[Request for Decision Concerning Compensatory Time Off for Religious Observances]

The General Services Administration requested a review of section 5550a, title 5, U.S. Code, to determine whether agencies properly may grant compensatory time off for religious observances to government employees whose pay has reached the aggregate pay limitation imposed by section 5547, title 5, U.S. Code. GAO noted that the free exercise of religious beliefs is a fundamental right guaranteed under the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution. GAO believes that the language and legislative history of section 5550a show congressional intent to provide a means whereby all federal employees could worship more freely, without losing their pay or accumulated leave. GAO stated that the use of compensatory time off for religious purposes involves a mere substitution of time and cannot replace, or result in, an employee's entitlement to premium compensation. GAO held that agencies may allow all of their employees, including those employees whose salaries have reached the aggregate pay limitation, to work hours in excess of the basic 40-hour workweek to compensate for time used when they remain absent from work in fulfillment of their religious obligations.