[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 175 (Monday, September 12, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
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From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-22415]


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[Federal Register: September 12, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service

19 CFR Parts 4, 24, 122, 123, and 134

[T.D. 94-74]
RIN 1515-AB30

 

Pay Reform for Customs Inspectional Services

AGENCY: U.S. Customs Service, Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This document amends the Customs Regulations by adopting final 
rules to implement, in part, those provisions of the Omnibus Budget 
Reconciliation Act of 1993 that provide for overtime and premium pay 
for Customs Officers performing inspectional services. This document 
addresses the public comments submitted in response to the interim 
regulations which initially implemented the pay reform provisions, and 
makes certain changes to those interim regulations in response to the 
public comments and in order to add clarity and improve the readability 
of the final regulations.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 12, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Cummings, Office of Workforce 
Effectiveness and Development (202) 927-1391.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 10, 1993, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 
(Pub. L. 103-66, 107 Stat. 312) (the 1993 Act) was signed into law. 
Part II of Subchapter D of Title XIII of the 1993 Act (107 Stat. 668)--
popularly referred to as the Customs Officer Pay Reform Amendments 
(COPRA)--amended section 5 of the Act of February 13, 1911 (19 U.S.C. 
261 and 267) to reform the overtime--and establish a premium--pay 
system by which Customs Officers who perform inspectional services 
would be compensated. In general, while the COPRA retained the basic 
double-time compensation rate for overtime services, its three sections 
(sections 13811-13813) made certain changes concerning how and when 
such Customs Officers would be compensated.
    Section 13811 (codified, in part, at 19 U.S.C. 267) amended 19 
U.S.C. 261, 267, and 1450 (and repealed 19 U.S.C. 1451a) to create a 
new and exclusive overtime compensation and premium pay schedule for 
Customs Officers performing inspectional services, and required the 
Secretary of the Treasury to promulgate regulations to prevent certain 
abuses that developed under the old pay system. Section 13812 amended 5 
U.S.C. 8331(3) to provide additional benefits for Customs Officers; it 
allows overtime compensation to be included in the calculation of 
Federal retirement annuities, up to an amount equal to 50 percent of 
the applicable statutory pay limitation, and authorizes the payment of 
cash awards to Customs Officers for foreign language proficiency. 
Section 13813 amended 19 U.S.C. 13031(f)(3) to make certain adjustments 
concerning reimbursements from the Customs User Fee Account.
    On December 28, 1993, Customs published as T.D. 94-2 interim 
regulations in the Federal Register (58 FR 68520) to implement the 
provisions of section 13811 of the 1993 Act. (The provisions of 
sections 13812 and 13813 of the 1993 Act were not dealt with in that 
document; the regulations implementing those aspects of the pay reform 
provisions will be issued by the Office of Personnel Management and 
Customs at a later date.) The interim regulations amended and revised 
certain sections in parts 4, 24, 122, 123, and 134 of the Customs 
Regulations (19 CFR parts 4, 24, 122, 123, and 134) and solicited 
comments concerning these changes.
    Three parties submitted comments regarding one or more aspects of 
the interim regulations. The comments received, and Customs responses 
to them, are set forth below.

Discussion of Comments

    The comments received raised, in part, six areas of concern that 
will be responded to in this document:
    (1) Customs interpretation of the exclusivity clause (19 U.S.C. 
267(c)(2)) regarding when and how shift differential allowances would 
be paid (19 CFR 24.16(a));
    (2) whether the definition of ``regularly-scheduled administrative 
workweek'' precluded considerations of other, alternative work 
schedules (19 CFR 24.16(b)(16));
    (3) the propriety of defining ``work assignment priorities'' in 
agency regulations (19 CFR 24.16(d));
    (4) the inclusion of workers compensation benefits in the listing 
of categories for which Customs Officers may receive pay for work not 
performed (19 CFR 24.16(e)(2)(ii));
    (5) the payment of commute compensation when the overtime 
assignment begins 16 hours or more after the last regularly scheduled 
assignment (19 CFR 24.16(f)(2)(v)), and;
    (6) the exclusion of workers compensation benefits from any 
applicable pay cap calculations (19 CFR 24.16(h)).
    Certain other issues raised by the National Treasury Employees 
Union (NTEU, one of the parties submitting comments) are the subject of 
pending litigation before the United States District Court for the 
District of Columbia (Civil Action No. 94-0163, filed January 31, 
1994). As it would be inappropriate for Customs to discuss those issues 
at this time, those comments are not addressed in this document. We now 
address the identified areas of concern in turn.

