Request for Overtime Compensation

A Personnel Division Director in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requested a decision on the overtime compensation claim of an IRS employee. This claim was representative of others filed by IRS employees. Originally, the employee filed a grievance on this matter with the National Treasury Employees Union, which filed on behalf of the other employees; the grievance was denied. The employee, whose regular work day was from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., volunteered to provide taxpayer assistance at a suburban shopping mall from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The employee was allowed to leave the office at 3:45 p.m. to travel to the mall, but with the approval of her supervisor went home instead. She was paid overtime for work performed between 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., and also claimed overtime for (1) 3:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.; (2)4:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., except for a 45-minute dinner break; and (3) 9:30 p.m. until her arrival at home. Regarding the 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. period, traveltime away from an official duty station within the regularly scheduled workweek is compensable hours of employment, and not compensable at overtime rates. The waiting time spent by the employees from 4:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. was time spent by employees who chose to go there directly, and not time spent for their employer's benefit. Such time is not compensable overtime. There is no evidence that the period from 4:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. spent by employees who did not travel to the suburbs between 3:45 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. met any one of the four conditions set forth in applicable legislation. This time cannot be considered as compensable traveltime. Travel to and from work, even though it may be for the purpose of going to and from an overtime duty station, is not compensable traveltime unless the conditions set forth in the legislation are met.