Claims for Overtime Pay and Annual Premium Pay

An appeal was made of a Claims Group disallowance of claims for overtime and annual premium pay for standby duty at home and for overtime compensation for time spent at home conducting official business over the telephone. The claimants, supervisory customs inspectors with the Customs Service, stated that they were designated to respond to telephone calls pertaining to their inspectional duties which arose after normal duty hours. They were required to be available by telephone or to carry an electronic beeper so that they could be easily reached. The claimants contended that their activities at home were significantly restricted by this and that they were unable to engage in numerous social activities, since they could not answer calls within a reasonble amount of time. GAO held that the situation fell under the general rule that, when an employee is not restricted to his residence and his residence is not designated as his duty station, he is not entitled to compensation by virtue of being on call. To qualify for overtime compensation, the claimant must establish that the on-call time at home constituted hours of work. Since the record showed that the claimants were required to do no more than be available to answer queries on official business, they did not qualify for overtime compensation for standby duty. The claimants then submitted documentation which listed the duration of each call during the period in question. Based on that information, Customs estimated that each telephone call averaged no more than a minute, and statutory regulations preclude compensation for calls of that length. GAO ruled against the claimants' argument that Customs did not accurately estimate the time spent on each telephone call. Accordingly, the Claims Group decision was sustained, and additional compensation was not allowed for claimed standby and overtime work.