§5542 — Title 5 Government Organization and Employees | U.S. Code

Summary

Federal workers must be paid extra when they work more than their basic hours. Overtime normally starts after 40 hours in an administrative workweek or after 8 hours in a day, unless an employee’s basic workweek is defined differently. If a worker’s basic pay is at or below the minimum for GS–10 (including any locality or special pay), overtime pay is 1.5 times their hourly basic pay. If a worker’s basic pay is above the GS–10 minimum, the overtime hourly rate is the greater of (a) 1.5 times the GS–10 minimum hourly rate (including locality or special pay) or (b) the worker’s own hourly basic pay. Law enforcement officers use that same “greater of” rule. Some groups have special rules: certain nonmanagerial air traffic control workers at the Department of Transportation who meet strict safety and workload criteria have a different overtime rule set by the Secretary of Transportation; Interior Department and Forest Service wildland firefighters get overtime at 1.5 times their basic pay; and some Navy personnel temporarily working overseas are paid overtime as if their exemption status matched their home station (this overseas rule ends September 30, 2026). There are more special rules for certain jobs and situations. Unscheduled overtime on a day not worked or when an employee is called back is treated as at least 2 hours. Time spent traveling away from the official duty station usually is not hours worked unless it falls inside the person’s regular workweek hours, involves working while traveling, is very hard travel, or is caused by an unforeseen event. Criminal investigators who get availability pay are paid under the main overtime rule when scheduled overtime exceeds 10 hours in a day during their basic 40‑hour week or when it is on a day outside their basic workweek; other overtime for them follows their availability-pay rules, with an exception when scheduled work also includes at least 2 hours of unscheduled overtime. Firefighters covered by their special pay rules use 106 hours in a two‑week pay period (or 53 hours in a weekly system) as the overtime trigger, and their overtime rate is 1.5 times the firefighter basic pay rate with certain limits. Border Patrol agents have different overtime thresholds by pay level (more than 100, 90, or 80 hours in a 14‑day period) and may be paid or given compensatory time off under limits and use rules (including a 10‑hour-per‑pay‑period limit unless waived, a 240‑hour cap in a leave year, and deadlines to use earned comp time). The Office of Personnel Management must write rules so employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act do not get less pay, and OPM will also set rules for firefighter “trade‑of‑time” arrangements where two firefighters substitute for one another.

Title 5, §5542

Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)For full-time, part-time and intermittent tours of duty, hours of work officially ordered or approved in excess of 40 hours in an administrative workweek, or (with the exception of an employee engaged in professional or technical engineering or scientific activities for whom the first 40 hours of duty in an administrative workweek is the basic workweek and an employee whose basic pay exceeds the minimum rate for GS–10 (including any applicable locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 or similar provision of law and any applicable special rate of pay under section 5305 or similar provision of law) for whom the first 40 hours of duty in an administrative workweek is the basic workweek) in excess of 8 hours in a day, performed by an employee are overtime work and shall be paid for, except as otherwise provided by this subchapter, at the following rates:

(1)For an employee whose basic pay is at a rate which does not exceed the minimum rate of basic pay for GS–10 (including any applicable locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 or similar provision of law and any applicable special rate of pay under section 5305 or similar provision of law), the overtime hourly rate of pay is an amount equal to one and one-half times the hourly rate of basic pay of the employee, and all that amount is premium pay.

(2)For an employee whose basic pay is at a rate which exceeds the minimum rate of basic pay for GS–10 (including any applicable locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 or similar provision of law and any applicable special rate of pay under section 5305 or similar provision of law), the overtime hourly rate of pay is an amount equal to the greater of one and one-half times the hourly rate of the minimum rate of basic pay for GS–10 (including any applicable locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 or similar provision of law and any applicable special rate of pay under section 5305 or similar provision of law) or the hourly rate of basic pay of the employee, and all that amount is premium pay.

(3)Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection for an employee of the Department of Transportation who occupies a nonmanagerial position in GS–14 or under and, as determined by the Secretary of Transportation,

(A)the duties of which are critical to the immediate daily operation of the air traffic control system, directly affect aviation safety, and involve physical or mental strain or hardship;

(B)in which overtime work is therefore unusually taxing; and

(C)in which operating requirements cannot be met without substantial overtime work;

(4)Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of this subsection, for an employee who is a law enforcement officer, and whose basic pay is at a rate which exceeds the minimum rate of basic pay for GS–10 (including any applicable locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 or similar provision of law and any applicable special rate of pay under section 5305 or similar provision of law), the overtime hourly rate of pay is an amount equal to the greater of—

(A)one and one-half times the minimum hourly rate of basic pay for GS–10 (including any applicable locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 or similar provision of law and any applicable special rate of pay under section 5305 or similar provision of law); or

(B)the hourly rate of basic pay of the employee,

(5)Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), for an employee of the Department of the Interior or the United States Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture engaged in emergency wildland fire suppression activities, the overtime hourly rate of pay is an amount equal to one and one-half times the hourly rate of basic pay of the employee, and all that amount is premium pay.

