THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES FLEXIBLE AND COMPRESSED WORK SCHEDULES ACT OF 1978

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP92-00455R000100050028-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 30
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 19, 2001
• Sequence Number: 28
• Publication Date: August 1, 1979
• Content Type: REGULATION

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PUBLIC LAW 95-390
The Federal Employees
Flexible and Compressed
Work Schedules Act of 1978
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An programefor Federal extle!e perimental and compressed work
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office of Personnel Management
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 Approved For Reuse 2002/01/25 : CIA-RDP92-00455R000100050028-0
For sale by the Superintendent of Doctunents, U.B. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402
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 Approved For R ease 2002/01/25 : CIA-RDP92-00455R0100050028-0
THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES FLEXIBLE AND COMPRESSED WORK SCHEDULES ACT OF 1978:
AN OVERVIEW OF THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM FOR FEDERAL AGENCIES
Prepared by: Tom Cowley and Carolyn Harmon
Alternative Work Schedules Experimental Program
Chief: Seymour Gettman
Program Manager: James J. Hesling
Office of Program Planning and Development
Compensation Planning and Pay Programs
Compensation Group
August 1979
Inquiries: [phone]
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I. Introduction
A. Purpose of the Booklet
B. General Background Information
C. Flexible Work Schedules
D. Compressed Work Schedules
II. Congressional Findings and Presidential Intent
III. Provisions of Public Law 95-390
A. The Role of the Office of Personnel Mana,c,ement
B. Participation by Federal Agencies
C. Legal Protections
(1) Protection of Premium Pay and Holiday Benefits
(2) Protection of Employees Against Coercion
(3) Preservation of the Collective Bargaining Process
(4) Protection of the Public Interest
IV. Conduct of Experiments
A. Basic Research Considerations Under the Act
B. Research and Data Collection Requirements
C. Implementation Procedures
(1) Project Director
(2) On-site :Research Coordinator
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A. Purpose of the Booklet
This booklet is designed to describe the provisions of Public Law 95-390,
the "Federal Employees Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act of
1978," enacted September 29, 1978. It provides some examples of possible
flexible and compressed work schedule models and clarifies the objectives
and general framework of the 3-year alternative work schedules experimental
program in the Federal Government. It is primarily intended for use by
agency officials and union representatives who must take those steps
which are necessary to initiate the planning and negotiating process for
experimental site selection and the possible form of alternative work
schedule to be tested. (Note: In organizations where a union does not
exist, employees should be involved in the planning and implementation
process).
The information contained in this booklet will answer some questions
about the experimental program; however, the booklet does not describe
the entire program in detail. For those agencies and agency activities
which have decided on participation in the experimental program the
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will have available materials that
describe the step-by-step introduction of a flexible or compressed work
schedule. The OPM will publish regulations and instructions (after
appropriate consultation) to deal with the various possible scheduling
and premium pay situations which may arise under the Act. The master
plan for experimentation, which is required by the Act, will provide
more specific guidelines concerning the research design and methodology
for evaluating the impact of alternative work schedules in terms of the
factors specified by the law.
Specific questions about the experimental program should be directed to
the local OPM office in your area.
B. General Background Information
The Federal Employees Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act of
1978, Public Law 95-390, mandates a 3-year period of controlled experi-
mentation with the use of flexible and compressed work schedules for
employees of agencies in the Executive branch of the United States
Government. The purpose of the experimentation is to determine the
impacts - both positive and negative - which these alternatives to
traditional work schedules may have on-,(1) efficiency of Government
operations;(2) service to the public;(3) mass transit facilities;(4)
energy consumption; (5) increased job opportunities; and (6) the quality
of life for individuals and families.
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The experimentation is made possible by the temporary modification of
certain premium pay and scheduling provisions of title 5 United States
Code and the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act
(FLSA). This suspension is applicable only to those agencies or work
units participating in an approved test program; all permanent provisions
of title 5 and the FLSA remain in effect for non-participating agency
activities and employees.
