied. The employee is entitled to their rate of basic pay for credit hours. Credit hours may not be used by an employee to create an entitlement to overtime pay. An employee may not be paid overtime pay, Sunday premium pay, or holiday premium pay for credit hours; and
(c) A bureau/post may place a limit on the number of credit hours an employee may earn during a biweekly pay period. A bureau/post may also limit the number of credit hours an employee may earn on a daily or weekly basis. Further, a time frame may be set by the bureau/post within which employees must use credit hours after they have been earned. 5 U.S.C. 6126(a) limits the number of credit hours an employee may carry over from 1 pay period to another to 24 hours; and
(2) Employee responsibilities:
(a) A full-time employee’s biweekly work schedule must provide for 80 hours in a biweekly pay period (or the basic work requirement for a part-time employee) by including arrival and departure times within the bureau’s/post's established flexible hours; requested hours or days of annual leave, sick leave (if known), compensatory time off, leave without pay, or use of accumulated credit hours; and the days during which the employee intends to work credit hours. All hours must be worked during the employee’s established workweek;
(b) The employee must have their schedule approved in advance by a supervisor on a biweekly basis, unless this requirement is waived in writing by the supervisor. An employee may change the approved credit hours they plan to work with supervisor approval;
(c) The employee must record arrival and departure times daily on the Form DS-3073, Credit Hours Schedule Form, and sign it at the end of each pay period; and
(d) The employee must adhere to all other requirements of the FWS, including the core hours, regardless of whether credit hours are worked every pay period; and
(3) Supervisor responsibilities:
(a) A supervisor must review and approve and/or disapprove the employee’s proposed schedule of credit hours in advance. It may be done on a biweekly basis, or less frequently, as determined by the supervisor. The supervisor may limit the flexible hours established by the bureau/post, if necessary, given the needs of the office and/or the schedules of other employees. The supervisor may also limit an employee’s ability to accumulate credit hours if the supervisor determines that there is insufficient work or other compelling circumstances. In this event, the supervisor should advise employees of this limitation as early as possible. A supervisor may also amend an employee’s approved schedule of credit hours based on the needs of the office. Advance approval by the supervisor is required before the employee may use credit hours; and
(b) The supervisor must sign Form DS-3073 at the end of each pay period for each employee who works credit hours, certifying that the hours and leave recorded are accurate.
3 FAM 2335.5 Leave, Excused Absence, and Impact of Holidays when Working a FWS with Credit Hours
(CT:PER-810; 04-12-2016)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
a. Leave: An employee on a FWS may use no more than 8 hours of sick or annual leave when absent on a workday. However, an employee on a FWS may earn up to 2 credit hours by working part of the day and using leave for part of the day if it results in a total number of hours in excess of the employee’s basic work requirement for the day, week, or biweekly schedule.
b. Excused absence: When an employee is absent from work on pre-approved credit hours on a day which the U.S. Government is officially closed due to hazardous weather, or other administrative reasons, the employee will be charged for credit hours and not granted excused absence.
c. Holiday: On a designated holiday, a full-time employee on a FWS may receive credit for only 8 hours towards the basic work requirement of 40 hours in a week. A part-time employee may be credited only with that portion of the holiday that is within the part-time employee’s regular work schedule, up to 8 hours. An employee may not be charged credit hours for a holiday.
3 FAM 2335.6 Accumulating, Using, and Losing Credit Hours
(CT:PER-1182; 03-26-2024)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
a. Accumulating credit hours:
(1) Full-time employees: A full-time employee may work to earn up to 2 credit hours per workday in hourly increments. A maximum of 10 credit hours may be worked each pay period. Unused credit hours may be rolled over from 1 pay period to the next, provided that they do not exceed the credit hour cap of 24 hours. Credit hours in excess of the cap that are not used during the pay period in which they are worked are forfeited without compensation. Credit hours may only be worked during the regularly scheduled workweek. Credit hours may only be accumulated within an employee’s flexible work schedule. Employees accumulating credit hours are not eligible to receive overtime pay or compensatory time off for those credit hours. However, full-time employees are eligible for overtime pay or compensatory time off for work in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week that is officially ordered in advance by the supervisor; and
(2) Part-time employees: A part-time employee may work up to 2 credit hours per workday in hourly increments. A maximum of 8 credit hours may be worked per pay period. Unused credit hours that do not total more than one-fourth of a part-time employee’s biweekly work requirement may be rolled over to the succeeding pay period. Hours in excess of this maximum which are not used in the pay period in which they are earned will be forfeited. Credit hours may only be accumulated on a day included in the part-time employee’s tour of duty (e.g., an employee whose tour of duty is Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday may not work credit hours on Wednesday).
