
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document affected by Public Law 107-20 Section 2605]
[CITE: 5USC5542]

 
             TITLE 5--GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES
 
                           PART III--EMPLOYEES
 
                      Subpart D--Pay and Allowances
 
                     CHAPTER 55--PAY ADMINISTRATION
 
                        SUBCHAPTER V--PREMIUM PAY
 
Sec. 5542. Overtime rates; computation

    (a) For full-time, part-time and intermittent tours of duty, hours 
of work officially ordered or approved in excess of 40 hours in an 
administrative workweek, or (with the exception of an employee engaged 
in professional or technical engineering or scientific activities for 
whom the first 40 hours of duty in an administrative workweek is the 
basic workweek and an employee whose basic pay exceeds the minimum rate 
for GS-10 (including any applicable locality-based comparability payment 
under section 5304 or similar provision of law and any applicable 
special rate of pay under section 5305 or similar provision of law) for 
whom the first 40 hours of duty in an administrative workweek is the 
basic workweek) in excess of 8 hours in a day, performed by an employee 
are overtime work and shall be paid for, except as otherwise provided by 
this subchapter, at the following rates:
        (1) For an employee whose basic pay is at a rate which does not 
    exceed the minimum rate of basic pay for GS-10 (including any 
    applicable locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 
    or similar provision of law and any applicable special rate of pay 
    under section 5305 or similar provision of law), the overtime hourly 
    rate of pay is an amount equal to one and one-half times the hourly 
    rate of basic pay of the employee, and all that amount is premium 
    pay.
        (2) For an employee whose basic pay is at a rate which exceeds 
    the minimum rate of basic pay for GS-10 (including any applicable 
    locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 or similar 
    provision of law and any applicable special rate of pay under 
    section 5305 or similar provision of law), the overtime hourly rate 
    of pay is an amount equal to one and one-half times the hourly rate 
    of the minimum rate of basic pay for GS-10 (including any applicable 
    locality-based comparability payment under section 5304 or similar 
    provision of law and any applicable special rate of pay under 
    section 5305 or similar provision of law), and all that amount is 
    premium pay.
        (3) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection 
    for an employee of the Department of Transportation who occupies a 
    nonmanagerial position in GS-14 or under and, as determined by the 
    Secretary of Transportation,
            (A) the duties of which are critical to the immediate daily 
        operation of the air traffic control system, directly affect 
        aviation safety, and involve physical or mental strain or 
        hardship;
            (B) in which overtime work is therefore unusually taxing; 
        and
            (C) in which operating requirements cannot be met without 
        substantial overtime work;

    the overtime hourly rate of pay is an amount equal to one and one-
    half times the hourly rate of basic pay of the employee, and all 
    that amount is premium pay.
        (4) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of this subsection, for an 
    employee who is a law enforcement officer, and whose basic pay is at 
    a rate which exceeds the minimum rate of basic pay for GS-10 
    (including any applicable locality-based comparability payment under 
    section 5304 or similar provision of law and any applicable special 
    rate of pay under section 5305 or similar provision of law), the 
    overtime hourly rate of pay is an amount equal to the greater of--
            (A) one and one-half times the minimum hourly rate of basic 
        pay for GS-10 (including any applicable locality-based 
        comparability payment under section 5304 or similar provision of 
        law and any applicable special rate of pay under section 5305 or 
        similar provision of law); or
            (B) the hourly rate of basic pay of the employee,

    and all that amount is premium pay.
        (5) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), for an employee of 
    the Department of the Interior or the United States Forest Service 
    in the Department of Agriculture engaged in emergency wildland fire 
    suppression activities, the overtime hourly rate of pay is an amount 
    equal to one and one-half times the hourly rate of basic pay of the 
    employee, and all that amount is premium pay.

