Request for Decision Concerning Weekend Travel

GAO was asked to determine the following: (1) the extent and conditions under which employees of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board may be allowed weekend travel for morale purposes during official duty hours, (2) what kind of leave constitutes authorized leave so that employees may be reimbursed for weekend travel, and (3) whether the Board may continue to allow weekend return travel during official duty hours. The questions were raised because the Board's weekend travel practices have become the subject of a major bargaining dispute in current negotiations between the Board and other local unions. The record showed that, since the early 1970's, the Board has authorized field examiners to return home at the Government's expense at least one weekend for each 4 weeks of extended temporary duty and to perform this travel during normal duty hours on Fridays and Mondays. In addition, the Board has allowed examiners to return home during normal duty hours on the other weekends of an extended temporary duty assignment, but with reimbursement limited to the lesser of the cost of return travel or the cost of staying at the temporary duty site. GAO held that, under the applicable regulations, employees on extended temporary duty assignments may be reimbursed their travel expenses in returning home on a weekend if the agency conducts a cost analysis and determines that periodic weekend return travel would result in savings to the agency. The savings would be in terms of increased productivity and reduced costs of recruitment and retention. Additionally, GAO held that the Board may temporarily continue its practice of allowing field examiners to return home 1 weekend for every 4 weeks of temporary duty, but the Board must conduct a cost analysis before renegotiating its current collective bargaining agreements or changing its current practice. Further, GAO held that, except in the case of employees subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act, weekend travel should be performed outside the employee's regular duty hours or during periods of authorized leave. The kind of leave authorized includes scheduled and approved annual or sick leave, compensatory time off, and leave without pay. However, within the meaning of the law, administrative leave does does not constitute authorized leave.