(6)(A)Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), for an employee of the Department of the Navy who is assigned to temporary duty outside the United States to perform work aboard, or dockside in direct support of, naval vessels and who would be nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 but for the application of the foreign area exemption in section 13(f) of that Act (29 U.S.C. 213(f)), the employee shall be coded and paid overtime as if the employee’s exemption status under that Act is the same as it is at the employee’s permanent duty station.

(B)Subparagraph (A) shall expire on September 30, 2026.

(b)For the purpose of this subchapter—

(1)unscheduled overtime work performed by an employee on a day when work was not scheduled for him, or for which he is required to return to his place of employment, is deemed at least 2 hours in duration; and

(2)time spent in a travel status away from the official-duty station of an employee is not hours of employment unless—

(A)the time spent is within the days and hours of the regularly scheduled administrative workweek of the employee, including regularly scheduled overtime hours; or

(B)the travel (i) involves the performance of work while traveling, (ii) is incident to travel that involves the performance of work while traveling, (iii) is carried out under arduous conditions, or (iv) results from an event which could not be scheduled or controlled administratively, including travel by an employee to such an event and the return of such employee from such event to his or her official-duty station.

(c)Subsection (a) shall not apply to an employee who is subject to the overtime pay provisions of section 7 of the Fair labor 11 So in original. Probably should be capitalized. Standards Act of 1938. In the case of an employee who would, were it not for the preceding sentence, be subject to this section, the Office of Personnel Management shall by regulation prescribe what hours shall be deemed to be hours of work and what hours of work shall be deemed to be overtime hours for the purpose of such section 7 so as to ensure that no employee receives less pay by reason of the preceding sentence.

(d)In applying subsection (a) of this section with respect to any criminal investigator who is paid availability pay under section 5545a—

(1)such investigator shall be compensated under such subsection (a), at the rates there provided, for overtime work which is scheduled in advance of the administrative workweek—

(A)in excess of 10 hours on a day during such investigator’s basic 40 hour workweek; or

(B)on a day outside such investigator’s basic 40 hour workweek; and

(2)such investigator shall be compensated for all other overtime work under section 5545a.

(e)Notwithstanding subsection (d)(1) of this section, all hours of overtime work scheduled in advance of the administrative workweek shall be compensated under subsection (a) if that work involves duties as authorized by section 3056(a) of title 18 or section 37(a)(3) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, and if the investigator performs, on that same day, at least 2 hours of overtime work not scheduled in advance of the administrative workweek.

(f)In applying subsection (a) of this section with respect to a firefighter who is subject to section 5545b—

(1)such subsection shall be deemed to apply to hours of work officially ordered or approved in excess of 106 hours in a biweekly pay period, or, if the agency establishes a weekly basis for overtime pay computation, in excess of 53 hours in an administrative workweek; and

(2)the overtime hourly rate of pay is an amount equal to one and one-half times the hourly rate of basic pay under section 5545b(b)(1)(A) or (c)(1)(B), as applicable, and such overtime hourly rate of pay may not be less than such hourly rate of basic pay in applying the limitation on the overtime rate provided in paragraph (2) of such subsection (a).

(g)In applying subsection (a) with respect to a border patrol agent covered by section 5550, the following rules apply:

(1)Notwithstanding the matter preceding paragraph (1) in subsection (a), for a border patrol agent who is assigned to the level 1 border patrol rate of pay under section 5550—

(A)hours of work in excess of 100 hours during a 14-day biweekly pay period shall be overtime work; and

(B)the border patrol agent—

(i)shall receive pay at the overtime hourly rate of pay (as determined in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a)) for hours of overtime work that are officially ordered or approved in advance of the workweek; and

(ii)except as provided in paragraphs (4) and (5), shall receive compensatory time off for an equal amount of time spent performing overtime work that is not overtime work described in clause (i).

(2)Notwithstanding the matter preceding paragraph (1) in subsection (a), for a border patrol agent who is assigned to the level 2 border patrol rate of pay under section 5550—

(A)hours of work in excess of 90 hours during a 14-day biweekly pay period shall be overtime work; and

(B)the border patrol agent—

(ii)except as provided in paragraphs (4) and (5), shall receive compensatory time off for an equal amount of time spent performing overtime work that is not overtime work described in clause (i).

