Most Federal Employees on the Job 40 Hours or More Weekly: Tighter Controls Among Proposals for Those Who Work Less

In order to determine the extent of compliance with federal workday requirements, a study plan was devised using two approaches: (1) a questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 3,500 civilian employees from seven of the largest federal agencies; and (2) interviews with 238 personnel officers, managers, and union representatives were conducted at 29 locations. Return rates for the questionnaire were above 80 percent. GAO studied only the time spent at the workplace, and not the productive use of that time.