Entitlement to Standby Premium Pay

A decision was requested as to whether an employee on extended sick leave who is expected to terminate with disability retirement is entitled to premium pay for regularly scheduled standby duty and whether such premium pay should be included in his lump-sum annual leave payment. Regulations provide that an employee's annual premium pay begins on the date he enters on duty in the position and ceases on the date that he ceases to be paid basic pay in the position. However, it has been held that (1) the regulation pertaining to leave with pay status does not contemplate a situation where there is no reasonable expectation that an employee will return to work and is inconclusive as to entitlement, and (2) an employee on leave with pay is no longer entitled to receive premium compensation when it has been determined that unscheduled overtime work will not continue. In the opinion of GAO, this decision applies equally to premium pay on an annual basis for regularly scheduled standby duty and to the holding that an employee on extended sick leave is not entitled to such premium pay. It has also been held that employees who received primium pay for standby duty for selected periods and who were receiving such pay at the time of their separations were entitled to have such pay included in their lump-sum payments. Accordingly, it was concluded that the employee in this case was not entitled to premium pay during the period of extended sick leave terminating in disability retirement, and he was not entitled to it at the time of separation.