Section

[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 19, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 19CFR24.16]

[Page 346-351]

TITLE 19--CUSTOMS DUTIES

CHAPTER I--UNITED STATES CUSTOMS SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

PART 24--CUSTOMS FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE--Table of Contents

Sec. 24.16 Overtime services; overtime compensation and premium pay for Customs Officers; rate of compensation.

(a) General. Customs services for which overtime compensation is
provided for by section 5 of the Act of February 13, 1911, as amended
(19 U.S.C. 267), or section 451, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19
U.S.C. 1451), shall be furnished only upon compliance with the
requirements of those statutes for applying for such services and giving
security for reimbursement of the overtime compensation, unless the
compensation is nonreimbursable under the said section 451, or section
53 of the Airport and Airway Development Act of 1970, as amended (49
U.S.C. 1741). Reimbursements of overtime compensation shall be collected
by the port director from the applicants for the services. Customs
Officers entitled to overtime compensation and premium pay, pursuant to
the provisions of the Customs Officer Pay Reform legislation (19 U.S.C.
261 and 267, as amended), shall not receive pay or other compensation
for that work under any other provision of law. Reimbursable overtime
services shall not be furnished to an applicant who fails to cooperate
with the Customs Service by filing a timely application therefor during
regular hours of business when the need for the services can reasonably
by foreseen, nor in any case until the maximum probable reimbursement is
adequately secured.
(b) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following words
and phrases have the meanings indicated:
(1) The Act refers to Part II, Subchapter D of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1993, Public Law 103-66.
(2) Administrative workweek means a period of seven consecutive
calendar days beginning Sunday and continuing through the following
Saturday.
(3) Base pay means the rate of pay fixed by law or administrative
action for the position held by the Customs Officer.
(4) Callback means the irregular or occasional overtime work
performed by a Customs Officer either on a day when work was not
regularly scheduled for that officer or which begins at least one hour
after the end of the officer's regularly-scheduled tour of duty and ends
at least one hour before the beginning of the following regularly-
scheduled assignment and requires the officer to return to a place of
work.
(5) ``Commute compensation'' means the compensation which a Customs
Officer is entitled to receive, in excess of the officer's base pay, for
returning to work, under certain conditions, to perform an overtime work
assignment. Commute compensation, within the limits prescribed by the
Act, shall be treated as overtime compensation, and is includable for
Federal retirement benefit purposes.
(6) Continuous assignment means the grouping of multiple overtime
assignments, performed by the same Customs