    (b) For the purpose of this subchapter--
        (1) unscheduled overtime work performed by an employee on a day 
    when work was not scheduled for him, or for which he is required to 
    return to his place of employment, is deemed at least 2 hours in 
    duration; and
        (2) time spent in a travel status away from the official-duty 
    station of an employee is not hours of employment unless--
            (A) the time spent is within the days and hours of the 
        regularly scheduled administrative workweek of the employee, 
        including regularly scheduled overtime hours; or
            (B) the travel (i) involves the performance of work while 
        traveling, (ii) is incident to travel that involves the 
        performance of work while traveling, (iii) is carried out under 
        arduous conditions, or (iv) results from an event which could 
        not be scheduled or controlled administratively, including 
        travel by an employee to such an event and the return of such 
        employee from such event to his or her official-duty station.

    (c) Subsection (a) shall not apply to an employee who is subject to 
the overtime pay provisions of section 7 of the Fair labor \1\ Standards 
Act of 1938. In the case of an employee who would, were it not for the 
preceding sentence, be subject to this section, the Office of Personnel 
Management shall by regulation prescribe what hours shall be deemed to 
be hours of work and what hours of work shall be deemed to be overtime 
hours for the purpose of such section 7 so as to ensure that no employee 
receives less pay by reason of the preceding sentence.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ So in original. Probably should be capitalized.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (d) In applying subsection (a) of this section with respect to any 
criminal investigator who is paid availability pay under section 5545a--
        (1) such investigator shall be compensated under such subsection 
    (a), at the rates there provided, for overtime work which is 
    scheduled in advance of the administrative workweek--
            (A) in excess of 10 hours on a day during such 
        investigator's basic 40 hour workweek; or
            (B) on a day outside such investigator's basic 40 hour 
        workweek; and

        (2) such investigator shall be compensated for all other 
    overtime work under section 5545a.
    (e) Notwithstanding subsection (d)(1) of this section, all hours of 
overtime work scheduled in advance of the administrative workweek shall 
be compensated under subsection (a) if that work involves duties as 
authorized by section 3056(a) of title 18 or section 37(a)(3) of the 
State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, and if the investigator 
performs, on that same day, at least 2 hours of overtime work not 
scheduled in advance of the administrative workweek.
    (f) In applying subsection (a) of this section with respect to a 
firefighter who is subject to section 5545b--
        (1) such subsection shall be deemed to apply to hours of work 
    officially ordered or approved in excess of 106 hours in a biweekly 
    pay period, or, if the agency establishes a weekly basis for 
    overtime pay computation, in excess of 53 hours in an administrative 
    workweek; and
        (2) the overtime hourly rate of pay is an amount equal to one 
    and one-half times the hourly rate of basic pay under section 
    5545b(b)(1)(A) or (c)(1)(B), as applicable, and such overtime hourly 
    rate of pay may not be less than such hourly rate of basic pay in 
    applying the limitation on the overtime rate provided in paragraph 
    (2) of such subsection (a).

(Pub. L. 89-554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 485; Pub. L. 90-83, Sec. 1(24), 
Sept. 11, 1967, 81 Stat. 200; Pub. L. 90-206, title II, Sec. 222(a), 
Dec. 16, 1967, 81 Stat. 641; Pub. L. 90-556, Sec. 1, Oct. 10, 1968, 82 
Stat. 969; Pub. L. 92-194, Dec. 15, 1971, 85 Stat. 648; Pub. L. 98-473, 
title I, Sec. 101(c) [title III, Sec. 322], Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 
1837, 1874; Pub. L. 101-509, title V, Sec. 529 [title I, 
Sec. 101(b)(3)(E), title II, Sec. 210(1), title IV, Sec. 410(a)], Nov. 
5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1427, 1439, 1460, 1468; Pub. L. 102-378, Sec. 2(41), 
Oct. 2, 1992, 106 Stat. 1352; Pub. L. 103-329, title VI, Sec. 633(c), 
Sept. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 2427; Pub. L. 104-52, title V, Sec. 531, Nov. 
19, 1995, 109 Stat. 496; Pub. L. 105-277, div. A, Sec. 101(b) [title IV, 
Sec. 407(c)(2)], (h) [title VI, Sec. 628(a)(1)], div. G, subdiv. B, 
title XXIII, Sec. 2316(c)(2), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681-50, 2681-
102, 2681-480, 2681-519, 2681-829; Pub. L. 106-558, Sec. 2(a), Dec. 21, 
2000, 114 Stat. 2776.)

