DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY OM 690-1-3 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers CEHEC Washington DC 20314-1000
Memorandum No. 690-1-3 30 November 2009
HUMAN RESOURCE CIVILIAN PERSONNEL TIME AND ATTENDANCE POLICY HEADQUARTERS, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS (HQUSACE)
1. Purpose. This Office Memorandum (OM) establishes policy, guidance, and procedures for requesting leave, determining, approving, and reporting hours worked for all civilian members of HQUSACE. This guidance replaces OM 600-1-2, Alternative Work Schedule, dated 01 March 2002.
2. Applicability. This OM applies to all HQUSACE staff elements.
3. References. See Appendix A for references.
4. General. There are specific limits and requirements in areas pertaining to daily tour of duty, Alternate Work Schedules (AWS), flextime, overtime, compensatory time, credit hours, and travel compensatory time. The following guidance will ensure sufficient coverage of our offices during normal duty hours. Most of the flexibilities mentioned below are at the discretion of a member’s supervisor. For any exceptions to the items mentioned below, the member should see his/her supervisor.
5. Definitions. See Appendix C for definitions of different schedules and type of hours.
6. Basic Policy. The overall policy of Headquarters is to allow employees to establish work hours that will balance mission requirements with individual member needs. Implementation of an AWS must not disrupt the operations or impede the efficient accomplishment of the Headquarters mission.
a. The Headquarters workweek is Monday through Friday. Each HQUSACE office must be staffed between 0900 and 1500 hours (core hours). Each member will be at their place of duty during core hours or will be on official leave.
b. Tours of duty will not exceed ten hours daily, excluding the unpaid lunch period.
This publication supersedes OM 600-1-2, Alternative Work Schedules
OM 690-1-3 30 Nov 09
c. Each member is required to take a lunch period of no less than thirty minutes when the daily tour of duty is greater than six hours.
d. Each Director/Separate Office Chief has the authority to establish specific policies regarding participation in any of the Flexiplace/Telework schedules within their areas of responsibility.
e. Headquarters members are responsible for accurately posting hours worked on the ENG 4704 (Work Schedule Time Record). Timekeepers are responsible for accurately posting the hours in CEFMS within established suspenses. Finally, supervisors are responsible for ensuring this process is followed, and hours worked and leave taken are accurately posted using the correct Labor Charge Code.
f. The standard work schedule is 0800-1630, Monday through Friday.
g. There are two types of AWS, either a Flexible Work Schedule (FWS), or a Compressed Work Schedule (CWS). Under FWS, credit hours are allowed and arrival and departure times can be flexible, subject to supervisor agreement/approval. Under CWS, credit hours are NOT allowed, arrival and departure times are fixed, and deviation from arrival and departure times must be accounted for using leave.
7. Specific Guidance.
a. Alternate Work Schedule (AWS). Any TOD other than the standard work schedule (0800-1630 Monday through Friday), is considered to be an AWS. There are several specific requirements for a member to work an AWS schedule.
(1) The member requests AWS. The supervisor must approve, modify or disapprove the requested schedule and notify the member.
(2) The member must work designated core hours (less any lunch period).
(3) The member must account for the total number of hours he/she is scheduled to work using ENG Form 4704 (Work Schedule Time Record).
(4) Flexible hours, for creation of an AWS, are from 0600 to 0900 and from 1500 to 1800. Again, core hours are 0900-1500, Monday through Friday.
(5) The timekeeper must create a work schedule for the member in CEFMS to reflect the hours the member will work each day.
(6) An AWS does not take the place of overtime.
(7) An AWS may be planned and agreed to between a member and his/her supervisor to gain credit hours under a Flexible Work Schedule (FWS).
2 OM 690-1-3 30 Nov 09
(8) Credit Hours may be earned only by members working beyond a member’s normal TOD. Credit hours cannot be earned on weekends, during Temporary Duty Travel, nor while teleworking. Credit hours may be earned Monday through Friday during the following hours, from 0600 to 0900 and 1500 to 1800. Members must have approval (normally verbal) from their supervisor prior to earning credit hours. The use of credit hours must normally be approved in advance, except for personal emergency or unanticipated illness, and must always be documented on an OPM 71. Members may not earn more than 2 credit hours in a given work day. Members who have negotiated to work a FWS with the supervisor may earn credit hours and carry over a maximum of 24 hours to a subsequent period. Credit hours earned that carry the balance above 24 at the end of a pay period are forfeited.