C. Flexible Work Schedules
Flexible work schedules, popularly called flexitime, refer to a variety
of arrangements in which fixed times of arrival and departure are replaced
by a working day composed of two different types of time - core time and
flexible time. Core time is the designated period during which all
employees must be present. Flexible time is designated as part of the
schedule of working hours within which employees may choose their time
of arrival at and departure from the work site within limits consistent with
the duties and requirements of their position. The only other requirement
of flexitime is that employees must account for the basic work requirement.
The basic work requirement is the number of hours, excluding overtime
hours, which an employee is required to work or to otherwise account for
by an appropriate form of leave. For example, a full-time employee is
required to work 40 hours a week or 80 hours every two weeks. A part-
time employee might be employed under an appointment which requires the
employee to work 25 hours a week, or perhaps, 30 hours every two weeks.
Flexitour and gliding schedules, in which employees work 8 hours each
day but may vary their arrival and departure times with or without prior
approval, have been used by Federal agencies since 1972. The new law
has made possible the testing of more sophisticated flexitime schedules by
introducing the concept of credit hours. Credit hours are any hours of
work in excess of the basic work requirement that an employee elects to
work on a given workday or in a given workweek in order to shorten the
length of another workday or workweek at a later point. For instance, an
employee could work 10 hours on one day in order to shorten the length
of a subsequent workday, without gaining entitlement to overtime pay; or
an employee could choose to work 50 hours in a particular workweek so as
to gain the advantage of a shorter workweek of 30 hours later on.
The following models illustrate typical flexitime configurations which
agencies may wish to consider; they are provided as examples and do not
exhaust the possibilities. Since flexible schedules offer almost unlimited
degrees of flexibility the following models should be used to stimulate
your thinking and to help you devise other schedules which may be
better tailored to accommodate to particular organization needs, mission
requirements and the wishes of employees.
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(1) Flexitour/Modified Flexitour
In the following example 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. represent the earliest
time an employee may begin work and the latest time an employee may end work
under this program. The employee may select a starting time between
7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.; however, all employees must be present between
9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Flexitour/Modified Flexitour
Core Time
(Includes 1/2-hour lunch)
7:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m.
3:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
Flexitour
-employee preselects starting time
-may select new schedule at time intervals provided by program
Modified Flexitour
-same as above but schedule may be modified with prior notification
and approval of supervisor
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(2) Gliding Schedule/Modified Gliding Schedule
Gilding/Modified Gliding
I CUSTOMER SERVICE HOURS
Flexible Core Time Flexible
Time (Includes1/2-hour lunch) Time
7:00 7:30 9:00
3:00 4:30 6:00
p.m.
Gliding Schedule
-within flexible bands, employees may vary starting time without
prior notification or approval of the supervisor
Modified Gliding Schedule
-9-hour customer service band established
-employees may vary starting time but must insure minimum coverage
level is maintained during customer service hours
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PUBLIC LAW 95-390
The Federal Employees
Flexible and Compressed
Work Schedules Act of 1978
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An overview of the experimental flexible and compressed work
schedules program for Federal agencies
Office of Personnel Management
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 Ok Aft
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For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402
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 Approved For Re'ease 2002/01/25 : CIA-RDP92-00455F0100050028-0
THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES FLEXIBLE AND COMPRESSED WORK SCHEDULES ACT OF 1978:
AN OVERVIEW OF THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM FOR FEDERAL AGENCIES
Alternative Work Schedules Experimental Program
Chief: Seymour Gettman
Program Manager: James J. Hesling
Office of Program Planning and Development
Compensation Planning and Pay Programs
Compensation Group
August 1979
Inquiries: [phone]
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 Ak
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I. Introduction
A. Purpose of the Booklet
B. General Background Information
C. Flexible Work Schedules
D. Compressed Work Schedules
II. Congressional Findings and Presidential Intent
III. Provisions of Public Law 95-390
A. The Role of the Office of Personnel Mann- emen,
B. Participation by Federal Agencies
C. Legal Protections
(1) Protection of Premium Pay and Holiday Benefits
(2) Protection of Employees Against Coercion
(3) Preservation of the Collective Bargaining Process
(4) Protection of the Public Interest
IV. Conduct of Experiments
A. Basic Research Considerations Under the Act
B. Research and Data Collection Requirements
C. Implementation Procedures
(1) Project Director
(2) On-site :Research Coordinator
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A. Basic Finding
Public Law 95-390 is premised on Congress' finding that "new trends in
the usage of 4-day workweeks, flexible work hours, and other variations
in workday and workweek schedules in the private sector appear to show
sufficient promise to warrant carefully designed, controlled, and
evaluated experimentation by Federal agencies over a 3-year period to
determine whether and in what situations such varied work schedules can
be successfully used by Federal agencies on a permanent basis."