(3)Notwithstanding the matter preceding paragraph (1) in subsection (a), for a border patrol agent who is assigned to the basic border patrol rate of pay under section 5550—

(A)hours of work in excess of 80 hours during a 14-day biweekly pay period shall be overtime work; and

(B)the border patrol agent—

(ii)except as provided in paragraphs (4) and (5), shall receive compensatory time off for an equal amount of time spent performing overtime work that is not overtime work described in clause (i).

(4)(A)Except as provided in subparagraph (B), during a 14-day biweekly pay period, a border patrol agent may not earn compensatory time off for more than 10 hours of overtime work.

(B)U.S. Customs and Border Protection may, as it determines appropriate, waive the limitation under subparagraph (A) for an individual border patrol agent for hours of irregular or occasional overtime work, but such waiver must be approved in writing in advance of the performance of any such work for which compensatory time off is earned under paragraph (1)(B)(ii), (2)(B)(ii), or (3)(B)(ii). If a waiver request by a border patrol agent is denied, the border patrol agent may not be ordered to perform the associated overtime work.

(5)A border patrol agent—

(A)may not earn more than 240 hours of compensatory time off during a leave year;

(B)shall use any hours of compensatory time off not later than the end of the 26th pay period after the pay period during which the compensatory time off was earned;

(C)shall be required to use 1 hour of compensatory time off for each hour of regular time not worked for which the border patrol agent is not on paid leave or other paid time off or does not substitute time in accordance with section 5550(f);

(D)shall forfeit any compensatory time off not used in accordance with this paragraph and, regardless of circumstances, shall not be entitled to any cash value for compensatory time earned under section 5550;

(E)shall not receive credit towards the computation of the annuity of the border patrol agent for compensatory time, whether used or not; and

(F)shall not be credited with compensatory time off if the value of such time off would cause the aggregate premium pay of the border patrol agent to exceed the limitation established under section 5547 in the period in which it was earned.

(h)(1)(A)Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or section 5545b, any hours worked by a firefighter under a qualified trade-of-time arrangement shall be disregarded for purposes of any determination relating to eligibility for, or the amount of, any overtime pay under this section, including overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act in accordance with subsection (c).

(B)The Director of the Office of Personnel Management—

(i)shall identify the situations in which a firefighter shall be deemed to have worked hours actually worked by a substituting firefighter under a qualified trade-of-time arrangement; and

(ii)may adopt necessary policies governing the treatment of both a substituting and substituted firefighter under a qualified trade-of-time arrangement, without regard to how those firefighters would otherwise be treated under other provisions of law or regulation.

(2)In this subsection—

(A)the term “firefighter” means an employee—

(i)the work schedule of whom includes 24-hour duty shifts; and

(ii)who—

(I)is a firefighter, as defined in section 8331(21) or 8401(14);

(II)in the case of an employee who holds a supervisory or administrative position and is subject to subchapter III of chapter 83, but who does not qualify to be considered a firefighter within the meaning of section 8331(21), would so qualify if such employee had transferred directly to such position after serving as a firefighter within the meaning of such section;

(III)in the case of an employee who holds a supervisory or administrative position and is subject to chapter 84, but who does not qualify to be considered a firefighter within the meaning of section 8401(14), would so qualify if such employee had transferred directly to such position after performing duties described in section 8401(14)(A) and (B) for at least 3 years; and

(IV)in the case of an employee who is not subject to subchapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84, holds a position that the Office of Personnel Management determines would satisfy subclause (I), (II), or (III) if the employee were subject to subchapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84; and

(B)the term “qualified trade-of-time arrangement” means an arrangement under which 2 firefighters who are subject to the supervision of the same fire chief agree, solely at their option and with the approval of the employing agency, to substitute for one another during scheduled work hours in the performance of work in the same capacity.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

1966 Act DerivationU.S. CodeRevised Statutes andStatutes at Large (a)5 U.S.C. 911.

June 30, 1945, ch. 212, § 201, 59 Stat. 296.Sept. 1, 1954, ch. 1208, § 203, 68 Stat. 1109. (b)5 U.S.C. 912a.5 U.S.C. 912b.Sept. 1, 1954, ch. 1208, § 205(b), 68 Stat. 1110. In subsection (a)(1), and (2), the word “officer” is omitted as included in “employee”. The word “scheduled” is omitted since section 603 of the Act of Oct. 11, 1962, Pub. L. 87–793, 76 Stat. 847, eliminated the necessity of referring to rates as scheduled or longevity. References to the “Classification Act of 1949, as amended” are omitted as unnecessary. In subsection (b), former section 912a and 912b are combined and restated. Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report. 1967 Act Section of title 5Source (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 5542(a)5 App.: 911.

