§ 7456A. Nurses: alternate work schedules
(b)
36/40 Work Schedule.—
(1)
(A)
Subject to paragraph (2), if the Secretary determines it to be necessary in order to obtain or retain the services of registered nurses at any Department health-care facility, the Secretary may provide, in the case of nurses employed at such facility, that such nurses who work three regularly scheduled 12-hour tours of duty within a work week shall be considered for all purposes to have worked a full 40-hour basic work week.
(2)
(A)
Basic and additional pay for a nurse who is considered under paragraph (1) to have worked a full 40-hour basic work week shall be subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C).
(B)
The hourly rate of basic pay for a nurse covered by this paragraph for service performed as part of a regularly scheduled 36-hour tour of duty within the work week shall be derived by dividing the nurse’s annual rate of basic pay by 1,872.
(C)
The Secretary shall pay overtime pay to a nurse covered by this paragraph who—
(i)
performs a period of service in excess of such nurse’s regularly scheduled 36-hour tour of duty within an administrative work week;
(ii)
for officially ordered or approved service, performs a period of service in excess of 8 hours on a day other than a day on which such nurse’s regularly scheduled 12-hour tour of duty falls;
(D)
The Secretary may provide a nurse to whom this subsection applies with additional pay under section
7453 of this title for any period included in a regularly scheduled 12-hour tour of duty.
(c)
Holiday Pay.—
A nurse working a work schedule under subsection (b) that includes a holiday designated by law or Executive order shall be eligible for holiday pay under section
7453
(d) of this title for any service performed by the nurse on such holiday under such section.
(d)
9-Month Work Schedule for Certain Nurses.—
(1)
The Secretary may authorize a registered nurse appointed under section
7405 of this title, with the nurse’s written consent, to work full time for nine months with 3 months off duty, within a fiscal year, and be paid at 75 percent of the full-time rate for such nurse’s grade for each pay period of such fiscal year.
(2)
A nurse who works under the authority in paragraph (1) shall be considered a 0.75 full-time equivalent employee in computing full-time equivalent employees for the purposes of determining compliance with personnel ceilings.
(3)
Work under this subsection shall be considered part-time service for purposes of computing benefits under chapters 83 and 84 of title
5.
(e)
Notification of Modification of Benefits.—
The Secretary shall provide each employee with respect to whom an alternate work schedule under this section may apply written notice of the effect, if any, that the alternate work schedule will have on the employee’s health care premium, retirement, life insurance premium, probationary status, or other benefit or condition of employment. The notice shall be provided not later than 14 days before the employee consents to the alternate work schedule.