(9) Compressed Work Schedules (CWS) are arranged in such a way that members will fulfill their basic work requirement in fewer than 10 workdays during the bi-weekly pay period. Two common types of CWS are a 4-day workweek which allows the member to work four 10-hour days in a week; or a 5-4/9 plan which permits a member to work eight 9- hour days and one 8-hour day with one day off over two weeks to comprise 80 hours worked in a pay period. A CWS is a fixed schedule (both hours of the day, and work days are fixed), may be changed only in limited circumstances (not merely for the convenience of the member), and must be approved by the supervisor. Although supervisors may change or stagger the arrival and departure times of members, there are no provisions for member flexibility in arrival or departure times under a CWS program. Any time an employee is not present at work during the CWS TOD, he/she must account for the time as a form of leave.
(10) Employees who are attending training will come off of the CWS for the entire pay period in which the training is occurring.
b. Overtime/Compensatory Time. The authority to work these types of additional hours, plus Compensatory Time for Travel (CTT) is documented using Draft ENG Form 6032E (Request, Authorization and Report of Overtime).
(1) HQs members must keep in mind that pay caps exist to limit the amount of overtime payable, and, in the exact same way, limits the hours of compensatory time that can be earned by our higher level members.
(2) When overtime is necessary, the supervisor will direct the member to prepare an overtime request (Draft ENG Form 6032E) and to work the required number of hours. Generally, such a request must be approved in advance.
c. Compensatory Time for Travel. Guidance and references for CTT are contained in the CEFMS Timekeeper Manual referenced in this OM. A quick summary of procedures for Headquarters is as follows:
3 OM 690-1-3 30 Nov 09 (1) A supervisor-approved Overtime Request (Draft ENG Form 6032E) is required to request CTT in advance of CTT being earned. At the end of the TDY, adjustments to the CTT will be made (i.e., an extended delay at an airport, causing additional CTT earned, etc.).
(2) CTT earned and used must be posted on the ENG Form 4704 (Work Schedule Time Record) and correctly coded in CEFMS.
(3) A copy of the form for calculating CTT (Draft ENG Form 6033E) is attached to the travel settlement voucher and to the ENG 4704 for the pay period in which the CTT is earned. There is detailed guidance at http://www.opm.gov/oca/compmemo/2005/2005- 03-att1.asp
(4) Unlike regular compensatory time, CTT earned is not limited by pay caps. CTT is never paid out and is forfeited if not used in 26 pay periods.
d. Telework. The DoD Telework policy is the primary governing guidance for Corps of Engineers members. That guidance is at http://www.telework.gov/policies/dodguide.asp.
(1) A member may telework with the written permission of his/her supervisor.
(2) A written Telework Agreement must outline the days/hours to be teleworked along with the work to be performed. This agreement must be signed by both the member and the supervisor. The supervisor, member, and timekeeper must keep a copy of the agreement in their respective files. A new telework agreement is required every year.
(3) A member working at a GSA-sponsored telework center must also access the Telework On-Line Billing System (TOLBS) to register. Questions may be addressed to the telework coordinator. Information is available at https://tolbs.pbs.gsa.gov/tolbs
e. Lunch Periods. Any member working in excess of six hours must take at least ½ hour for lunch. Lunch, regardless of duration, will be taken between 1100 and 1400 (within core hours). Lunch period cannot be skipped in order to work additional hours or to leave work early. Since the lunch period is not considered hours of work, if a member does not take a lunch break and leaves work early, that member has not worked a daily TOD and will be charged leave. Breaks may not be added to the lunch period to extend the lunch break.
f. Rest Periods (“breaks”). A rest period is a brief pause from work that any member may take provided the supervisor has approved.
(1) Rest periods are not to exceed 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon.
(2) Rest periods may not be taken immediately preceding nor be a continuation of the lunch period.
4 OM 690-1-3 30 Nov 09
(3) Members may not shorten the length of their workday by not taking rest periods.
(4) Two specific 15-minute break periods may be designated, or a member may be permitted to break more frequently and at their discretion as long as the cumulative time does not exceed 15 minutes before and after lunch.
8. Exceptions From Basic Policy.
a. Core Hours - Exceptions from core hours must be requested in writing by the member, supported by justification of the exception, approved first by the immediate supervisor, then by the senior rater. The member and the timekeeper must maintain of copy for their records.
b. Tour of Duty – Exceptions to the Tour of Duty (TOD) policy shown above must also be requested and justified in writing by the member, approved by the immediate supervisor, then by the senior rater, and a copy retained by the member and the timekeeper.
c. Senior raters should coordinate core hour and tour of duty exceptions with the Director or Office Chief prior to approval/disapproval decision and furnish a copy of decision to the Director or Office Chief for retention.
9. Union Officials. When a union official, steward or designated union representative is absent from his/her normal work area for more than 15 minutes for representation activities, the Union representative shall submit an “AFGE Local 4055 Request for Official Time” to their supervisor requesting approval for official time. The supervisor should make every effort to approve the request. Union representatives shall record the actual amount of official time used and that amount will be entered into the T&A system by the appropriate timekeeper (codes to be used are listed in the CEFMS timekeepers manual.)