b. Using credit hours: Subject to the advance approval of a supervisor, a full-time or part-time employee may use accumulated credit hours on an ad hoc basis or as part of a pre-established regular schedule to meet the basic work requirement. Credit hours must be worked before they can be used. Credit hours must be used in one-hour increments. Credit hours do not expire.
c. Losing eligibility for credit hours: An employee who leaves the Department or transfers to another bureau/post that does not utilize credit hours in conjunction with flexible work schedules should arrange to use any accumulated credit hours prior to the employee’s departure or transfer. In the event that an employee has any unused, accumulated credit hours remaining at the time of departure, the employee will be paid for those credit hours, at the employee’s rate of basic pay, at the time of their departure. A full-time employee will only be paid for up to a total of 24 accumulated credit hours. A part-time employee will only be paid for accumulated credit hours up to one-fourth of the employee’s biweekly work requirement.
3 FAM 2335.7 Maintaining Credit Hours Records
(CT:PER-810; 04-12-2016)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
Each employee participating in a credit hours schedule must sign in and sign out daily on an individual Form DS-3073. The DS-3073 identifies the number of regular hours and credit hours worked and/or used. The employee and supervisor must certify the form at the end of each pay period. It is important that it reflects accurate hours worked, leave taken, etc. For planning and approval purposes, the supervisor may require that biweekly schedules be submitted in advance of the pay period.
3 FAM 2336 PREMIUM PAY AND ALTERNATIVE WORK SCHEDULES
3 FAM 2336.1 Overtime Pay and Holiday Pay for Employees on Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules
(CT:PER-1182; 03-26-2024)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Services and Civil Service Employees)
a. Overtime for employees on compressed work schedules:
(1) For employees on a CWS who are non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), all hours of work performed for the benefit of the agency in excess of the compressed work schedule is overtime work, even if that work was not officially ordered or approved;
(2) For employees on a CWS who are exempt from the FLSA, all hours of work performed for the benefit of the agency in excess of the CWS that have been officially ordered or approved is overtime work; and
(3) For part-time employees, hours of work in excess of the compressed work schedule for a day (but must be more than 8 hours) or for a week (but must be more than 40 hours) is overtime work.
b. Holiday pay for employees on compressed work schedules: If an employee on a CWS is scheduled by the supervisor to perform nonovertime work on a designated holiday (or “in lieu of” holiday), the employee is entitled to the employee's rate of basic pay plus holiday premium pay for the hours of the employee’s compressed work schedule for that day.
c. Overtime for employees on flexible work schedules:
(1) For employees on a FWS, all hours of work in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week which are officially ordered or approved in advance by management is overtime work. Employees on a FWS may not earn overtime pay as a result of "suffered or permitted" hours of work;
(2) An employee may not be paid overtime pay or receive compensatory time off for work performed as credit hours. Thus, a full-time employee on a FWS who elects to work in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week in order to earn credit hours is not eligible to receive overtime pay or compensatory time off for that work. However, the full-time employee is eligible for overtime pay or compensatory time off for work in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week that is officially ordered in advance by the supervisor; and
(3) Management may order an employee who is on a FWS to work hours that are in excess of the number of hours the employee planned to work on a specific day. If the hours ordered to be worked are not in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week at the time they are performed, management, at its discretion, may permit or require the employee to:
(a) Take time off from work on a subsequent workday for a period of time equal to the number of extra hours of work ordered; or
(b) Complete the employee's basic work requirement as scheduled and at their election count the extra hours of work as credit hours.
