Reporting Official Time for Labor and Management Relations

Section 7131, 5 USC 71, defines and authorizes official time for unions representing Federal employees. Official time, broadly defined, is paid time off from assigned Government duties to represent a union or its bargaining unit employees.

Labor and management are equally accountable to the taxpayer and have a shared responsibility to ensure that official time is authorized and used appropriately. To achieve greater accountability in this area, agencies were asked in 2002 to report official time usage to OPM on an annual basis.

• Memorandum to Agency and Department Heads - December 8, 2004
• Guidance for Reporting Official Time: Fiscal Year 2004
• Official Time Usage in the Federal Government, Fiscal Year 2003
• Summary Report: Official Time for Representational Activities Fiscal Year 2002