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Entitlement of Air Traffic Controllers to Premium Pay for Overtime Work, and Work on Sundays and Holidays

B-193384,B-193544,B-194035 Jun 18, 1979
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Highlights

Decisions were requested by the General Counsel of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization in three situations relating to premium pay for overtime work and work on Sundays for employees of the Federal Aviation Administration. (1) An employee worked an 8-hour, 5-day workweek and was asked to begin the following workweek without a day off. GAO ruled that the employee was not entitled to overtime compensation because overtime work means work in excess of 40 hours in an administrative workweek and is payable only if the 6th or 7th working day is within the same administrative workweek as the first 5 days. (2) Employees whose basic workweek consisted of 5 8-hour days between Monday and Saturday worked on Sunday. GAO held that they were entitled to 8 hours of overtime pay and not to 8 hours of Sunday premium pay and 8 hours of overtime pay. Sunday premium pay is payable only for work within the basic workweek and an agency is not required to designate Sunday as part of the basic workweek. (3) Employees worked 8-hour shifts beginning at 2306 and 2300, respectively, immediately preceding work on a holiday. They were properly paid only 7.1 and 7 hours of holiday premium pay, respectively. An employee may be paid holiday premium pay only for work performed on a holiday. There is no requirement that an agency schedule work for an employee on a holiday.

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