                      Historical and Revision Notes
                                1966 Act
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Revised Statutes and
     Derivation                U.S. Code             Statutes at Large
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(a)................  5 U.S.C. 911.                 June 30, 1945, ch.
                                                    212, Sec.  201, 59
                                                    Stat. 296.
                                                   Sept. 1, 1954, ch.
                                                    1208, Sec.  203, 68
                                                    Stat. 1109.
(b)................  5 U.S.C. 912a.                Sept. 1, 1954, ch.
                     5 U.S.C. 912b.                 1208, Sec.  205(b),
                                                    68 Stat. 1110.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In subsection (a)(1), and (2), the word ``officer'' is omitted as 
included in ``employee''. The word ``scheduled'' is omitted since 
section 603 of the Act of Oct. 11, 1962, Pub. L. 87-793, 76 Stat. 847, 
eliminated the necessity of referring to rates as scheduled or 
longevity. References to the ``Classification Act of 1949, as amended'' 
are omitted as unnecessary.
    In subsection (b), former sections 912a and 912b are combined and 
restated.
    Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable 
and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.

                                1967 Act
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Source (Statutes at
 Section of title 5       Source (U.S. Code)               Large)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5542(a)............  5 App.: 911.                  July 18, 1966, Pub.
                                                    L. 89-504, Sec.
                                                    404(a), 80 Stat.
                                                    297.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The words ``of the Classification Act of 1949, as amended'' are 
omitted as unnecessary.

                       References in Text

    GS-10 and GS-14, referred to in subsec. (a), are contained in the 
General Schedule which is set out under section 5332 of this title.
    Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, referred to in 
subsec. (c), is classified to section 207 of Title 29, Labor.
    Section 37(a)(3) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 
1956, referred to in subsec. (e), is classified to section 2709(a)(3) of 
Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse.


                               Amendments

    2000--Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 106-558 added par. (5).
    1998--Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105-277, Sec. 101(b) [title IV, 
Sec. 407(c)(2)] and Sec. 2316(c)(2), amended subsec. (e) identically, 
substituting ``title 18 or section 37(a)(3) of the State Department 
Basic Authorities Act of 1956,'' for ``title 18, United States Code,''.
    Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 105-277, Sec. 101(h) [title VI, 
Sec. 628(a)(1)], added subsec. (f).
    1995--Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 104-52 added subsec. (e).
    1994--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 103-329 added subsec. (d).
    1992--Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 102-378, Sec. 2(41)(A), substituted 
``officer,'' for ``officer (within the meaning of section 8331(20) or 
8401(17)),'' and realigned margin of closing provision.
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102-378, Sec. 2(41)(B), amended second sentence 
generally. Prior to amendment, second sentence read as follows: ``In the 
case of an employee who would, were it not for the preceding sentence, 
be subject to this section, hours of work in excess of 8 hours in a day 
shall be deemed to be overtime hours for the purposes of such section 7 
and hours in a paid nonwork status shall be deemed to be hours of 
work.''
    1990--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101-509, Sec. 529 [title I, 
Sec. 101(b)(3)(E)], inserted ``(including any applicable locality-based 
comparability payment under section 5304 or similar provision of law and 
any applicable special rate of pay under section 5305 or similar 
provision of law)'' after ``GS-10'' wherever appearing.
    Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 101-509, Sec. 529 [title IV, Sec. 410(a)], 
added par. (4).
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101-509, Sec. 529 [title II, Sec. 210(1)], 
added subsec. (c).
    1984--Subsec. (b)(2)(B)(iv). Pub. L. 98-473 inserted ``, including 
travel by an employee to such an event and the return of such employee 
from such event to his or her official-duty station''.
    1971--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 92-194 substituted ``For full-time, part-
time and intermittent tours of duty, hours'' for ``Hours''.
    1968--Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 90-556 added par. (3).
    1967--Subsec. (b)(2)(B). Pub. L. 90-206 designated existing 
provisions as cls. (i) and (iii) and added cls. (ii) and (iv).