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Officer(s), which are separated by periods of non-work, into a single
unit for computation of pay purposes.
(7) Customs Officer means only those individuals assigned to
position descriptions entitled ``Customs Inspector,'' ``Supervisory
Customs Inspector,'' ``Canine Enforcement Officer,'' or ``Supervisory
Canine Enforcement Officer.''
(8) Fiscal year pay cap refers to the statutory maximum, in effect
for the year involved, in overtime and premium pay a Customs Officer
shall receive in that fiscal year. This aggregate limit may be waived by
the Commissioner of Customs or his/her designee in individual cases in
order to prevent excessive costs or to meet emergency requirements of
the Customs Service.
(9) Holiday means any day designated as a holiday by a Federal
statute or declared by an Executive order.
(10) Intermittent employee is a non-full-time employee who does not
have a regularly-scheduled tour of duty.
(11) Majority of hours, within the context of night work
differentials, means more than half of the hours of the daily regularly-
scheduled tour of duty.
(12) Night work means regularly-scheduled work performed by a
Customs Officer on tours of duty, in which a majority of the hours
worked occur between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.
(13) Overtime pay means the compensation which a Customs Officer is
entitled to receive, in excess of the officer's base pay, for performing
officially-assigned work in excess of the 40 hours of the officer's
regularly-scheduled administrative workweek or in excess of 8 hours in a
day, which may include commute compensation as defined at paragraph
(b)(5) of this section. Overtime pay, within the limits prescribed by
the Act, is includable for Federal retirement benefit purposes.
(14) Premium pay differential means the compensation which a Customs
Officer is entitled to receive, in excess of the officer's base pay, for
performing officially-assigned work on holidays, Sundays and at night.
Premium pay is not includable for Federal retirement benefit purposes.
(15) Regularly-scheduled administrative workweek means, for a full-
time employee, the 40 hour period within an administrative workweek
within which the employee is regularly scheduled to work, exclusive of
any overtime; for a part-time employee, it means the officially
prescribed days and hours within an administrative workweek during which
the employee is regularly scheduled to work.
(c) Application and bond. (1) Except as provided for in paragraphs
(c)(2) and (4) of this section, an application for inspectional services
of Customs Officers at night or on a Sunday or holiday, Customs Form
3171, supported by the required cash deposit or bond, shall be filed in
the office of the port director before the assignment of such officers
for reimbursable overtime services. The cash deposit to secure
reimbursement shall be fixed by the port director or authorized
representative in an amount sufficient to pay the maximum probable
compensation and expenses of the Customs Officers, or the maximum amount
which may be charged by law, whichever is less, in connection with the
particular services requested. The bond to secure reimbursement shall be
on Customs Form 301, containing the appropriate bond conditions set
forth in subpart G, part 113 of this chapter (see Secs. 113.62, 113.63,
113.64 and 113.73), and in an amount to be fixed by the port director,
unless another bond containing a provision to secure reimbursement is on
file. A bond given on Customs Form 301, containing the appropriate bond
conditions set forth in subpart G, part 113 of this chapter (see
Secs. 113.62, 113.63, 113.64 and 113.73), to secure the payment of
overtime services rendered private aircraft and private vessels shall be
taken without surety or cash deposit in lieu of surety, and the bond
shall be modified to so indicate.
(2) Prior to the expected arrival of a pleasure vessel or private
aircraft the port director may designate a Customs Officer to proceed to
the place of expected arrival to receive an application for night,
Sunday, or holiday services in connection with the arrival of such
vessel or aircraft, together with the required cash deposit or bond. In
each such case the assignment to perform

[[Page 348]]

services shall be conditional upon the receipt of the appropriate
application and security. Where the security is a cash deposit, the
receipt may be properly inscribed to make it serve as a combined receipt
for cash deposit in lieu of bond and request for overtime services, in
lieu of filing a request for overtime services on Customs Form 3171.

Request for Overtime Services

Permit Number___________________________________________________________
I hereby request overtime services on --------, 19--, at ---- a.m.,
p.m., in connection with the entry of my aircraft (vessel).
________________________________________________________________________

(Pilot, Owner, or Person in Charge)

