Sick Leave and Overtime Pay for Irregular Tour of Duty

The validity of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) sick leave and overtime regulations for employees on a first-40-hour basic workweek was questioned. Employees contended that: NASA improperly established their basic workweek as the first-40-hours of duty performed within 6 days of the administrative workweek; regulations which permit their supervisor to retroactively determine that a day on which they were sick may be accounted for as a nonworkday are contrary to law and Civil Service Commission (CSC) regulations; and because of improper accounting of nonworkdays, they had to work an additional day to obtain 40 hours that otherwise would have been at overtime rates. NASA has discretionary authority to establish a first-40-hour workweek for employees upon a determination that it is impracticable to prescribe a regular schedule. Regulations which could deprive employees of the use of sick leave are inconsistent with CSC regulations and should be amended. NASA should charge sick leave to employees if it was improperly denied and pay for overtime that results from correction of records.