Subject: <st1:country-region>United States</st1:country-region> Capitol Police--Overtime Pay and Compensatory Leave for Employees Whose Salaries Are Fixed By Statute, B-305835, July 19, 2005

B-305835 Jul 19, 2005 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights On July 7, 2005, the United States Capitol Police Board requested our opinion on the authority of the United States Capitol Police (USCP) to provide overtime pay and compensatory and annual leave to its members and civilian employees. The Board expressed particular concern with the application of section 1009 of Public Law 108-7 to members of the USCP at the rank of lieutenant and above. Because of these concerns and concerns independently brought to our attention by the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, we expedited development of our opinion. Accordingly, this letter responds in part to the request by addressing the USCP's authority to provide overtime pay and compensatory leave to its three officials whose salaries are set by statute: the Chief of Police, the Assistant Chief of Police, and the Chief Administrative Officer. View Decision B-305835, United States Capitol Police--Overtime Pay and Compensatory Leave for Employees Whose Salaries Are Fixed By Statute, July 19, 2005 B-305835 July 19, 2005 William H. Pickle Chairman Wilson Livingood Member Alan M. Hantman Member United States Capitol Police Board Washington, DC 20510 Subject: United States Capitol Police--Overtime Pay and Compensatory Leave for Employees Whose Salaries Are Fixed By Statute On July 7, 2005, you requested our opinion on the authority of the United States Capitol Police (USCP) to provide overtime pay and compensatory and annual leave to its members and civilian employees. You expressed particular concern with the application of section 1009 of Public Law 108-7 to members of the USCP at the rank of lieutenant and above. Because of these concerns and concerns independently brought to our attention by the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, we expedited development of our opinion. Accordingly, this letter responds in part to your request by addressing the USCP's authority to provide overtime pay and compensatory leave to its three officials whose salaries are set by statute: the Chief of Police, the Assistant Chief of Police, and the Chief Administrative Officer. [1] In preparing this opinion, we met with the USCP Chief, Assistant Chief, and Chief Administrative Officer and had separate discussions with the USCP General Counsel to gather information and to obtain their views on this issue. [2] The USCP General Counsel is also counsel to the USCP Board, and asked the Board to request this opinion. The Chief, Assistant Chief, and the Chief Administrative Officer had been earning compensatory leave, but not overtime pay, until June 15, 2005, when the USCP Board issued a directive that precluded them from earning compensatory time. [3] USCP Chief Terrance Gainer advised us that he maintained the overtime pay and compensatory leave policies that were in effect when he was sworn in as Chief in June 2002, which allowed all employees to collect overtime pay and/or compensatory leave routinely, as a result of clocking in and clocking out their daily hours. However, he stated that he expressed his concerns to some members of the USCP Board about the appropriateness of this system for salaried employees, as well as concerns regarding the high compensatory leave balances of certain USCP employees. [4] These large balances were primarily the result of the unusual emergency circumstances that occurred in the last several years, including the September 11 attacks and the anthrax and ricin incidents. He noted that in response to the USCP Board directive, he ordered his own compensatory leave balance and that of the Chief Administrative Officer eliminated. With regard to the Assistant Chief, he eliminated the compensatory leave earned while he was Assistant Chief, but not the leave earned while he was serving in other USCP positions. As we explain below, neither the USCP Chief nor the Assistant Chief is eligible for overtime compensation or compensatory time, since their annual rates of pay exceed the statutory cap on eligibility for overtime. The USCP Chief Administrative Officer is not eligible for overtime pay, but could be eligible for compensatory leave upon a determination of special circumstances by the Chief or his designee. The Chief of Police and the Assistant Chief As noted above, the salaries of the Chief and the Assistant Chief, who are both officers of the Capitol Police, are set by statute. The annual rate of pay of the Chief is equal to1,000 less than the lower of the annual rate of pay of the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives or the Sergeant-at-Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate. 2 U.S.C. Section 1902. The annual rate of pay of the Assistant Chief is $1,000 less than the annual rate of pay of the Chief. Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003, Pub. L. No. 108-7, div. H, tit. I, Section 1013(b) (Feb. 20, 2003) (Consolidated Appropriations Resolution).