24.16(a)--Interpretation of exclusivity clause

    Comment: Although the 1993 Act prohibits employees who are paid 
overtime under subsection (a) of the statute or premium pay under 
subsection (b) of the statute from receiving ``* * * pay or other 
compensation for that work under any other provision of law'' (emphasis 
in original), the exclusivity clause contained in the 1993 Act does not 
divest employees of their right to receive payment under other 
applicable pay statutes for work performed during periods for which no 
1993 Act payments are received. For example, an employee may be 
assigned to a night shift for which no night work differential is 
payable under the 1993 Act (11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.). That employee 
should still be paid night shift differential from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 
p.m. under the Federal Employees Pay Act (FEPA) or other applicable 
law. The interim regulations should be modified to reflect this 
entitlement.
    Customs Response: Customs disagrees. With enactment of the COPRA in 
the 1993 Act, Congress created a total pay and compensation system 
unique to the inspectional duties performed by Customs Officers. The 
establishment of this new system effectively removed those officers 
from coverage under any other statute for pay and compensation 
purposes. Accordingly, no change to Sec. 24.16(a) is made.
    When the COPRA were promulgated, Congress reasoned that its purpose 
in requiring Customs Officers to work 40 hours in a week or 8 hours in 
a day, without regard to the hour of the day or the day of the week, 
before they qualify for overtime pay, was to encourage Customs to 
adjust its inspectional resources to meet actual trade patterns, rather 
than forcing the trade community to adjust to a predetermined Customs 
workday. Also, Congress wanted Customs to measure workload and trade 
patterns at each of its ports and then adjust work schedules to meet 
that demand while using as little overtime as possible. See, ``Report 
of the Committee on the Budget House of Representatives on Omnibus 
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993'', Report 103-111 (May 25, 1993), p. 
573. Since section 267(c)(2) clearly provides that a Customs Officer 
who receives overtime pay under subsection (a) (19 U.S.C. 267(a)) or 
premium pay under subsection (b) (19 U.S.C. 267(b)) for time worked may 
not receive pay or other compensation for that work under any other 
provision of law, it is axiomatic that Congress' explanation in the 
context of overtime pay is equally applicable to the payment of premium 
pay differentials, i.e., night shift pay. And, as no allowance for 
night work differential premium pay is authorized under the Customs 
Officer Pay Reform provisions where less than a majority of night work 
hours is worked during the specified time periods (19 U.S.C. 267(b)(1)-
(3), 19 CFR 24.16(g)(3)(i)-(iii)), it is clear that the 1993 Act does 
divest Customs Officers--but not other Customs employees--of their 
right to receive payment under other applicable pay statutes for work 
performed. Any other interpretation of section 267(c)(2) would render 
the express limitation meaningless.
    In the scenario presented in the commenter's example, the payment 
of night differential premium pay is not authorized because the Customs 
Officer, as defined at 19 U.S.C. 267(e)(1) and subject to the overtime 
and premium pay provisions of 19 U.S.C. 267, does not work a majority 
of hours between any of the three time frames established by Congress 
for payment of such premium pay. See, 19 U.S.C. 267(b)(1)(A) through 
(C). Although the Customs Officer is officially assigned to work an 8-
hour shift which goes past the, heretofore, traditional working day of 
6:00 p.m., no night work differential is authorized under the 
exclusivity of pay provision under the COPRA (19 U.S.C. 267(c)(2)); the 
terms of the exclusivity provision expressly preclude dual pay/
compensation entitlement considerations under other Federal pay 
statutes.

24.16(b)(16)--Definition of ``Regularly-scheduled administrative 
workweek''

    Comment: Regarding the definition of ``regularly-scheduled 
administrative workweek'', the following sentence should be added, 
``This section is not meant to prohibit consideration of alternative 
work schedules at a local level'' to reflect the provisions of 5 CFR 
610.121 and Article 21, Section 3A of the National Agreement between 
Customs and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).
    Customs Response: The pay reform provisions of the 1993 Act do not 
affect or otherwise address the question of alternate work schedules 
(AWS), which has a separate statutory basis. See, 5 U.S.C. 6120 et seq. 
We believe that the addition of the requested sentence is unnecessary. 
Accordingly, no change to Sec. 24.16(b)(16) is made.