Potential Advantages
Although experience with flexible and compressed work schedules suggests
that the benefits outweigh their costs and disadvantages, President Carter
noted in signing the Act that "while the advantages appear to be
substantial, these schedules have not yet been tested within the full
range of environments that characterize Federal employment. Therefore,
before making a decision to amend Federal law permanently, this
legislation wisely establishes an experimental period of 3 years during
which we can evaluate various innovations in a large number of agencies."
Flexible work schedules can benefit organizations in a number of ways.
A 1977 General Accounting Office survey of Federal organizations that
had introduced flexitime programs found that 71 percent of the agencies
surveyed reported increased productivity; 71 percent reported decreased
short-term leave use; and 82 percent reported decreased tardiness.
Flexible schedules also have the potential for increasing the number of
hours agencies can serve the public. In signing the Act, President Carter
stated, "We expect that some Federal agencies will remain open to serve
the public for a greater number of hours each day by using flexible time
schedules."
Testimony and other information presented to Congress showed that flexible
hours can also have a positive impact on traffic congestion by shifting
commuters out of the peak rush hour periods, saving gasoline, and possibly
decreasing urban air pollution caused by idling cars. Public transit
may be a more appealing option,if employees are free to begin work when
they arrive rather than having to wait 20 or 30 minutes to begin their
fixed scheduled hours. Compressed work schedules can also offer employees
larger blocks of leisure time and the advantage of reducing their commuting
time, driving and parking costs. For organizations it can mean scheduling
the workforce to better handle the workload.
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Virtually every organization that has introduced a flexitime program has
reported improvements in employee morale. Under flexitime, employees
gain added control over their lives. They can accommodate the
demands of their personal lives with their work schedules. Working
parents may be able to arrange their work schedules so as to minimize
the time and expense involved in keeping their children in child care
centers. Employees may also find that they can participate more in
civic and community activities or pursue educational opportunities more
easily.
C. Some Potential Problem Areas
Despite the advantages of flexible and compressed work schedules they
do have some drawbacks and will present problems and challenges for
managers and supervisors. Under flexitime, scheduling and planning the
work flow can become more demanding. In addition, since employees will
not necessarily be present when supervisors are on duty, managers will
be challenged to plan the work and develop better ways to measure the
effectiveness of their work units. There may also be administrative
problems with time keeping. Additional energy may also be needed to
heat and cool buildings for the additional hours of operation.
Under compressed work schedules, employees may find the work days too
long and strenuous and may find that the longer hours can cause family
scheduling problems. Because these costs and benefits must be carefully
weighed,",-here must be well designed and monitored evaluation of flexible
and compressed work schedules, as discussed in succeeding paragraphs in
this booklet.
A. The Role of the Office of Personnel Management
The Act mandates that the Office of Personnel Management establish and
manage a program which provides for the conduct of experiments with
flexible and compressed work schedules in Federal agencies during a
3-year period. The program will go into effect on March 29, 1979, 180 days
after October 1, 1978, as specified in the Act. On or after this date,
Federal agencies may experiment with alternative work schedules described
in Section I of the booklet. These experiments must comply with regulations
established by OPM and must be conducted within the framework and guidelines
of the master plan. At the end of two and one-half years after the
effective date of the law, OPM is required to report the results of the
experiments to the President and Congress and to recommend whether or
not permanent modifications of title 5 of the United States Code and
Fair Labor Standards Act should be enacted. At the end of 3 years, OPM
is required to submit a final report to the President and Congress.