(3) An application on Customs Form 3171 for overtime services of
Customs Officers, when supported by the required cash deposit or a
continuous bond, may be granted for a period not longer than for 1 year.
In such a case, the application must show the exact times when the
overtime services will be needed, unless arrangements are made so that
the proper Customs Officer will be notified timely during official hours
in advance of the services requested as to the exact times that the
services will be needed.
(4) Inspectional services will be provided to owners or operators of
aircraft without charge for overtime on Sundays and holidays between the
hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Applications for inspectional services
for aircraft during those hours shall be filed as set forth in paragraph
(c)(1) of this section, but without cash deposit or bond.
(d) Work Assignment Priorities. The establishment of regularly-
scheduled administrative tours of duty and assignments of Customs
Officers to overtime work under this section shall be made in accordance
with the following priorities, listed below in priority order:
(1) Alignment. Tours of duty should be aligned with the Customs
workload.
(2) Least Cost. All work assignments should be made in a manner
which minimizes the cost to the government or party in interest.
Decisions, including, but not limited to, what hours should be covered
by a tour of duty or whether an assignment should be treated as a
continuous assignment or subject to commute compensation, should be
based on least cost considerations. However, base pay comparison of
eligible employees shall not be used in the determination of staffing
assignments.
(3) Annuity integrity. For Customs Officers within 3 years of their
statutory retirement eligibility, the amount of overtime that can be
worked is limited to the average yearly number of overtime hours the
Customs Officer worked during his/her career with the Customs Service.
If the dollar value of the average yearly number of overtime hours
worked by such Customs Officer exceeds 50 percent of the applicable
statutory pay cap, then no overtime earning limitation based on this
annuity integrity provision would apply. Waivers concerning this annuity
integrity limitation may be granted by the Commissioner of Customs or
the Commissioner's designee in individual cases in order to prevent
excessive costs or to meet emergency requirements of Customs.
(e) Overtime Pay. (1) A Customs Officer who is officially assigned
to perform work in excess of the 40 hours in the officer's regularly-
scheduled administrative workweek or in excess of 8 hours in a day shall
be compensated for such overtime work performed at 2 times the hourly
rate of the officer's base pay, including any locality pay, but not
including any premium pay differentials for holiday, Sunday, or night
work.
(2) The computation of the amount of overtime worked by a Customs
Officer is subject to the following conditions:
(i) Overtime that is less than one hour. A quarter of an hour shall
be the smallest fraction of an hour used for paying overtime under this
subpart.
(ii) Absence during overtime. Except as expressly authorized by
statute, regulation, or court order (i.e., military leave, court leave,
continuation of pay under the workers compensation law, and back pay
awards), a Customs Officer shall be paid for overtime work only when the
officer reports as assigned.
(f) Special provisions relating to overtime work on a callback
basis--(1) Minimum duration and callback requirements. Any work for
which overtime pay is authorized and for which the Customs

[[Page 349]]

Officer is required to return to a place of work shall be treated as
being at least 2 hours in duration, but only if such work begins at
least 1 hour after the end of any previous regularly-scheduled work
assignment and ends at least 1 hour before the beginning of the
following regularly-scheduled work assignment. An unpaid meal period
shall not be considered a break in service for purposes of callback.
(2) Commute compensation--Eligibility. A Customs Officer shall be
compensated for overtime when the officer is called back and officially
assigned to perform work that:
(i) Is in excess of the 40 hours in the officer's regularly-
scheduled administrative workweek or in excess of 8 hours in a day;
(ii) Begins at least 1 hour after the end of any previous regularly-
scheduled work assignment;
(iii) Commences more than 2 hours prior to the start of the
officer's next regularly-scheduled work assignment;
(iv) Ends at least 1 hour before the beginning of the officer's next
regularly-scheduled work assignment; and,
(v) Commences less than 16 hours after the officer's last regularly-
scheduled work assignment. The 16 hours shall be calculated from the end
of the Customs Officer's last regularly-scheduled work assignment.
(3) Commute compensation--Amount. Commute compensation under this
section shall be in an amount equal to 3 times the hourly rate of the
Customs Officer's base pay for a one hour period, which includes
applicable locality pay, but does not include any premium pay
differentials for holiday, Sunday or night work. The Customs Officer
shall be entitled to this amount for an eligible commute regardless of
the actual commute time. However, an unpaid meal period shall not be
considered a break in service for purposes of commute compensation.
(4) Maximum Compensation for Multiple Assignments. If a Customs
Officer is assigned to perform more than one overtime assignment, in
which the officer is required to return to a place of work more than
once in order to complete the assignment, and otherwise satisfies the
callback requirements of paragraph (f)(1) of this section, then the
officer shall be entitled to commute compensation each time the officer
returns to the place of work provided that each assignment commences
less than 16 hours after the officer's last regularly-scheduled work
assignment. However, in no case shall the compensation be greater than
if some or all of the assignments were treated as one continuous
callback assignment.
(g) Premium pay differentials. Premium pay differentials may only be
paid for non-overtime work performed on holidays, Sundays, or, at night
(work performed, in whole or in part, between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and
8:00 a.m.). A Customs Officer shall receive payment for only one of the
differentials for any one given period of work. The order of precedence
for the payment of premium pay differentials is holiday, Sunday, and
night work.
(1) Holiday differential. A Customs Officer who performs any
regularly-scheduled work on a holiday shall receive pay for that work at
the officer's hourly rate of base pay, which includes authorized
locality pay, plus premium pay amounting to 100 percent of that base
rate. Holiday differential premium pay will be paid only for time
worked. Intermittent employees are not entitled to holiday
differentials.
(i) When a holiday is designated by a calendar date, for example,
January 1, July 4, November 11, or December 25, the holiday will be
observed on that date regardless of Saturdays and Sundays. Customs
Officers who perform regularly-scheduled, non-overtime, tours of duty on
those days shall be paid the holiday differential. Holidays not
designated by a specific calendar date, such as President's Day (the
third Monday in February), shall be observed on that date, and Customs
Officers who perform regularly-scheduled, non-overtime, work on those
days shall be paid the holiday differential.
(ii) Inauguration Day (January 20 of each fourth year after 1965),
is a legal public holiday for the purpose of the Act. Customs Officers
whose duty locations are in the District of Columbia, or Montgomery and
Prince George counties in Maryland, or Arlington and Fairfax counties in
Virginia, or in the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church in Virginia,
who perform regularly-