July 18, 1966, Pub. L. 89–504, § 404(a), 80 Stat. 297. The words “of the Classification Act of 1949, as amended” are omitted as unnecessary.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

GS–10 and GS–14, referred to in subsec. (a), are contained in the General Schedule which is set out under section 5332 of this title. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, referred to in subsec. (a)(6)(A), is act

June 25, 1938, ch. 676, 52 Stat. 1060, which is classified generally to chapter 8 (§ 201 et seq.) of Title 29, Labor. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 201 of Title 29 and Tables. section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, referred to in subsec. (c), is classified to section 207 of Title 29, Labor. section 37(a)(3) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, referred to in subsec. (e), is classified to section 2709(a)(3) of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse. The Fair Labor Standards Act, referred to in subsec. (h)(1)(A), probably means the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, act

Amendments

2021—Subsec. (a)(6)(A). Pub. L. 117–81, § 1108, inserted “outside the United States” after “temporary duty” and “of 1938” after “Fair Labor Standards Act” and substituted “naval vessels” for “the nuclear aircraft carrier that is forward deployed in Japan” and “the employee shall be coded and paid overtime as if the employee’s exemption status under that Act is the same as it is at the employee’s permanent duty station.” for “the overtime hourly rate of pay is an amount equal to one and one-half times the hourly rate of basic pay of the employee, and all that amount is premium pay.” Subsec. (a)(6)(B). Pub. L. 116–283 substituted “

September 30, 2026” for “

September 30, 2021”. Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 117–81, § 1110, added subsec. (h). 2018—Subsec. (a)(6)(B). Pub. L. 115–232 substituted “

September 30, 2021” for “

September 30, 2019”. 2017—Subsec. (a)(6)(B). Pub. L. 115–91 substituted “

September 30, 2019” for “

September 30, 2018”. 2016—Subsec. (a)(6)(B). Pub. L. 114–328 substituted “

September 30, 2018” for “

September 30, 2017”. 2015—Subsec. (a)(6)(B). Pub. L. 114–92 substituted “

September 30, 2017” for “

September 30, 2015”. 2014—Subsec. (a)(6)(B). Pub. L. 113–291 substituted “2015” for “2014”. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 113–277 added subsec. (g). 2011—Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 111–383 added par. (6). 2003—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 108–136 inserted “the greater of” before “one and one-half” and “or the hourly rate of basic pay of the employee” before “, and all that amount”. 2000—Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 106–558 added par. (5). 1998—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105–277, § 101(b) [title IV, § 407(c)(2)] and § 2316(c)(2), amended subsec. (e) identically, substituting “title 18 or section 37(a)(3) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956,” for “title 18, United States Code,”. Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 105–277, § 101(h) [title VI, § 628(a)(1)], added subsec. (f). 1995—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 104–52 added subsec. (e). 1994—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 103–329 added subsec. (d). 1992—Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 102–378, § 2(41)(A), substituted “officer,” for “officer (within the meaning of section 8331(20) or 8401(17)),” and realigned margin of closing provision. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–378, § 2(41)(B), amended second sentence generally. Prior to amendment, second sentence read as follows: “In the case of an employee who would, were it not for the preceding sentence, be subject to this section, hours of work in excess of 8 hours in a day shall be deemed to be overtime hours for the purposes of such section 7 and hours in a paid nonwork status shall be deemed to be hours of work.” 1990—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–509, § 529 [title I, § 101(b)(3)(E)], inserted “(including any applicable locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 or similar provision of law and any applicable special rate of pay under section 5305 or similar provision of law)” after “GS–10” wherever appearing. Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 101–509, § 529 [title IV, § 410(a)], added par. (4). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101–509, § 529 [title II, § 210(1)], added subsec. (c). 1984—Subsec. (b)(2)(B)(iv). Pub. L. 98–473 inserted “, including travel by an employee to such an event and the return of such employee from such event to his or her official-duty station”. 1971—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 92–194 substituted “For full-time, part-time and intermittent tours of duty, hours” for “Hours”. 1968—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 90–556 added par. (3). 1967—Subsec. (b)(2)(B). Pub. L. 90–206 designated existing provisions as cls. (i) and (iii) and added cls. (ii) and (iv).

of 2014 Amendment note under section 101 of this title] are—“(1) to strengthen U.S. Customs and Border Protection and ensure that border patrol agents are sufficiently ready to conduct necessary work and will perform overtime hours in excess of a 40-hour workweek based on the needs of U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and “(2) to ensure U.S. Customs and Border Protection has the flexibility to cover shift changes and retains the right to assign scheduled and unscheduled work for mission requirements and planning based on operational need.”

§5542 Overtime rates; computation

Summary

Title 5, §5542

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