Posted on by Local 2366

Guidance on AUO Usage for Border Patrol agents

In an effort to clarify recent guidance regarding the appropriate use of Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime (AUO), Local 2366 has composed this brief to serve as a tool to help the employees understand the AUO system.

For those interested in investigating AUO more thoroughly, the portion of law that establishes AUO is Title 5 USC, Section 5545 (c)(2). Additionally, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has further regulated and defined AUO in 5 CFR 550.151-550.16.

After reviewing these laws and regulations it can be determined that AUO is:

  1. Irregular (For example: 1 hour one day, 2.5 the following day, .25 the next, etc)
  2. Uncontrollable (Cannot be scheduled a week or more ahead of time.)
  3. Frequent (Consisting of at least three hours per work week and a continual requirement, averaging more than once a week.)
  4. Exclusive from regular, scheduled overtime (45 Act Overtime. Overtime is always either scheduled overtime or AUO, but under no circumstance are the two interchangeable.)
  5. Determined by the employee whether the work to be done merits his or her remaining on duty, without supervisory approval.
  6. Paid at the minimum rate of 10 percent, but not more than 25 percent, of an employee’s base pay (Rates are: 3-5 hours per week for 10%, +5-7 hours per week for 15%, +7-9 hours per week for 20%, and +9 hours per week for 25%)
  7. Eligible for work that, if not conducted by the employee, would “constitute negligence.”
  8. Not call-back overtime.
  9. Allocated for work that cannot be administratively controlled (Work that cannot be done the following day, or by an employee in a non-overtime status.)

In addition to the points enumerated above, there are a couple additional conclusions that can be drawn regarding AUO:

  1. AUO work/pay is not guaranteed to any employee. Rather, it is a byproduct of the work environment in which the employee operates. An AUO eligible employee may never work AUO if the criteria laid out above are not met.
  2. AUO work/pay stems from the previously-cited law and regulations, therefore the AUO pay system cannot be suspended, abandoned, or reconfigured without Congressional action. No one in Del Rio Sector or the Office of Border Patrol has the power to alter the AUO pay system.