d. Holiday pay for employees on flexible work schedules:
(1) If a full-time employee on a FWS is scheduled by the supervisor to perform nonovertime work on a designated holiday (or “in lieu of” holiday), the employee is entitled to their rate of basic pay plus holiday premium pay not to exceed a maximum of 8 hours;
(2) If a part-time employee on a FWS is scheduled by the supervisor to perform nonovertime work on a designated holiday, the employee is entitled to holiday premium pay only for work performed during their basic work requirement on a holiday (not to exceed 8 hours);
(3) A full-time employee on a FWS who is relieved or prevented from working on a day designated as a holiday (or an "in lieu of" holiday) by Federal statute or Executive Order is entitled to their rate of basic pay on that day for 8 hours;
(4) If a holiday falls on a day during the daily tour of duty of a part-time employee on a FWS and the employee is relieved or prevented from working on that day, the employee is entitled to their rate of basic pay for the typical, average, or scheduled number of hours of work for that day toward their basic work requirement (not to exceed 8 hours). If the part-time employee has no typical schedule, the agency may average the number of hours worked in prior weeks on days corresponding to the holiday to determine an employee's pay entitlement for that holiday (not to exceed 8 hours); and
(5) A work schedule submitted in advance of the administrative work week also may be used as the basis for determining the number of hours to pay a part-time employee on a holiday. However, management should ensure that there is no abuse of entitlement. For example, an employee should not schedule more hours of work on a holiday than they have scheduled in prior weeks on days corresponding to the holiday.
3 FAM 2336.2 Night Pay for Employees on Flexible Work Schedules
(CT:PER-1182; 03-26-2024)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Services and Civil Service Employees)
If an employee’s daily tour of duty includes at least 8 hours and 45 minutes between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., the employee is not entitled to night differential if they elect to work prior to 6:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m.
3 FAM 2337 PART-TIME CAREER EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM
3 FAM 2337.1 Policy
(CT:PER-810; 04-12-2016)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service and Foreign Service Employees)
a. The Department operates a part-time employment program consistent with its management responsibilities and the needs of its employees. Part-time permanent employment benefits the Department by:
(1) Improving recruitment and retention of employees;
(2) Increasing productivity;
(3) Lowering turnover rates and absenteeism;
(4) Offering management more flexibility in meeting work requirements and filling shortages in various occupations;
(5) Assisting older employees in the gradual transition to retirement; and
(6) Providing career opportunities to individuals who require a reduced workweek such as disabled employees, individuals with family responsibilities, students, and those returning to the workforce.
b. Part-time career employment is employment of an individual in the excepted or competitive service in a permanent position under a part-time work schedule of 16 to 32 hours per week. Part-time employment is not limited by grade or duties of a position, and may be used in professional, administrative, technical, clerical, and blue-collar positions.
3 FAM 2337.2 Exceptions and Exclusions
3 FAM 2337.2-1 Excluded Positions
(CT:PER-810; 04-12-2016)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service and Foreign Service Employees)
a. The following are excluded from the Department’s part-time career program:
(1) Positions in the Senior Executive Service (SES);
(2) Positions in the Senior Foreign Service (SFS); and
(3) Civil Service employees serving under time-limited appointments or otherwise serving on a temporary or intermittent basis.
b. Employees in excluded positions may serve in a part-time capacity but are not considered to be participants in the part-time employment program.
3 FAM 2337.2-2 Mixed Positions Excluded
(CT:PER-810; 04-12-2016)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service Employees Only)
This subchapter does not apply to an employee on a mixed tour of duty if that employee works no more than 6 pay periods per year on a part-time schedule. A mixed tour is one in which the employee works part-time during a portion of the year and full time and/or intermittent for the remainder.