[[Page 350]]

scheduled, non-overtime, work on that day shall be paid the holiday
differential. When Inauguration Day falls on Sunday, the next succeeding
day selected for the public observance of the inauguration of the
President is the legal public holiday.
(iii) If a legal holiday falls on a Customs Officer's regularly-
scheduled day off, the officer shall receive a holiday ``in lieu of''
that day. Holidays ``in lieu of'' shall not be granted for Inauguration
Day. A Customs Officer who works on an ``in lieu of'' holiday shall be
paid the holiday differential.
(iv) If a Customs Officer is assigned to a regularly-scheduled, non-
overtime, tour of duty which contains hours within and outside the 24-
hour calendar day of a holiday--for example, a tour of duty starting at
8 p.m. on a Monday holiday following a scheduled day off on Sunday and
ending at 4 a.m. on Tuesday--the Customs Officer shall receive the
holiday differential (up to 8 hours) for work performed during that
shift. If the Customs Officer is assigned more than one regularly-
scheduled, non-overtime, tour of duty which contains hours within and
outside the 24-hour calendar day of a holiday--for example, a tour of
duty starting at 8 p.m. on the Wednesday before a Thursday holiday and
ending at 4 a.m. on Thursday with another regularly-scheduled, non-
overtime, tour of duty starting at 8 p.m. on the Thursday holiday and
ending at 4 a.m. on Friday--the management official in charge of
assigning work shall designate one of the tours of duty as the officer's
holiday shift and the officer shall receive holiday differential (up to
8 hours) for work performed during the entire period of the designated
holiday shift. The Customs Officer shall not receive holiday
differential for any of the work performed on the tour of duty which has
not been designated as the holiday shift but will be eligible for Sunday
or night differential as appropriate.
(v) Customs Officers who are regularly scheduled, but not required,
to work on a holiday shall receive their hourly rate of base pay for
that 8-hour tour plus any Sunday or night differential they would have
received had the day not been designated as a holiday. To receive
holiday pay under this paragraph, the Customs Officer must be in a pay
status (at work or on paid leave), either the last work day before the
holiday or the first work day following the holiday.
(vi) A Customs Officer who works only a portion of a regularly-
scheduled, non-overtime, holiday shift will be paid the holiday
differential for the actual hours worked and the appropriate
differential (Sunday or night) for the remaining portion of the shift
such officer was not required to work. The night differential premium
pay shall be calculated based on the rate applicable to the entire
shift.
(2) Sunday differential. A Customs Officer who performs any
regularly-scheduled work on a Sunday that is not a Federal holiday shall
receive pay for that work at the officer's hourly rate of base pay,
which includes authorized locality pay, plus premium pay amounting to 50
percent of that base rate. Sunday differential premium pay will be paid
only for time worked and is not applicable to overtime work performed on
a Sunday. A Customs Officer whose regularly-scheduled work occurs in
part on a Sunday, that is not a Federal holiday, and in part on the
preceding or following day, will receive the Sunday differential premium
pay for the hours worked between 12:01 a.m. and 12 Midnight on Sunday.
Intermittent employees are not entitled to Sunday differentials.
(3) Night work differentials. A Customs Officer who performs any
regularly-scheduled night work shall receive pay for that work at the
officer's hourly rate of base pay, including locality pay as authorized,
plus the applicable premium pay differential, as specified below, but
shall not receive such night differential for work performed during
overtime assignments. When all or the majority of the hours of a Customs
Officer's regularly-scheduled work occur between 3 p.m. and 8 a.m., the
officer shall receive a night differential premium for all the hours
worked during that assignment. Intermittent employees are not entitled
to night differentials.
(i) 3 p.m. to Midnight. If more than half of the hours of a Customs
Officer's

