House bill would cut premium pay for some Customs employees

A provision in a House border security bill would cut premium pay for Customs Service officers who work certain night shifts, according to a federal employee union. The House Ways and Means Committee last week approved the Customs Border Security Act of 2001 (H.R. 3129), which contains a provision that limits night differential pay, a type of premium pay, for Customs officers to hours worked between 5 p.m. and 6 a.m. The provision would also only allow Customs officers to earn premium pay for the hours they actually worked during their designated shifts. Rep. Philip M. Crane, R-Ill., sponsored H.R. 3129. "This is the wrong message to send at any time to those who are putting their lives on the line every day in defense of our nation," said Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). "It is particularly wrong now in light of the continuing battle against terrorism and with the nation relying heavily on the work of dedicated professionals of the Customs Service." Premium pay includes overtime, Sunday pay, holiday pay, night differentials, hazardous duty pay and standby duty pay. Currently, under Title 19, Section 267 of the U.S. Code, Customs officers who work the night shift can receive premium pay of 15 or 20 percent of their base salary for part of their shift if the majority of their work hours falls anywhere between 3 p.m. and 8 a.m. Employees who work the 7:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. receive premium pay for the entire shift. The Customs bill, which would also authorize about $5 billion for the agency over the next two fiscal years, increases night pay for agency officers who work certain shifts, but restricts eligibility for the pay to hours between 5 p.m. and 6 a.m. Employees would be paid premium pay for any hours worked between 5 p.m. and 6 a.m. Employees who work the 4 p.m. to midnight shift and the midnight to 8 a.m. shift be paid at the premium rate of 25 percent of their base pay for the entire shift under the bill. Customs officers who work certain shifts, including the noon to 8 p.m. or 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. shifts, would lose money under the bill's provision, since the majority of their work hours fall between 3 p.m. and midnight. For example, a Customs officer who earns a base salary of $37,000 and works the 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. shift currently makes $106.74 a week in night pay, which is a little more than $5,500 annually. Most of that officer's work hours fall between 3 p.m. and midnight, enabling the officer to collect the 15 percent premium. But under the provision in Crane's bill, night pay for that shift would be reduced to $65 per week, or about $2,200 less per year than the current rate because premium pay would not kick in until 5 p.m., instead of 3 p.m., under the current system. However, the officer would get premium pay at 18 percent of his or her base salary for the last four hours of the shift, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Other employees working different shifts would benefit from H.R. 3129. Employees who work shifts between midnight to 8 a.m. or 4 a.m. to 12 p.m., for example, would take home more night pay under Crane's bill than they normally do. "Some shifts do better, and some do worse," said Paul Giuliano, a legislative liaison at NTEU. Giuliano said that the 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. work shifts for Customs officers are very common, particularly at major airports across the country. "We are asking these folks to work the same amount of time, and take a pay cut," Giuliano said. "Most are already working at least 12 hours a day right now." In addition to airports, Customs officers are also stationed on the southwest and northern borders, Giuliano said. Giuliano conceded that some Customs officers, depending on their shifts, could make more money under the bill's provision, but that the pay would come at the expense of working more hours. "They could make more money, but they would have to work a lot more hours," he said. "People are already stretched to the max." The legislation also eliminates a current policy, common in federal law enforcement pay systems, that allows Customs to pay officers premium pay when they are on sick, annual or other leave during their regularly scheduled night differential work. Under H.R. 3129, Customs officers would only be paid at premium rates for the hours they actually worked during their designated shifts. Giving officers night pay during their leave serves as an incentive for employees whose annual schedules are determined in advance, according to Giuliano. In other words, if employees want to take annual leave during their scheduled work hours, they don't have to miss out on premium pay. The House could take up H.R. 3129 as early as next week, Giuliano said.