3 FAM 2337.3 Part-time Employment Schedules, Leave, and Benefits
3 FAM 2337.3-1 Establishing a Part-Time Schedule
(CT:PER-1182; 03-26-2024)
(Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Services Employees)
a. A part-time permanent employee has a career or career-conditional appointment (or a permanent appointment in the excepted service), and works between 16 and 32 hours each week on a prearranged schedule.
b. A Form SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, must be executed which shows the employee’s biweekly part-time schedule. If the schedule is changed or the employee is put on a full-time schedule, another Form SF-50 must be requested by the employing bureau that reflects the change. This ensures that the employee receives proper credit towards benefits, including retirement.
c. A part-time employee must complete a part-time work agreement signed by the employee, supervisor, and bureau executive director.
d. A part-time employee may work more hours than scheduled if needed, and is eligible for compensation at their rate of basic pay for the additional hours. The employee’s overtime rate is payable for hours in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a workweek.
e. A lunch break is not required if the employee’s schedule is 7 hours or less in a workday.
3 FAM 2337.3-2 Leave and Holidays
(CT:PER-1182; 03-26-2024)
(Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Services Employees)
a. Annual leave accrual: A part-time employee earns annual leave on a prorated basis depending on the number of hours worked per pay period:
(1) With less than 3 years of service, the employee earns 1 hour of annual leave for each 20 hours worked;
(2) With 3 but less than 15 years of service, the employee earns 1 hour of annual leave for each 13 hours worked; and
(3) With 15 or more years of service, the employee earns 1 hour of annual leave for each 10 hours worked.
b. Sick leave accrual: A part-time employee earns 1 hour of sick leave for each 20 hours worked, regardless of length of service.
c. Leave use:
(1) A part-time employee is charged sick and annual leave based on the number of hours in their scheduled workday or workweek. For example, an employee whose daily schedule is 6 hours will be charged 6 hours of leave for each full day’s absence;
(2) A part-time employee is also eligible for leave without pay (LWOP), and leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). See 3 FAM 3510 and 3 FAM 3530, respectively, for details; and
(3) A part-time career employee is also eligible for court leave (see 3 FAM 3450) and certain other types of paid leave as set forth in 3 FAM 3460, as well as military leave on a prorated basis (see 3 FAM 3440).
c. Holidays:
(1) If a holiday falls on a day the employee normally works, the employee is paid for the number of hours they were scheduled to work, not to exceed 8 hours, except for an employee on a compressed work schedule; and
(2) A part-time employee is not entitled to a holiday that falls on a day the employee is not normally scheduled to work.
3 FAM 2337.3-3 Benefits and Service Credit
(CT:PER-925; 09-24-2018)
(Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Services Employees)
a. Retirement: Part-time service does not affect retirement eligibility. Each year of part-time service counts as 1 full year toward the length of service requirement. The annuity calculation for most part-time employees is prorated to reflect the difference between full-time and part-time service.
b. Health and life insurance: See 3 FAM 3610 and 3 FAM 3620.
c. A part-time employee earns a full year of service for each calendar year worked (regardless of schedule) for the purpose of computing dates for the following:
(1) Retirement eligibility;
(2) Career tenure;
(3) Completion of probationary period;
(4) Within-grade pay increases;
(5) Within-class pay increases;
(6) Change in leave accrual category;
(7) Time-in-grade restrictions on advancement;
(8) Time-in-class; and
(9) Selection board consideration and promotion.
d. Part-time work is prorated for determining qualification requirements under Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions. For example, an employee who works 20 hours a week would receive credit for 6 months of experience at the end of 12 months.
3 FAM 2337.4 Merit Promotion
(CT:PER-925; 09-24-2018)
(Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce)
(Applies to Civil Service employees only)
Civil Service part-time employees are subject to merit promotion principles and the Department’s merit promotion program (see 3 FAM 2310).