24.16(d)--``Work assignment priorities''/(annuity integrity)

    Comment: The NTEU objects to the inclusion of work assignment 
priorities provisions in the regulations (Sec. 24.16(d)), as these 
issues are negotiable under the terms of the Civil Service Reform Act. 
Especially objectionable is the inclusion of the overtime earnings 
``band'' in Sec. 24.16(d)(2).
    Response: Customs agrees that the inclusion of the equalization 
provision in the work assignment priorities may be overbroad as written 
and could be subject to negotiations under the terms of the Civil 
Service Reform Act; however, Customs believes that the other two 
principles (alignment and least cost) are properly contained in the 
regulations, as they are in accordance with the provisions of 19 U.S.C. 
267(d)(1), which require the Secretary of the Treasury to promulgate 
such regulations as will prevent the abuse of callback work assignments 
and commuting time compensation. Accordingly, Sec. 24.16(d) is revised 
by deleting the equalization principle and replacing it with a more 
restricted ``annuity integrity'' principle that is more in accordance 
with the provisions of 19 U.S.C. 267(d)(2), which requires the 
Secretary to promulgate such regulations as will prevent the 
disproportionately more frequent assignment of overtime work to Customs 
Officers who are near to their retirement.
    Annuity integrity is based on the average yearly amount of overtime 
Customs Officers worked during their career with Customs. Under annuity 
integrity the amount of overtime that can be worked by a Customs 
Officer who is within 3 years of his/her statutory retirement 
eligibility, see, 5 U.S.C. chapters 83 or 84, 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. Customs believes that this principle 
of annuity integrity is in accordance with the provisions of 19 U.S.C. 
267(d)(2) and, as such, properly belongs in the regulations.

24.16(e)(2)(ii)--Including workers compensation benefits in list of 
payment categories for work not performed

    Comment: The NTEU requests the inclusion of workers compensation 
benefits to the listing of categories for which Customs Officers may 
receive payment for work that is not performed.
    Customs Response: Unlike the form of workers compensation 
enumerated in this section (continuation of pay under the workers 
compensation law, which is paid by the employing agency), workers 
compensation benefits--in the form of compensation for lost wages--are 
paid by the Department of Labor. See, 5 U.S.C. 8101 and 20 CFR part 10. 
As this latter form of workers compensation is not within the direct 
control of the Secretary of the Treasury, its inclusion at 
Sec. 24.16(e)(2)(ii) would be inappropriate. Accordingly, no change to 
Sec. 24.16(e)(2)(ii) is made.

24.16(f)(2)(v)--Payment of commute compensation

    Comment: The commute compensation provisions include a section that 
a Customs Officer will not be paid for commute time if the overtime 
assignment begins 16 hours or more after the last regularly scheduled 
assignment. This section makes it extremely difficult for those 
inspectors that work Monday through Friday to serve the public on 
Saturdays and Sundays.
    Customs Response: This eligibility condition for commute 
compensation is statutory. See, 19 U.S.C. 267(a)(2)(B)(ii)(I). Thus, 
Customs cannot deviate from the statutory requirements, but does note 
that the additional compensation--a flat 3 hours at the basic pay 
rate--is in addition to callback pay. Accordingly, no change to 
Sec. 24.16(f)(2)(v) is made.

24.16(h)--Excluding workers compensation benefits from list of payment 
categories subject to pay cap limitations

    Comment: The NTEU requests the exclusion of workers compensation 
benefits and back pay awards and settlements from the listing of 
categories not subject to any applicable pay cap calculations.
    Customs Response: Regarding the exclusion of workers compensation 
benefits from the list of payment categories subject to pay cap 
limitations, for the reasons given above at Sec. 24.16(e)(2)(ii), no 
change to Sec. 24.16(h) is made. Regarding the exclusion of back pay 
awards and settlements, the current regulatory language provides that 
``awards made in accordance with back pay settlements'' shall not be 
applied to any applicable pay cap calculations. This correctly conveys 
the fact that such awards are exempt. Accordingly, no change to 
Sec. 24.16(h) is made concerning this point.

Additional Changes to the Regulations

    In addition to the changes discussed above in connection with the 
analysis of comments, the regulatory texts as set forth below 
incorporate certain editorial or other non-substantive changes to the 
interim regulations to add clarity and improve the readability of the 
final regulations. The sections of the interim regulations affected by 
these changes are indicated below.

