[Compensatory Time in Lieu of Overtime Pay]

An authorized certifying officer of the Department of the Interior requested a decision on the propriety of granting compensatory time off in lieu of paying overtime compensation to two Federal employees under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Both employees were entitled to overtime pay under FLSA as the result of having performed official travel; however, neither employee was entitled to overtime pay under the Federal regulation which allows time in a travel status to be compensated as hours of work. The employees' supervisors both agreed with their request to allow them compensatory time off in lieu of overtime to conserve funds. However, since there is no authority under FLSA for granting compensatory time off, GAO held that the compensatory time off could not be substituted for the FLSA overtime compensation to which the employees were entitled, even in an effort to conserve funds.