3 FAM 2337.5 Job-Sharing
(CT:PER-1182; 03-26-2024)
(Uniform State/USAID/USAGM/Commerce)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
a. A job-share is two part-time employees, each of whom work from 16 to 32 hours per week, and cover one full-time position. Part-time employees in a job-share arrangement receive the same benefits and are subject to the same limitations as other part-time employees. See 3 FAM 2337.3-1 through 3 FAM 2337.6 for further information.
b. Job-share agreement: Each employee participating in a job-share must complete an agreement signed by the supervisor and the bureau executive director. The agreement may be obtained from GTM/ER/WLP, and, when completed, must be forwarded to that office for the record.
c. Position description: Each employee participating in a job-share must have a position description that accurately reflects their duties and responsibilities.
d. Scheduling hours of work: Each job-share partner cannot be regularly scheduled for less than 16 hours or more than 32 hours per week. Generally, the combined total hours of both job-share partners should not exceed 80 hours per pay period. However, in some circumstances, additional hours may be worked on a regular schedule or on an ad hoc basis. For example, the needs of the position may require the job-share partners to overlap hours, or in the absence of one job-share partner, the other partner may work additional hours.
e. Performance appraisal: Each job-share partner must be appraised individually in accordance with 3 FAM 2810 (Foreign Service) or 3 FAM 2820 (Civil Service). The fact that the employee is part of a job-share is not relevant in the appraisal process. The employee must be appraised only against the standards established for them at the beginning of the appraisal period.
3 FAM 2338 HOLIDAYS
3 FAM 2338.1 Holidays for Federal Employees
(CT:PER-1066; 10-08-2021)
(Uniform State/USAGM/USAID/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
|
LEGAL PUBLIC HOLIDAYS |
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New Year’s Day |
January 1 |
|
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday |
Third Monday in January |
|
Washington’s Birthday |
Third Monday in February |
|
Memorial Day |
Last Monday in May |
|
Juneteenth Independence Day |
June 19 July 4 |
|
Labor Day |
First Monday in September |
|
Columbus Day |
Second Monday in October |
|
Veterans’ Day |
November 11 |
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Thanksgiving Day |
Fourth Thursday in November |
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Christmas Day |
December 25 |
Holidays for Federal employees also include any other day designated as a holiday by U.S. Federal statute or Executive Order.
3 FAM 2338.2 Determining Holidays
(CT:PER-925; 09-24-2018)
Uniform State/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA/USAID)
Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
a. When a Federal holiday falls on one of the employee’s regularly scheduled workdays in the basic workweek, that workday is the employee’s holiday.
b. When a holiday falls on an employee’s nonworkday, the employee’s holiday will depend on the day on which the holiday falls, the employee’s basic workweek, and on the days designated as the employee’s “Saturday” or “Sunday,” respectively.
c. For holidays designated by law to occur on Monday (i.e., Birthdays of Martin Luther King, Jr. and George Washington, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Columbus Day), employees at a duty post outside the United States whose basic workweek is other than Monday through Friday, and for whom Monday is a regularly scheduled workday, the legal public holiday is the first workday of the workweek in which the Monday designated for the observance of such holiday falls.
3 FAM 2338.3 Determining "in Lieu of" Holidays when Holidays Fall on Nonworkdays
(CT:PER-989; 05-14-2020)
(State Only)
(Applies to Foreign Services and Civil Service Employees)
a. Nonworkdays other than Sunday: If a holiday falls on an employee’s nonworkday that is not a Sunday, the employee's preceding workday will be the designated "in lieu of" holiday.
b. Sunday nonworkday: If the holiday falls on the Sunday nonworkday of an employee, the subsequent workday will be the employee's designated "in lieu of" holiday.
c. Part-time employees are not entitled to an "in lieu of" holiday when a holiday falls on a nonworkday for the employee.
d. The bureau/post may determine that a different “in lieu of” holiday is necessary to prevent an “adverse agency impact” (defined in 5 U.S.C. 6131(b)). For State, the Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Global Talent can designate an alternate “in lieu of” holiday.
3 FAM 2338.4 Local Holidays
(CT:PER-1066; 10-08-2021)
(Uniform State/USAGM/Commerce/Foreign Service Corps-USDA/USAID)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
See 3 FAM 3419.2 (Local Holidays), 3 FAM 3464.1-1(8) and 2 FAM 115.2
Posts are limited to 10 days of administrative leave for purposes of observing local holidays. If more than 10 days are observed in the host country, then posts should strive to choose the most significant and widely observed local holidays.
3 FAM 2339 UNASSIGNED