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The Act specifies that OPM must establish a master plan to carefully
evaluate alternative work schedule arrangements. As specified by the
Act the master plan:
shall contain guidelines and criteria by which the Commission
[OPM] will study and evaluate experiments conducted under . . .
this Act. Such master plan shall provide for the study and evaluation
of experiments within a sample of organizations of different size,
geographic location, and functions and activities, sufficient to
insure adequate evaluation of the impact of varied work schedules
on:
1) the efficiency of Government operations;
2) mass transit facilities and traffic;
3) levels of energy consumption;
4) service to the public;
5) increased opportunities for full-time and part-time
employment; and
6) individuals and families generally.
In addition to establishing the master plan, OPM will promulgate regulations
to deal with the complex variations in scheduling and premium pay situations
which will become possible under the Act. The OPM will also provide
educational material and technical assistance to agencies participating
in the experimental program.
Participation by Federal Agencies
The Act allows each agency to conduct one or more experiments; there are
no limits on the number of experiments which may be conducted by an
agency during the 3-year experimental period. While the law does not
require each agency to conduct experiments with alternative work schedules,
the Act does require a sample of agencies with a "sufficient number of
positions throughout the Executive branch, and a sufficient range of
worktime alternatives, as to provide an adequate basis on which to
evalute the effectiveness and desirability of permanently maintaining
flexible or compressed work schedules within the Executive branch." In
order to ensure that an adequate number of agencies conducts tests of
flexible and compressed work schedules, the Act gives OPM authority to
require selected agencies to participate in the experiments, in accordance
with all applicable provisions of the Act, if this is necessary to
ensure the overall quality of the evaluation.
Because of the widespread interest in alternative work schedules among
employees and because managers will be able to tailor schedules to
better fit particular work situations requiring innovative schedules, it
is anticipated that there will be a large number of agencies and agency
activities submitting proposals to conduct experiments, which will make
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it unncessary for OPM to invoke its authority to require participation.
However, agencies should be prepared to work with the staff of OPM to
modify proposals, or if the need arises, to study the feasibility of
undertaking an experiment in order to insure a representative sample of
organizations of different size, activity and function, occupational
mix,and geographic location,.
The need to test different types of alternative work schedules in
diverse work environments was recognized by the Congress. The joint
report of the Senate Committees on Governmental Affairs and Human
Resources states that "the committees envision a broad-based experiment
touching several hundred units of the Federal Government in order to
derive some empirically useful data about flexible work schedules.
Experiments with units performing diverse functions are essential;
flexible or compressed schedules may be brilliantly successful in
certain settings and a dismal failure in others, and a limited experiment
could produce results that were seriously skewed."
Agencies that have not previously initiated flexitime experiments should
consider launching an experimental program with any of the various work
schedules made possible by the Act. Agencies with flexitime programs
already established may wish to modify them to allow for even greater
flexibility. For example, an agency with a gliding schedule program may
wish to introduce the credit hour option to allow employees to "bank"
hours from day to day or week to week, in order to vary the length of a
subsequent workday or workweek.
The primary purpose of the Act is to permit experimentation with all
forms of flexible and compressed work schedules without requiring the
Government to pay prohibitively expensive overtime payments for the
same basic work requirement. In order to accomplish this purpose, the
Act modifies premium pay and scheduling provisions of title 5, United
States Code and the FLSA. However, these provisions of law are
suspended only for purposes of allowing experiments to be conducted and
are not intended to deprive employees of presently existing benefits.
1. Protection of Premium Pay and Holiday Benefits
The provisions of the Act preserve the rights of employees participating
in approved experiments to all existing holiday and other premium pay
benefits. For example, hours or work in excess of 8 in a day or 40 in
a week, officially ordered in advance in a flexible schedule are considered
overtime hours. In flexitime programs overtime pay will continue to be
paid for all overtime work ordered in advance management.
