(a) General. Under 5 U.S.C. 6329a(b), during any calendar year, an agency may place an employee on administrative leave for no more than 10 workdays. In this context, the term “place” refers to a management-initiated action to put an employee in administrative leave status, with or without the employee's consent, for the purpose of conducting an investigation (as defined in § 630.1502). The 10-workday annual limit does not apply to administrative leave for other purposes. After an employee has been placed on administrative leave in connection with such an investigation for 10 workdays, the agency may place the employee on investigative leave under subpart O of this part, if necessary (see 5 U.S.C. 6329b(b)(3)(A) and § 630.1504(a)(1)). This calendar year limitation applies separately to each agency that may employ an employee during the year. Use by different agencies is not aggregated.

(b) Conversion to a limitation on hours. This 10-workday calendar year limitation is converted to an aggregate limit on hours, taking into account the different workdays that can apply to employees under different work schedules, as follows:

(1) For a full-time employee (including an employee on a regular 40-hour basic workweek or a flexible or compressed work schedule under 5 U.S.C. chapter 61, subchapter II, but excluding an employee on an uncommon tour of duty), the calendar year limitation is 80 hours;

(2) For a full-time employee with an uncommon tour of duty under § 630.210, the calendar year limitation is equal to the number of hours in the biweekly uncommon tour of duty (or the average biweekly hours for uncommon tours for which the biweekly hours vary over an established cycle);

(3) For a part-time employee, the calendar year limit is prorated based on the number of hours in the officially scheduled part-time tour of duty established for purposes of charging leave when absent (e.g., for a part-time employee who has an officially scheduled half-time tour of 40 hours in a biweekly pay period, the calendar year limitation is 40 hours, which is half of the 80-hour limitation for full-time employees);

(4) For an employee who has more than one type of work schedule in effect during different parts of a calendar year, the calendar year limit on hours of administrative leave must be applied by—

(i) Converting hours of administrative leave used under a part-time schedule by multiplying such hours by the ratio of 80 divided by the number of hours in the officially scheduled biweekly part-time tour of duty established for purposes of charging leave when absent;

(ii) Converting hours of administrative leave used under a biweekly uncommon tour of duty under § 630.210 (or the average biweekly hours for uncommon tours for which the biweekly hours vary over an established cycle) by multiplying such hours by the ratio of 80 divided by the number of hours in the uncommon tour of duty;

(iii) Summing the hours of administrative leave used for each period of time under a different type of work schedule, using actual hours for full-time tours and converted hours for part-time and uncommon tours, as determined under paragraphs (b)(4)(i) and (ii) of this section; and

(iv) Applying the sum derived under paragraph (b)(4)(iii) of this section against an 80-hour standard for purposes of the 10-workday limit.