TA 19-02, Changes to Religious Compensatory Time

Published: November 8, 2019
Effective: Pay Period 22, 2019

Summary

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has updated the regulations for earning and repaying religious compensatory time. Employees will now be able to earn religious compensatory time up to 13 pay periods before and up to 13 pay periods after the time off is used. Transaction Code (TC) 32, Prefix 77, Compensatory Time Worked-Religious, is used to record religious compensatory time.

Implementation

Religious compensatory time permits an employee to rearrange work hours when the employee’s personal religious beliefs require an absence from work to meet personal religious requirements. This time must either be earned before the time is taken or repaid after the time is taken per OPM regulations. The overtime worked to repay the religious compensatory time does not generate entitlement to premium pay or other pay.

Note: Religious compensatory time that is currently owed must be repaid within the next 13 pay periods.

To Earn Religious Compensatory Time:

  1. The employee performs overtime work to earn religious compensatory time off. This time may be applied to cover a past absence due to a religious observance or may be earned for a future request for religious compensatory time.
  2. The employee accumulates only the amount of religious compensatory time off needed to cover an approved absence for a religious observance.
  3. The earned religious compensatory time that has not been used may be applied toward a future religious observance.

To Request Religious Compensatory Time:

The employee submits a leave request that includes the following:

Note: If an employee fails to repay the religious compensatory time off within 13 pay periods after the pay period in which it was used, the Agency may take corrective action to eliminate or reduce the negative balance by making a corresponding reduction in the employee’s balance of annual leave, credit hours, compensatory time, travel compensatory time, or time-off awards. If there is a remaining negative balance, this must be resolved by charging the employee leave without pay, which will result in a debt.

To Process Religious Compensatory Time:

Religious compensatory time will continue to be processed in the Agency's time and attendance (T&A) application the same way as it is currently processed. Timekeepers should continue to monitor religious compensatory time as they are currently.

To Record Religious Compensatory Time for a Separating Employee:

  1. The losing Agency pays the employee at the hourly rate of basic pay in effect when the religious compensatory time was earned (not the overtime rate) for employees separating from Federal service or transferring to another Federal Agency with unused religious compensatory time.
  2. A debt is incurred by employees with a negative balance of religious compensatory time separating from Federal service or transferring to another Federal Agency. Repayment of the debt for unearned but used religious compensatory time may be repaid by making a corresponding reduction in the employee’s balance of annual leave, credit hours, compensatory time, travel compensatory time, or time-off awards. If there is a remaining negative balance, this must be resolved by charging the employee leave without pay, which will result in a debt.

Note: Unused religious compensatory time cannot be forfeited, nor can it be converted to another type of paid time off.

Resources

The procedure manual for this application, which is available online at the National Finance Center (NFC) Web site, is being updated to include the information in this bulletin. To view and/or print this procedure, select HR and Payroll Clients from the MyNFC drop-down menu on the NFC Home page. At the HR and Payroll Clients page, select the Publications tab and select the applicable category to access the procedure manual within the category.

Inquiries

For questions about NFC processing, authorized Servicing Personnel Office representatives should contact the NFC Contact Center at 1-855-NFC-4GOV (1-855-632-4468) or via the customer service portal.