Federal · Title 19 — Customs Duties

19 U.S.C. § 267: Overtime and premium pay for customs officers

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Subject to paragraph (2) and subsection (c), a customs officer who is officially assigned to perform work in excess of 40 hours in the administrative workweek of the officer or in excess of 8 hours in a day shall be compensated for that work at an hourly rate of pay that is equal to 2 times the hourly rate of the basic pay of the officer. For purposes of this paragraph, the hourly rate of basic pay for a customs officer does not include any premium pay provided for under subsection (b). Any work for which compensation is authorized under paragraph (1) and for which the customs officer is required to return to the officer’s place of work shall be treated as being not less than 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. Except as provided in clause (ii), in addition to the compensation authorized under paragraph (1) for work to which subparagraph (A) applies, the customs officer is entitled to be paid, as compensation for commuting time, an amount equal to 3 times the hourly rate of basic pay of the officer. does not commence within 16 hours of the customs officer’s last regularly scheduled work assignment, or commences within 2 hours of the next regularly scheduled work assignment of the customs officer. If the majority of the hours of regularly scheduled work of a customs officer occurs during the period beginning at 3 p.m. and ending at 12 a.m., the officer is entitled to pay for work during such period (except for work to which paragraph (2) or (3) applies) at the officer’s hourly rate of basic pay plus premium pay amounting to 15 percent of that basic rate. If the majority of the hours of regularly scheduled work of a customs officer occurs during the period beginning at 11 p.m. and ending at 8 a.m., the officer is entitled to pay for work during such period (except for work to which paragraph (2) or (3) applies) at the officer’s hourly rate of basic pay plus premium pay amounting to 20 percent of that basic rate. If the regularly scheduled work assignment of a customs officer is 7:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m., the officer is entitled to pay for work during such period (except for work to which paragraph (2) or (3) applies) at the officer’s hourly rate of basic pay plus premium pay amounting to 15 percent of that basic rate for the period from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. and at the officer’s hourly rate of basic pay plus premium pay amounting to 20 percent of that basic rate for the period from 11:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. A customs officer who performs any regularly scheduled work on a Sunday that is not a holiday is entitled to pay for that work at the officer’s hourly rate of basic pay plus premium pay amounting to 50 percent of that basic rate. A customs officer who performs any regularly scheduled work on a holiday is entitled to pay for that work at the officer’s hourly rate of basic pay plus premium pay amounting to 100 percent of that basic rate. Premium pay provided for under this subsection may not be treated as being overtime pay or compensation for any purpose. The aggregate of overtime pay under subsection (a) (including commuting compensation under subsection (a)(2)(B)) and premium pay under subsection (b) that a customs officer may be paid in any fiscal year may not exceed $25,000; except that the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection or his designee may waive this limitation in individual cases in order to prevent excessive costs or to meet emergency requirements of the Customs Service. A customs officer who receives overtime pay under subsection (a) or premium pay under subsection (b) for time worked may not receive pay or other compensation for that work under any other provision of law. abuse of callback work assignments and commuting time compensation authorized under subsection (a)(2); and the disproportionately more frequent assignment of overtime work to customs officers who are near to retirement. The term “customs officer” means an individual performing those functions specified by regulation by the Secretary of the Treasury for a customs inspector or canine enforcement officer. Such functions shall be consistent with such applicable standards as may be promulgated by the Office of Personnel Management. The term “holiday” means any day designated as a holiday under a Federal statute or Executive order.

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