§ 101-6.405 - Additional guidance.

(a) House of Representatives Report No. 99-451 99th Cong., 1st Sess. (1985) clearly indicates the intent of Congress to eliminate abuse of home-to-work transportation. The report notes, on p. 7, that:

The report also states in the same section that the legislation is intended to allow home-to-work transportation for medical officers on outpatient service. The guidelines contained in the report, as well as the Congressional Record (daily ed. October 10, 1986, pp. S 15865-15868), should provide an adequate basis for an agency to determine which of its employees may be authorized home-to-work transportation.

(b) Additional examples of employees who may perform field work include, but are not limited to, quality assurance inspectors, construction inspectors, customs inspectors, dairy inspectors, revenue officers, compliance investigators, and personnel background investigators. The assignment of an employee to such a position does not, of itself, entitle an employee to receive daily home-to-work transportation. When authorized, such transportation should be provided only on days when the employee actually performs field work, and then only to the extent that such transportation will substantially increase the efficiency and economy of the Government.

(c) Instances may occur when an employee, by the nature of his/her job, is designated as being authorized home-to-work transportation under the field work provision. However, circumstances may require that field work only be performed on an intermittent basis. In those instances, the agency shall establish procedures to ensure that a Government passenger carrier is used only when field work is actually being performed.

(d) In making field work determinations under § 101-6.403(b), an agency head may elect to designate positions rather than individual names, especially in positions where rapid turnover occurs. The determination should contain sufficient information, such as the job title, number, and operational level where the work is to be performed (i.e., five recruiter personnel or positions at the Detroit Army Recruiting Battalion) to satisfy an audit, if necessary.

(e) Situations may arise where it is more cost-effective for the Government to provide an employee a vehicle for home-to-work transportation rather than have the employee travel a long distance to pick up a vehicle and then drive back toward or beyond his/her residence to perform his/her job. In those situations agencies should consider basing the vehicle at a Government facility located near the employee's job site. If such a solution is not feasible, an agency must then decide if the use of the vehicle should be approved under the compelling operational considerations definition. Home-to-work transportation in such cases may be approved only if other available alternatives would involve substantial cost to the Government or expenditure of substantial employee time.