24.16(b)--Definitions

    As the definitions of ``commute compensation'' (19 CFR 
24.16(b)(5)), ``overtime pay'' (19 CFR 24.16(b)(13)), and ``premium pay 
differential'' (19 CFR 24.16(b)(15))--now denominated 
Sec. 24.16(b)(14), see next paragraph below for explanation on 
redenomination--encompass similar elements pertaining to compensation, 
the wording of these three sections is recast to employ a parallel 
construction for ease of readability and to add clarity to their 
exclusive meanings.
    Because of the change to Sec. 24.16(d) discussed above under the 
Discussion of Comments, a definition for ``participating group'' (19 
CFR 24.16(b)(14)) is no longer needed. Accordingly, in Sec. 24.16(b), 
paragraphs (15) and (16) are redenominated paragraphs (14) and (15), 
respectively.

24.16(c)--Application and bond

    Although the interim regulations did not make any changes to the 
provisions of Sec. 24.16(c), because this section references Customs 
``employees'' rather than Customs ``Officers'', the term ``employee'' 
in paragraphs (1) through (3) is replaced with the term ``Officer'' to 
reflect the new restricted application of Sec. 24.16, as amended by the 
COPRA provisions of the 1993 Act. This change is made to make the 
provisions of paragraph (c) more harmonious with the rest of the 
provisions in Sec. 24.16.

24.16(e)--Overtime pay

    In paragraph (2)(i) of Sec. 24.16(e), the second sentence regarding 
the rounding off of overtime work performed in increments other than a 
full quarter hour is deleted because it seeks to address a problem that 
is subject to negotiations under the terms of the Civil Service Reform 
Act.
    In paragraph (2)(ii) of Sec. 24.16(e), the last sentence is revised 
by deleting the words ``for the work assignment'' after ``reports'' and 
adding the words ``as assigned'' to make it clear that overtime pay is 
now restricted to hours assigned and worked.

24.16(f)--Commute Compensation

    In paragraph (3) of Sec. 24.16(f), the last sentence regarding the 
treatment of certain overtime work to prevent the inappropriate payment 
of commute compensation is deleted because it represents a regulatory 
attempt to correct a scheduling issue. The district director is 
responsible for and has discretion in scheduling appropriate overtime 
assignments.
    In paragraph (4) of Sec. 24.16(f), a stylistic change is made in 
the first sentence (changing the reference from ``he'' to ``the 
officer'') and a modification is made in the second sentence (allowing 
less than all overtime assignments to be treated as one continuous 
callback assignment) to give management more flexibility in the 
assignment of overtime work.

24.16(g)--Premium pay differentials

    For the reasons given above concerning recasting three provisions 
in Sec. 24.16(b) because the terms defined encompassed similar elements 
pertaining to compensation, the three provisions in Sec. 24.16(g) 
pertaining to premium pay --paragraphs(g)(1) (Holiday differential), 
(g)(2) (Sunday differential), and (g)(3) (Night work differential)--are 
recast to employ a parallel construction for ease of readability and to 
add clarity to their exclusive meanings.
    In paragraph (1)(iv) of Sec. 24.16(g), the first sentence is 
revised and a second sentence is added to make it clear that where only 
one assigned shift is worked and any of those hours occur during the 
24-hour calendar day of a holiday, the entire shift will be designated 
as a holiday and compensated at the holiday rate of pay. Also, a new 
paragraph (vi) is added to clarify the compensation computation where 
only a portion of a regularly-scheduled, non-overtime, holiday shift is 
worked.

134.55--Compensation of Customs Officers and employees

    In paragraphs (b)(1) and (2) of Sec. 134.55, a grammatical change 
is made to clarify which regulatory provisions (COPRA or FEPA) are 
applicable to provide compensation for which Customs personnel. The 
change provides that the COPRA compensation provisions of Sec. 24.16 
are applicable regarding overtime compensation and premium pay for 
Customs Officers, and that the FEPA compensation provisions of 
Sec. 24.17 are applicable regarding overtime compensation for other 
Customs employees.

Conclusion

    In consideration of the comments received, Customs believes that 
the interim Pay Reform for Customs Inspectional Services regulations, 
published as T.D. 94-2 in the Federal Register on December 28, 1993 (58 
FR 68520), should be adopted as a final rule with certain changes 
thereto, as discussed above and set forth below.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act, and Executive Order 12866

    Based on the supplementary information set forth above and because 
the amendments contained in this document reflect existing statutory 
requirements or merely implement interpretations and policies that are 
already in effect under interim regulations, pursuant to the provisions 
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., it is 
certified that the regulations will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. Accordingly, the 
regulations are not subject to the regulatory analysis or other 
requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 and 604. This document does not meet the 
criteria for a ``significant regulatory action'' as specified in E.O. 
12866.

