Pay of the Employee Training as Hours of Work Under FLSA Compensatory Time Off Instead of Overtime Overtime Pay for Travel This section addresses the pay of an employee while attending agency approved training. Agencies are reminded that under title 5: Except as provided in 5 C.F.R. §410.402(b) (1997), no funds appropriated or otherwise available to an agency may be used for the payment of premium pay to an employee engaged in training .... 5 C.F.R. §410.402(a) (1997). As a general rule, under 5 U.S.C. §4109(a)(1) (1997) employees may receive neither overtime pay or compensatory time off for time spent in training. Training as Hours of Work Under FLSA The prohibition on overtime pay is not applicable to training treated as hours of work under U.S. Office of Personnel Management regulations implementing the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as amended. For employees subject to the FLSA, time spent in training or preparing for training outside regular working hours shall be considered hours of work for the purpose of computing FLSA overtime if an agency requires the training to: bring performance up to a fully successful, or equivalent level; or provide knowledge or skills to perform new duties and responsibilities in the employee's current position. See also 5 C.F.R. §410.402(d)(1) (1997), 5 C.F.R. §551.423 (1997), 29 C.F.R. §785.27 through §785.32 (1996). Time spent in training or preparing for training outside regular working hours is not hours of work for employees subject to the FLSA if the training: improves the employee's performance above a fully successful, or equivalent level; or provides the employee with knowledge or skills required for reassignment to another position or advancement to a higher grade in another position. See also 5 C.F.R. §410.402(d)(2) (1997), 29 C.F.R. §785.27 through §785.32 (1996). Compensatory Time Off Instead of Overtime Entitlement to compensatory time off depends on entitlement to overtime pay. The title 5 prohibition on payment of overtime pay for training applies to granting compensatory time off. See 5 C.F.R. §550.114 (1997), 5 C.F.R. §551.423 (1997), 39 Comp. Gen. 453 (1959) and Comp. Gen. B-249835 (January 29, 1993). Overtime Pay for Travel Eligibility for overtime pay for time spent in travel to and from training is determined by law and regulations concerning hours of work. See 5 U.S.C. §5542(b)(2) (1997), * 5 C.F.R. §550.112(e) (1997) and Comp. Gen. B-165311 (November 12, 1968). 5 C.F.R. §551.422 (1997) specifies (for FLSA overtime pay for purposes) when time spent traveling is hours of work. See also 29 C.F.R. §785.33 through §785.41 (1996). For employees not covered by (exempt from) FLSA overtime pay provisions, overtime pay for travel related to training is usually prohibited. See 5 C.F.R. §550.112(g) (1997). Time spent in travel status away from the official duty station is not hours of work unless the travel results from an event that could not be scheduled or controlled administratively by the agency. In 50 Comp. Gen. 519 (1971), the phrase "could not be scheduled or controlled administratively" was determined to mean "the ability of an executive agency to control the event that necessitates an employee's travel." For example, travel is considered hours of work under title 5 when it results from unforeseen circumstances such as an event that is scheduled by someone or some organization outside the Executive branch of Government. See also 69 Comp. Gen. 545 (1990). However, when an outside institution contracts with the Government to conduct a training course, then the event is under the administrative control of the Government. In Comp. Gen. B- 190494 (May 8, 1978), an employee was denied overtime pay for travel on Sunday to attend such a training event. See also 66 Comp. Gen 620 (1987). Overtime Payment for Work in Excess to 40 Hours The title 5 prohibition on payment of overtime pay for training does not prohibit overtime pay for work performed in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. See 41 Comp. Gen. 477 (1962). *This link is to the 1996 version of the document. To search for more recent updates select "Update" after following the link.