[[Page 351]]

regularly-scheduled shift occur between the hours of 3 p.m. and 12
Midnight, the officer shall be paid at the officer's hourly rate of base
pay and shall also be paid a premium of 15 percent of that hourly rate
of base pay for all the hours worked.
(ii) 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. If more than half of the hours of a Customs
Officer's regularly-scheduled shift occur between the hours of 11 p.m.
and 8 a.m., the officer shall be paid at the officer's hourly rate of
base pay and shall also be paid a premium of 20 percent of that hourly
rate of base pay for all the hours worked.
(iii) 7:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. Shift. If the regularly-scheduled shift
of a Customs Officer is 7:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m., the officer shall be
paid at the officer's hourly rate of base pay and shall also be paid a
premium of 15 percent of that hourly rate of base pay for the work
performed between 7:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. and 20 percent of that hourly
rate of base pay for the work performed between 11:30 p.m. and 3:30 a.m.
(iv) Work Scheduled During Two Differential Periods. A Customs
Officer shall only be paid one night differential rate per regularly-
scheduled shift, except as provided for in paragraph (iii) above. A
Customs Officer whose regularly-scheduled work occurs during two
separate differential periods shall receive the night differential
premium rate which applies to the majority of hours scheduled.
(v) Night Work Which Occurs in Part on a Sunday. When a Customs
Officer's regularly-scheduled shift occurs in part on a Sunday, the
officer shall receive Sunday differential pay for those hours of the
work which are performed during the 24 hour period of the Sunday, and
the night differential pay for those hours which do not fall on the
Sunday. For example, a Customs Officer who is assigned and works a shift
which starts at 8 p.m. Sunday and ends at 4 a.m. Monday, shall receive 4
hours of Sunday premium pay and 4 hours of night pay. The night
differential pay shall be calculated based on the rate applicable to the
particular tour of duty.
(h) Limitations. Total payments for overtime/commute, and
differentials for holiday, Sunday, and night work that a Customs Officer
is paid shall not exceed any applicable fiscal year pay cap established
by Congress. The Commissioner of Customs or the Commissioner's designee
may waive this limitation in individual cases to prevent excessive costs
or to meet emergency requirements of the Customs Service. However,
compensation awarded to a Customs Officer for work not performed, which
includes overtime awards during military leave or court leave,
continuation of pay under workers compensation law, and awards made in
accordance with back pay settlements, shall not be applied to any
applicable pay cap calculations.

[28 FR 14808, Dec. 31, 1963]

Editorial Note: For Federal Register citations affecting Sec. 24.16,
see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids
section of the printed volume and on GPO Access.