10. Responsibilities. Members, timekeepers, and supervisors are all responsible for ensuring that time records are accurate and have all of the required signatures on both the hardcopy and in CEFMS.
a. A member is responsible for correctly recording hours worked, arrival and departure time each day, submitting the supervisor-approved timesheet (ENG 4704) to the timekeeper according to the established suspense, obtaining supervisory approval prior to accruing or using leave (requested using OPM Form 71), overtime, compensatory time, compensatory travel time (requested using Draft ENG Form 6032E), or credit hours; for accurately recording any leave credit hours earned and/or used on an ENG Form 4704 (Work Schedule Time Record); and the appropriate codes to reflect time related to teleworking and family medical leave. The employee must sign ENG Forms 4704 and certified CETAL reports for each pay period. When timesheets are submitted prior to the end of the pay period, the member is responsible for correcting and reconciling estimated work hours with the timekeeper.
5 OM 690-1-3 30 Nov 09
b. The timekeeper is responsible for checking information in their time group, prior to entering time into CEFMS, to identify any problems as early as possible and to facilitate accurately posting time in CEFMS based on the information provided by the member. The timekeeper is responsible for meeting suspenses for posting and editing time, attendance and labor data as established by the payroll Customer Service Representative (CSR), who in turn transmits this information to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), for payment, and creation of Leave and Earnings Statement(s). Timekeepers may post their own time; however, they may not certify it. The individual who certifies the timekeeper's time in CEFMS must monitor this posting very closely. The timekeeper is responsible for filing all time and attendance records and maintaining them within the office for 6 years and 3 months. In addition, each timekeeper is required to keep a copy of the CEFMS Timekeeper Users Guide available for reference. This is the source of guidance for posting the T&A in CEFMS to include the specific codes for those working AWS. The employee must sign ENG Forms 4704 and certified CETAL reports for each pay period.
c. The supervisor is responsible for ensuring time worked is accurately recorded in CEFMS to include hours worked, leave taken, correct labor charge code(s) are charged, and for the certification of all of this in CEFMS. Additionally, the supervisor must ensure that members are able to use credit hours earned, use or lose annual leave, and CTT earned, and prevent their forfeiture. The supervisor is also responsible for any flexible schedules and must be knowledgeable of hours worked by the member. This means that the T&A must be signed within the directorate/separate office if not the actual office where the work was performed.
d. In order to ensure annual leave is not forfeited, the member and the supervisor are jointly responsible for proper execution of OPM Form 71 at least 3 full pay periods before the end of the leave year. Without this documentation, such approved leave subsequently denied cannot be restored in the new leave year.
11. Point of Contact for this memorandum is Deputy Chief of Staff, USACE, CECS, (202) 761-0686.
FOR THE COMMANDER:
3 Appendices ~1ML App. A -- References Colonel, Corps of Engineers App. B - Timekeeper's User's Guide Chief of Staff App. C - Glossary (Definitions)
6 OM 690-1-3 30 Nov 09
APPENDIX A
References
* a. Title 5, United States Code, Chapter 61, Subchapter II (basic 40-hr work week, holidays, alternative work schedules) http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html
* b. CFR, Title 5, Part 610, Subpart D and Subpart N (work schedules and hours of work) http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html
* c. Federal Register, Vol. 72, Number 73, pages 19093 – 19099 dated 17 April 2007. http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html
d. Commander’s Policy Memorandum #6, subject: Quality of Worklife Programs, dated 30 July 2007. (Memorandum may be found on the Headquarters Intranet; HQUSACE Publications; Commanders Policy Memorandum; then Policy Memorandum #6)
e. CEFMS Timekeeper Manual, dated 26 February 2008. (CEFMS Portal Page—lists all the available databases—scroll down to CEFMS Documentation; scroll to Timekeeper Users Guide)
** f. CERM-F memorandum, subject: Compensatory Time Off for Travel, dated 25 June 2007. http://www.opm.gov/oca/compmemo/2005/2005-03-att1.asp
g. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, “Handbook on Alternative Work Schedules,” (http://www.opm.gov/oca/AWS/)
h. DOD Financial Management Regulation (DoD FMR), Volume 8: Civilian Pay Policy and Procedures (http://www.defenselink.mil/comptroller/fmr/08/)
i. Collective Bargaining Agreement Between the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 4055 and Headquarters, United States Army Corps of Engineers. (Headquarters Intranet; HQUSACE Employee Handbook; Employee Services; Union Agreement)
j. OM 600-1-2, Alternative Work Schedules (to be rescinded) (Headquarters Intranet; HQUSACE Publications; Office Memorandum; OM 600-1-2)
k. ER 37-1-30, Chapter 9, Civilian Payroll and Leave Accounting.