                    Effective Date of 2000 Amendment

    Pub. L. 106-558, Sec. 2(b), Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2777, provided 
that: ``The amendments made by this section [amending this section] 
shall take effect on the first day of the first applicable pay period 
beginning on or after the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date 
of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 21, 2000], and shall apply only to 
funds appropriated after the date of the enactment of this Act.''


                    Effective Date of 1998 Amendment

    Pub. L. 105-277, div. A, Sec. 101(b) [title IV, Sec. 407(d)], div. 
G, subdiv. B, title XXIII, Sec. 2316(d), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681-
50, 2681-102, 2681-829, provided that: ``The amendments made by this 
section [amending this section and section 5545a of this title] shall 
take effect on the first day of the first applicable pay period--
        ``(1) which begins on or after the 90th day following the date 
    of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 21, 1998]; and
        ``(2) on which date all regulations necessary to carry out such 
    amendments are (in the judgment of the Director of the Office of 
    Personnel Management and the Secretary of State) in effect.'' [Jan. 
    29, 1999, see 64 F.R. 4517.]
    Amendment by section 101(h) [title VI, Sec. 628(a)(1)] of Pub. L. 
105-277 effective on first day of first applicable pay period which 
begins on or after Oct. 1, 1998, see section 101(h) [title VI, 
Sec. 628(e)] of Pub. L. 105-277, set out as a note under section 4109 of 
this title.


                    Effective Date of 1994 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 103-329 effective first day of first applicable 
pay period beginning on or after 30th day following Sept. 30, 1994, with 
exceptions relating to criminal investigators employed in Offices of 
Inspectors General, see section 633(e) of Pub. L. 103-329, set out as an 
Effective Date note under section 5545a of this title.


                    Effective Date of 1992 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 102-378 effective as of first day of first 
applicable pay period beginning on or after Oct. 2, 1992, see section 
9(b)(9) of Pub. L. 102-378, set out as a note under section 6303 of this 
title.


                    Effective Date of 1990 Amendment

    Amendment by section 529 [title I, Sec. 101(b)(3)(E), title II, 
Sec. 210(1)] of Pub. L. 101-509 effective on such date as the President 
shall determine, but not earlier than 90 days, and not later than 180 
days, after Nov. 5, 1990, see section 529 [title III, Sec. 305] of Pub. 
L. 101-509, set out as a note under section 5301 of this title.


                    Effective Date of 1968 Amendment

    Section 3 of Pub. L. 90-556 provided that: ``The amendments made by 
this Act [amending this section and section 5545 of this title] shall 
take effect on the first day of the first pay period which begins on or 
after the thirtieth day after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 
10, 1968].''


                    Effective Date of 1967 Amendment

    Section 220(a)(4) of title II of Pub. L. 90-206 provided that, 
except as otherwise expressly provided: ``Sections 222 [enacting section 
5733 of this title and amending this section, section 5544 of this 
title, section 3571 of Title 39, The Postal Service], and 223 [enacting 
section 5345 of this title] shall become effective thirty days after the 
date of enactment of this title [Dec. 16, 1967].''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 5543, 5545, 5545a, 5545b, 
5546, 5547, 6123, 6128 of this title; title 2 section 1371; title 14 
section 432; title 15 section 278e; title 32 section 709.
