Holiday Pay for Employees on Compressed Work Schedules

A decision was requested concerning the legality of Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) employees receiving 10 paid hours off for holidays incident to their being scheduled to work four 10-hour days under the Federal Employees' Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act of 1978. There are two basic types of alternative work schedules comtemplated by legislation: flexible scheduling of work hours and compressed work schedules. The two types are different in concept, in structure, and most importantly from the viewpoint of personnel administration, they are different by law. Employees covered by Title I are specifically limited to receive no more than 8 hours off for a holiday. No such limiting provision appears in Title II. Office of Personnel Management regulations provide that employees working four 10-hour workdays under Title II shall receive 10 hours off for a holiday. In view of this, payments for such holidays to employees on a compressed work schedule are legal.