.hX
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In compressed work schedule programs overtime will be paid for all hours
of work in excess of the basic work requirement. In addition, General
Schedule employees will continue to be entitled to shift differential
under flexitime programs when core time falls between the hours of 6 p.m.
and 6 a.m., or where the employee does not have the opportunity to
complete eight work hours between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Federal Wage
System employees will be paid night differential when all or a majority
of hours in such a schedule for any day fall between the hours specified
in section 5343(f) of title 5, United States Code. For example, in the
case of a General Schedule employee, if the flexible work schedule is
established from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. with core time between 2 p.m. and
6 p.m., the maximum number of hours which the employee can work prior to
6 p.m. is less than eight (i.e, 7 hours). Accordingly, the employee is
entitled to night-shift differential for 1 hour worked between 6 p.m.
and 11 p.m. since 1 hour must be worked during the night-shift period
to complete an 8-hour day. If an agency believes that it is in the best
interest of accomplishing its mission to establish such a work schedule,
then it must recognize the increased payroll costs which will be incurred
due to the payment of night-shift differential.
In addition to protection of overtime pay and night pay, holiday benefits,
holiday pay and Sunday pay are also protected. For employees on flexible
schedules, the employee shall be entitled to 8 hours pay for any day on
which an agency is closed by Executive order or for a legal public
holiday. For employees on compressed schedules, employees shall be
entitled to the same pay for that day as for a day on which an ordinary
day's work is performed.
Employees required to work on a holiday or a Sunday are entitled to
holiday pay or Sunday pay, as appropriate, under the permanent provisions
of title 5, United States Code.
Protection of Employees Against Coercion
For employees participating in flexible work schedule experiments, there
are specific protections against intimidating, threatening, coercing,or
interferring with an employee's right to elect an arrival or departure
time, to work or not work credit hours,or to request compensatory time
off in lieu of overtime pay. For non-unionized employees participating
in compressed work schedule experiments, the Act prohibits coercing any
employee's vote as to whether or not to be included in an experiment.
It also prohibits interference with an employee's right to request
exclusion from a compressed work schedule experiment on the basis of
personal hardship. Besides the specific protections provided by the
Act, employees will continue to retain their right to initiate action in
court for alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
3. Preservation of the Collective Bargaining Process
Public Law 95-390 also preserves the collective bargaining process in
circumstances where a union has exclusive recognition and management
and/or the union want to introduce flexible or compressed work schedules.
Where a union does have exclusive recognition, negotiations regarding
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the introduction of the schedule authorized by the law, must be in
accordance with the substantive provisions of the Act and applicable
labor management relations policies. However, an agency and a union may
not enter into an agreement that contains requirements to pay overtime
which conflict with the provisions of the Act.
4. Protection of the Public Interest and Efficiency of Government
Operations
The Act also protects the public interest and the efficiency of Government
operations by insuring that OPM or the head of any agency may terminate
an alternative work schedule experiment (subject to the terms of any
written agreement under section 302(a) of the Act) if it disrupts
agency operations or increases costs. For each experimental program the
Act provides that agency heads may restrict the employees' choice of
arrival and departure times, the use of credit hours, or may exclude any
employee or group of employees from the experiment, if necessary, to
accomplish mission requirements.
The joint efforts of agencies and OPM are necessary to carry out the
intent of the Act. Only careful, systematic and controlled evaluation
of flexible and compressed work schedules will provide answers to the
key questions regarding the impact of these schedules on efficiency of
Government operations, mass transit and traffic, energy consumption,
service to the public, opportunities for full-time and part-time employment,
and the quality of life for individuals and families.
In particular, we need to measure the effect of these schedules on work
unit performance and costs, on management tasks, on labor-management
relations, on further organizational change, on gains and losses in
service to the public, on commuting and public transit, on energy gains
and losses from different transportation and building use patterns, on
new entry into the labor force, on gains or losses in jobs offered, and
on personal and home life.
Of particular interest, is the question of whether one type of flexible
or compressed work schedule produces different results from another type
of schedule. We need to know if particular schedules work better in
some work settings than others.
In order to perform the evaluation, data must be collected by participating
work units on their experiences with an alternative work schedule, with
assistance and guidelines from OPM. These data will be analyzed and
will form the basis for OPM's report to Congress and the President.