*This is an index. Once on the index page, use search function for specific reference.
** Several websites will show. Choose the one listed as the reference.
A--1 OM 690-1-3 30 Nov 09
APPENDIX B
Timekeeper User’s Guide Table of Contents
Section Title Page
1.0 Overview 1
2.0 DCPS Processing Requirements 2
3.0 Time and Attendance Codes 3
4.0 Time and Attendance 5
4.1 Work Schedules 6
4.1.1 Organization Tour of Duty 8
4.1.2 Employee Tour of Duty 12 (Examples pgs 17 thru 39)
4.1.3 Employee Work Day 40
4.2 Data Entry 49
4.3 Reports 104
4.4 Supervisory Functions 120
USER GUIDE APPENDIX A TYPE HOUR CODES
QUICK REFERENCES A-1 Pay Type Codes
A-2 Leave Codes, Paid
A-3 Leave Codes, Nonpaid Compensatory Codes
B-1 OM 690-1-3 30 Nov 09 A-4 – A6 Environmental/Hazard Codes
A7 Representational Codes
A8 Family Medical Leave Codes Family Friendly Leave Codes
A9 Telework Codes
A10-A18 TYPE HOUR CODES—EXPANDED REFERENCE
USERS GUIDE APPENDIX B OTHER TIME AND ATTENDANCE CODES
B-1 Shift Codes
B-2 Work Schedule Codes
B-3 T&A Status Codes
B-4 Temporary Position Codes
B-5 Employee Type Codes
USERS GUIDE APPENDIX C ALTERNATE WORK SCHEDULE (AWS) CODES
QUICE REFERENCES
C-1 – C2 Alternate Work Schedule Codes for Full-Time Employees
EXPANDED REFERENCE
C-3 – C-7 Alternate Work Schedule Codes (Definitions)
USERS GUIDE APPENDIX D GLOSSARY
D-1 – D-4 Glossary
B-2 OM 690-1-3 30 Nov 09
GLOSSARY
Definitions
Alternate Work Schedule (AWS). A work schedule that deviates from the standard work schedule, which is 0800-1630, Monday through Friday. An AWS may be either Compressed or Flexible (see below).
Compensatory Time Off for Travel (CTT). A form of compensation (time off) that may be earned when a member is traveling, and later used, as a form of leave.
Compressed Work Schedules (CWS). Compressed work schedules are those where the employee’s basic work requirement for each pay period (80 hours for a full time employee or less for part-time employees) is scheduled in less than ten workdays. A CWS for a part- time employee may require the employee to work more than 8 hours in one day. Employees on a compressed work schedule may not earn or use credit hours.
Core Hours. The hours during which all employees are expected to be present for duty. For headquarters, these are 0900 to 1500 hours Monday through Friday excluding an unpaid lunch period.
Credit Hours. A period of time worked beyond the daily tour of duty (normally eight hours), in a minimum of quarter-hour increments.
Flexible time. A part of the schedule of working hours during which members may negotiate their time of arrival and departure from work with their supervisor, within limits consistent with the duties and requirements of their positions. Flexible time allows the member to arrive for work anywhere between the hours of 0600 – 0900, and depart between 1500 and 1800. The member is then required to work their normal 8 ½ hour day (to include ½ hour lunch), based on their arrival time.
Flexible Work Schedule (FWS, also known as Flexitime). Under flexible work schedules, employees may work longer or shorter hours, including credit hours on any given workday, without taking leave or being paid overtime, so long as their basic biweekly work requirements are met. By electing to work hours in excess of their tour of duty, employees also may complete the biweekly basic work requirements in fewer than 10 workdays without being paid overtime or being charged leave for the nonworkdays.
Telework. A member may telework from home; at the HECSA Telework Center; or at a GSA-managed Telework Center.
Glossary -1 OM 690-1-3 30 Nov 09 Lunch Period. A minimum of ½ hour unpaid meal time that each member must take when working in excess of 6 consecutive hours. Questions of the duration should be discussed between the member and their immediate supervisor.
Tour of Duty (TOD). The number of hours a member is scheduled to work each day, each week or each pay period. The TOD has fixed arrival and departure times on either the Standard Federal Work Week, or the CWS. The TOD may have flexible arrival and departure times under FWS. The TOD must be documented, in writing, and the timekeeper must select the correct work schedule code in CEFMS, in accordance with the documented TOD.
Use or lose leave. Annual leave may be accumulated up to a certain balance, for example 240 hours for most regular employees, by the end of the leave year. If more than that is accumulated and not used, it will be forfeited.
Glossary -2