Travel Comp Time Idea Raised

A provision in the Senate’s bill to create a Homeland Security department (S-2452) would address a long-standing complaint by federal employees who travel on official business about not being paid for time spent traveling. The provision, part of an amendment added by civil service subcommittee chairman Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, would provide compensatory time off equal to the time “spent by the employee in travel status away from the official duty station of the employee, to the extent that the time spent in travel status is not otherwise compensable.” The Office of Personnel Management would have 30 days after enactment to issue rules putting the new policy in effect.