Standard forms for data collection will be provided by OPM.
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Agencies that desire to participate in the experiment will be required to
notify OPM of their intent. This will enable OPM to ensure that a
large and diverse enough sample of work units will be participating. Work
units will be asked to begin their alternative work schedules very soon
after the Act becomes effective on March 29, 1979. All experiments
must be underway by September 30, 1979.
Data Collection Requirements
To be of most use to Federal managers, many of the effects of flexible
and compressed work schedules need to be measured at the level of the
work unit where particular functions and activities are carried out.
Data will be collected from a variety of sources. Some data will be
archival hard data which is routinely obtained by work units, such as
turnover and overtime cost data. Other data will be collected from
questionnaires distributed to employees and supervisors, such as commuting
data and management task data. In addition, the official responsible
for the alternative work schedules experiment will need to provide
descriptive information on participating work units.
In order to measure the effects of flexible and compressed work schedules,
baseline data will be required on the operation of the work unit prior
to the implementation of an alternative work schedule. Some of the
same variables will continue to be measured throughout the experimental
period. Some work units which do not adopt any alternative work schedule
will also need to be included in the evaluation so that comparisons can
be made between user and nonuser experiences.
(1) Project Director
The experience of most successful users of flexible schedules suggests
that the method by which flexitime is introduced has a significant
impact on the likelihood that the change in schedules will be successful.
One important feature in most successful programs is the appointment of
a Project Director who plans, coordinates,and oversees the implementation
of a flexible or compressed work schedule program. Therefore, OPM strongly
advocates this approach to agencies wishing to establish experimental
programs. Steps taken by the Project Director, usually with the assistance
of a planning committee, include: (a) acquiring information about alternative
work schedules; (b) ensuring a thorough organizational analysis;
(c) planning the parameters of operating procedures for the program;
(d) coordinating with all affected parties; (e) communicating information
about the proposed work schedule program to supervisors and employees;
and (f) providing for evaluation of the experiment. More specific
information about the role and activities of the Project Director will
be provided in future OPM publications.
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(2) On-Site Research Coordinator
Since the Act places considerable emphasis upon evaluation of alternative
work schedule programs, proper collection, analysis, and interpretation
of data is essential. Analysis of this raw data must take into account
any changes at the work site that take place during the experiment and
which may have an impact on the data apart from the impact that the
alternative work schedule is having. To capture this information it is
necessary for each site to designate an On-site Research Coordinator.
This person will be responsible for insuring an adequate data collection
system, for forwarding raw data to OPM and for keeping a log of significant
events that may have an impact on the data generated (e.g., a flu epidemic
with its impact on usage of sick leave).
While the duties of the Project Director and On-site Research Coordinator
demand sustained attention for short periods of time, they will not
require a great deal of time for any substantial period. This means that
these duties can be assumed by agency staff members along with regular
duties.
Office of Personnel Management guidance, training and instructional
materials will be provided to Project Directors and On-site Research
Coordinators to minimize the demands on their time generated by this
project and to facilitate implementation and evaluation of experiments.
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A. Purpose of the Booklet
This booklet is designed to describe the provisions of Public Law 95-390,
the "Federal Employees Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act of
1978," enacted September 29, 1978. It provides some examples of possible
flexible and compressed work schedule models and clarifies the objectives
and general framework of the 3-year alternative work schedules experimental
program in the Federal Government. It is primarily intended for use by
agency officials and union representatives who must take those steps
which are necessary to initiate the planning and negotiating process for
experimental site selection and the possible form of alternative work
schedule to be tested. (Note: In organizations where a union does not
exist, employees should be involved in the planning and implementation
process).
The information contained in this booklet will answer some questions
about the experimental program; however, the booklet does not describe
the entire program in detail. For those agencies and agency activities
which have decided on participation in the experimental program the
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will have available materials that
describe the step-by-step introduction of a flexible or compressed work
schedule. The OPM will publish regulations and instructions (after
appropriate consultation) to deal with the various possible scheduling
and premium pay situations which may arise under the Act. The master
plan for experimentation, which is required by the Act, will provide
more specific guidelines concerning the research design and methodology
for evaluating the impact of alternative work schedules in terms of the
factors specified by the law.
