WORKING HOURS

A full-time employee's basic workday shall consist of eight (8) consecutive hours and the basic workweek shall consist of five (5) consecutive days except as authorized in this Article. At an employee's request, the Agency may consider non-consecutive hours and/or non- consecutive days off.

Employees with a regularly scheduled shift who would otherwise lose an hour of work because of the changeover to daylight savings time must be afforded an opportunity to remain on duty at the end of their normal shift to maintain their full number of hours with normal pay.

The Agency may change an employee's shift to an administrative schedule (eight and one-half [8 1/2] hour shift including an unpaid thirty [30] minute meal period) for the purpose of administrative travel or to receive official training away from the operational environment, unless the employee is subject to operational recall. Employees will adhere to the tour of duty of the organizational segment to which they are temporarily assigned. Employees who are disciplined for conduct offenses or are undergoing performance related training may be reverted to an administrative workday(s) shift to ensure closer supervision.

Participants in Alternative Work Schedules (AWS) shall be bargaining unit employees who volunteer in writing.

In conjunction with the development of the annual basic watch schedule under Article 32, and at the request of the Union, the Parties at the local level shall negotiate AWS (Flexible Work Schedules and/or Compressed Work Schedules) provided any schedule agreed to by the Parties would not have an adverse Agency impact or result in any incurred overtime entitlements.

a. Adverse Agency impact is defined as:

(1) a reduction of the level of productivity of the Agency;

(2) a diminished level of service furnished to the public by the Agency; or

(3) an increase in the cost of Agency operations (other than a reasonable administrative cost relating to the process of establishing a compressed schedule). If the Parties at the local level reach impasse regarding the determination to establish an AWS, the impasse shall be resolved utilizing the provisions of Article 7 of this Agreement.

b. For the purpose of this Agreement, Flexible Work Schedule is defined as:

(1) Maxiflex-40 is a type of flexible work schedule, negotiated in accordance with Article 32 of this Agreement, that contains core hours on up to five (5) workdays in the workweek and in which a full-time employee has a basic work requirement of forty (40) hours for the workweek, but in which an employee’s schedule may vary the number of hours worked on a given workday.

(a) A minimum of seven (7) hours core time each workday. "Core time" means those designated hours and days during the biweekly pay period established by the Agency when an employee on certain flexible schedules must be present for work.

(b) A maximum of one (1) flexible hour, to be negotiated locally, which must be worked each workday.

(c) Employees may vary start times on a daily basis only during the established flexible times.

(2) For FSS only, Maxiflex-80 is a type of flexible work schedule, negotiated in accordance with Article 32 of this Agreement, that contains core hours on up to ten (10) workdays in the biweekly pay period and in which a full- time employee has a basic work requirement of eighty (80) hours for the pay period, but in which an employee’s schedule may vary the number of hours worked on a given workday.

(a) A minimum of seven (7) hours core time each workday. "Core time" means those designated hours and days during the biweekly pay period established by the Agency when an employee on certain flexible schedules must be present for work.

(b) A maximum of one (1) flexible hour, to be negotiated locally, which must be worked each workday.

(c) Employees may vary start times on a daily basis only during the established flexible times.

c. For the purpose of this Agreement, Compressed Work Schedules are defined as:

(1) A fixed schedule where an employee works four 10-hour days per workweek (i.e. 4-10 schedule).

(2) A fixed schedule where an employee works eight 9-hour days and one 8-hour day for a total of eighty (80) hours in a biweekly pay period (i.e. 5/4-9 schedule).

"Credit hours" are non-overtime hours worked pursuant to a flexible work schedule established under this Article which are in excess of an employee’s basic work requirement and which the employee elects to work, after approval by the Agency, so as to vary the length of a workweek or a workday.

Employees are not paid Base Pay or overtime pay for credit hours when they earn them. Employees earning credit hours are not entitled to night differential, Sunday premium pay, or holiday premium pay. An employee may use credit hours during a subsequent day, week, or pay period to allow the employee to be absent from an equal number of hours of the employee’s basic work requirement with no loss of Base Pay.

At the request of an employee and with approval by the Agency, the employee may earn credit hours on an employee’s regular day off or in conjunction with a particular shift.

The Agency shall not coerce, assign, or otherwise require employees to work additional hours or days for credit hours. Any solicitation to earn credit hours shall be on an equitable basis.

Employees may request to work credit hours in order to provide coverage for another employee who requests leave. An employee approved to work credit hours in order to provide coverage for another employee shall work the credit hours unless the employee has been relieved of the assignment. In accordance with Article 24 of this Agreement, leave requests shall be approved in the order that they were requested.

Credit hours must be earned prior to their use. Procedures for approving the use of credit hours shall be the same as those approving leave requests under Article 24 of this Agreement. If requested in advance, employees may substitute credit hours for approved annual leave other than annual leave accrued during the current leave year that was selected within designated pre-approved opportunities in accordance with Article 24 of this Agreement.

For a full-time employee, only twenty-four (24) credit hours may be carried over to the next pay period. For a part-time employee, not more than one-fourth (1/4) of the hours in the employee’s biweekly basic work requirement may be carried over to the next pay period.

Full-time employees with credit hour balances in excess of twenty-four (24) hours as of the effective date of this Agreement will carryover that balance but will not be eligible to earn additional credit hours until their balance is reduced to less than twenty-four (24) hours. Part-time employees with credit hour balances in excess of one-fourth (1/4) of the hours in their biweekly basic work requirement as of the effective date of this Agreement will carryover that balance but will not be eligible to earn additional credit hours until their balance is reduced to less than one-fourth (1/4) of their biweekly basic work requirement.

A full-time employee shall be paid at the employee’s current rate of Base Pay for a maximum of twenty-four (24) unused credit hours when federal employment ends, the employee transfers to another agency as defined in 5 USC 6121(1), or the employee otherwise is no longer participating in a flexible work schedule.

A part-time employee shall be paid at the employee’s current rate of Base Pay for those unused credit hours not in excess of one-fourth (1/4) of the employee's biweekly basic work requirement when federal employment ends, the employee transfers to another agency as defined in 5 USC 6121(1), or the employee otherwise is no longer participating in a flexible work schedule.

All employees who volunteer and subsequently participate in an AWS will be expected to participate for the duration of the annual schedule. An employee may be relieved from an AWS for hardship reasons. The reasons shall be set forth in writing to the Agency and the Union at the local level. Removals from AWS for hardship reasons shall be based on the merits of each case, and if found acceptable by the Agency, after direct discussion with the Union, employees shall be accommodated as soon as staffing, workload, and scheduling requirements permit.

Developmentals may participate in an AWS unless the Agency determines that it will negatively impact their training.

If at any time, the Agency determines that any schedule established under the provisions of this Article has had or would have an adverse Agency impact as defined in this Article, it will follow the provisions of Article 7 of this Agreement to seek termination of the schedule.

The express terms of this Article apply separately and distinctly to each of the following bargaining units: Air Traffic Controllers, Traffic Management Coordinators/Specialists, FSS, and NOTAM Specialists.