Drafting Information

    The principal author of this document was Gregory R. Vilders, 
Regulations Branch. However, personnel from other offices participated 
in its development.

List of Subjects

19 CFR Part 4

    Cargo vessels, Customs duties and inspection, Fishing vessels, 
Harbors, Imports, Maritime carriers, Merchandise, Passenger vessels, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Vessels.

19 CFR Part 24

    Accounting, Claims, Customs duties and inspection, Financial and 
accounting procedures, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Wages.

19 CFR Part 122

    Administrative practice and procedure, Air carriers, Aircraft, 
Airports, Air transportation, Baggage, Bonds, Customs duties and 
inspection, Freight, Imports, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

19 CFR Part 123

    Administrative practice and procedure, Aircraft, Bonds, Canada, 
Customs duties and inspection, Imports, Mexico, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Vessels.

19 CFR Part 134

    Country of origin, Customs duties and inspection, Labeling, 
Marking, Packaging and containers.

Amendments to the Regulations

    For the reasons stated above, the interim rule amending parts 4, 
24, 122, 123, and 134 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR parts 4, 24, 
122, 123, and 134), which was published at 58 FR 68520-68526 on 
December 28, 1993 (T.D. 94-2), is adopted as a final rule with the 
following changes:

PART 24--CUSTOMS FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE

    1. The general authority citation for part 24 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 19 U.S.C. 58a-58c, 66, 261, 267, 1202 
(General Note 17, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS)), 1450, 1624; 31 U.S.C. 9701, unless otherwise noted.

    2. In Sec. 24.16:
    a. Paragraph (b)(14) is removed, and paragraphs (b)(15) and (16) 
are redesignated paragraphs (b)(14) and (15) respectively;
    b. Paragraphs (b)(5) and (13) and newly designated paragraph 
(b)(14) are revised;
    c. The first two sentences in paragraph (c)(1), the first sentence 
in paragraph (c)(2), and paragraph (c)(3) are revised;
    d. Paragraph (d) is amended by removing paragraph (d)(2), 
redesignating paragraph (d)(3) as paragraph (d)(2), and by adding a new 
paragraph (d)(3);
    e. Paragraph (e) is amended by removing the second sentence in 
paragraph (e)(2)(i), and by revising paragraph (e)(2)(ii);
    f. Paragraph (f) is amended by removing the last sentence in 
paragraph (f)(3), and by revising paragraph (f)(4);
    g. Paragraph (g) is amended by revising the last sentence in the 
introductory text, revising the introductory text of paragraph (g)(1), 
revising paragraph (g)(1)(iv), adding a new paragraph (g)(1)(vi), 
revising paragraph (g)(2), and revising the introductory text of 
paragraph (g)(3).
    The revisions and additions to read as follows:


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

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (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.
* * * * *
    (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.
* * * * *
    (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 district director of Customs before 
the assignment of such officers for reimbursable overtime services. The 
cash deposit to secure reimbursement shall be fixed by the district 
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. * * *
    (2) Prior to the expected arrival of a pleasure vessel or private 
aircraft the district director of Customs 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. * * *
    (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.
* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (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) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (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) * * *
    (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. * * * 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.
* * * * *
    (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.
* * * * *
    (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.
* * * * *

PART 134--COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MARKING

    1. The authority citation for part 134 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 19 U.S.C. 66, 1202 (General Note 17, 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)), 1304, 
1624.

    2. In Sec. 134.55, paragraph (b) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 134.55  Compensation of Customs Officers and employees.

* * * * *
    (b) Applicability--(1) Official hours. The compensation of Customs 
Officers or employees assigned to supervise the exportation, 
destruction, or marking of articles so as to exempt them from the 
application of marking duties shall be computed in accordance with the 
provisions of Secs. 24.16 or 24.17(a)(3), respectively, of this chapter 
when such supervision is performed during a regularly-scheduled tour of 
duty.
    (2) Overtime. When such supervision is performed by a Customs 
Officer or employee in an overtime status, the compensation with 
respect to the overtime shall be computed in accordance with the 
provisions of Sec. 24.16 or Sec. 24.17, respectively, of this chapter.
* * * * *
George J. Weise,
Commissioner of Customs.

    Approved: August 12, 1994.
John P. Simpson,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
[FR Doc. 94-22415 Filed 9-9-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4820-02-P