Specific questions about the experimental program should be directed to
the local OPM office in your area.
B. General Background Information
The Federal Employees Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act of
1978, Public Law 95-390, mandates a 3-year period of controlled experi-
mentation with the use of flexible and compressed work schedules for
employees of agencies in the Executive branch of the United States
Government. The purpose of the experimentation is to determine the
impacts - both positive and negative - which these alternatives to
traditional work schedules may have on;(1) efficiency of Government
operations;(2) service to the public;(3) mass transit facilities;(4)
energy consumption; (5) increased job opportunities; and (6) the quality
of life for individuals and families.
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The experimentation is made possible by the temporary modification of
certain premium pay and scheduling provisions of title 5 United States
Code and the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act
(FLSA). This suspension is applicable only to those agencies or work
units participating in an approved test program; all permanent provisions
of title 5 and the FLSA remain in effect for non-participating agency
activities and employees.
C. Flexible Work Schedules
Flexible work schedules, popularly called flexitime, refer to a variety
of arrangements in which fixed times of arrival and departure are replaced
by a working day composed of two different types of time - core time and
flexible time. Core time is the designated period during which all
employees must be present. Flexible time is designated as part of the
schedule of working hours within which employees may choose their time
of arrival at and departure from the work site within limits consistent with
the duties and requirements of their position. The only other requirement
of flexitime is that employees must account for the basic work requirement.
The basic work requirement is the number of hours, excluding overtime
hours, which an employee is required to work or to otherwise account for
by an appropriate form of leave. For example, a full-time employee is
required to work 40 hours a week or 80 hours every two weeks. A part-
time employee might be employed under an appointment which requires the
employee to work 25 hours a week, or perhaps, 30 hours every two weeks.
Flexitour and gliding schedules, in which employees work 8 hours each
day but may vary their arrival and departure times with or without prior
approval, have been used by Federal agencies since 1972. The new law
has made possible the testing of more sophisticated flexitime schedules by
introducing the concept of credit hours. Credit hours are any hours of
work in excess of the basic work requirement that an employee elects to
work on a given workday or in a given workweek in order to shorten the
length of another workday or workweek at a later point. For instance, an
employee could work 10 hours on one day in order to shorten the length
of a subsequent workday, without gaining entitlement to overtime pay; or
an employee could choose to work 50 hours in a particular workweek so as
to gain the advantage of a shorter workweek of 30 hours later on.
The following models illustrate typical flexitime configurations which
agencies may wish to consider; they are provided as examples and do not
exhaust the possibilities. Since flexible schedules offer almost unlimited
degrees of flexibility the following models should be used to stimulate
your thinking and to help you devise other schedules which may be
better tailored to accommodate to particular organization needs, mission
requirements and the wishes of employees.
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(1) Flexitour/Modified Flexitour
In the following example 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. represent the earliest
time an employee may begin work and the latest time an employee may end work
under this program. The employee may select a starting time between
7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.; however, all employees must be present between
9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Flexitour/Modified Flexitour
Core Time
(Includes 1/2-hour lunch)
7:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m.
3:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
Flexitour
-employee preselects starting time
-may select new schedule at time intervals provided by program
Modified Flexitour
-same as above but schedule may be modified with prior notification
and approval of supervisor
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4
(2) Gliding Schedule/Modified Gliding Schedule
Gliding/Modified Gliding
I CUSTOMER SERVICE HOURS I
Gliding Schedule
Core Time
(includes 1/2-hour lunch)
FIPxihIP
Time
4:30
p.m.
-within flexible bands, employees may vary starting time without
prior notification or approval of the supervisor
Modified Gliding Schedule
-9-hour customer service band established
-employees may vary starting time but must insure minimum coverage
level is maintained during customer'service hours
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(3) Variable Day
Variable Day
6:00
a.m.
M
T
W
Th
6:00
p.m.
?' f?:.} :: .. ::?: ?:?:{J{:ti :':'.::~ ?} .
~~ =CORE TIME ~~}:~?
(Includes ?~~~
1/2-hour
lunch)
.xMX
{?'{.
f '
} .
: {}?:f..{}r{{ti .};?? yr ?.
NNW
go,
10
10
Total Hours Worked Weekly = 40
-employee may vary the length of the workday as long as he/she is
present for core time within limits established by organization
-must work or account for the basic work requirement, e.g., 40 hours
for a full-time employee
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(4) Variable Week
Variable Week
WEEK 1
WEEK 2
6
6
6
6
a. m.
p.m.
a. m.
p.m.
Hours
r ~l~ {rr: ~{?;;:
;COREf
? TIME
(Includes
1/rhour
lunch) yK
?
r
r.?. v
. r..rr..}ti
.r ?}
v.'rv~.~}r
?577:: r
Total Hours Worked Biweekly = 45 + 37 = 82
Basic Work Requirement = 80
2 credit hours remaining
-employee may vary the length of the day and the workweek as long
as he/she is present for core time
-must work or account for the basic work requirement, e.g., 80 hours
each biweekly pay period for a full-time employee
-credit hour accumulation for carryover to a succeeding pay period is
limited to a maximum of 10 hours by the Act, or to such lesser amount
as determined by the organization
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(5) Maxiflex
Maxiflex
6
a. m.
Th
WEEK 1
10 2
6
p.m.
? ?; ~. J;fY
~~?X''?~'~'?~'~'~~?,~'~?,?' Asti
CORE TIME
(Includes
/-hour
lunch)
39
WEEK 2
10 2
6
P. M.
;CORE TIME
(Includes
'/-hour
lunch)
{{ YJJ
Hours
6
a. m.
8 0
9 7
10 11
10 11
Hours Worked 43
Total Hours Worked Biweekly = 82
Basic Work Requirement =80
2 credit hours remaining
-employees must be present for core days as well as core hours
-basic work requirement is 80 hours each biweekly pay period
-credit hour accumulation is limited to a maximum of 10 hours
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D. Compressed Schedules
Like flexible schedules, compressed work schedules may also take a
variety of forms. The most common compressed schedule is the 4-day
week, referred to as the 4/40 schedule. However, a compressed schedule
is any schedule which enables the full-time employee to complete the
basic work requirement of 80 hours in less than ten full work days in
each biweekly pay period. For employees working under compressed schedules
overtime pay will continue to be paid for overtime hours which are
officially ordered by an agency official and which exceed the basic
work requirement. While compressed schedules have not generally been
used in Federal agencies, private sector firms have used such schedules
in computer operations, and to increase service to their customers
(e.g., by splitting the workforce with some employees working Monday
through Thursday and others working Tuesday through Friday, an organization
could be open to serve the public by two additional hours each day).
(1) Three-Day Compressed Schedule
3-Day Week
GROUP A
GROUP A
OUP A
G
HOURS WORKED
13 hours, 20 minutes
13 hours, 20 minutes
13 hours, 20 minutes
13 hours, 20 minutes
13 hours, 20 minutes
13 hours, 20 minutes
Total Hours Worked Weekly, GROUP A =40
Total Hours Worked Weekly, GROUP B = 40
-full-time employees work 40 hours, 3 days each week
-basic work requirement is 13 hours., 20 minutes each day
and 40 hours each week
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(2) Four-Day Compressed Schedule
4-Day Week
10
W
10
10
Th 10
Total Hours Worked Weekly = 40
-full-time employees work 40 hours, 4 days each week
-basic work requirement is 10 hours each day and 40 hours
each week
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(3) 5-4/9 Plan
5 - 4/9 Plan
WEEK 1
M
W
Th
W
Th
GROUP A
Hours
Approximately
9 hours a day
GROUP B
Hours
Approximately
9 hours a day
WEEK 2
Total Hours Worked Biweekly, Group A = 80
Total Hours Worked Biweekly, Group B = 80
-full-time employee works 80 hours for the biweekly pay period
5 days one week and 4 days the next week
-basic work requirement is 80 hours every two weeks.
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