(a) The head of an agency determines which expenses constitute necessary training expenses under section 4109 of title 5, United States Code.

(b) An agency may pay, or reimburse an employee, for necessary expenses incurred in connection with approved training as provided in section 4109(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code. Necessary training expenses do not include an employee's pay or other compensation.

(a) Prohibitions. Except as provided by paragraph (b) of this section, an agency may not use its funds, appropriated or otherwise available, to pay premium pay to an employee engaged in training by, in, or through Government or non-government facilities.

(b) Exceptions. The following are excepted form the provision in paragraph (a) of this section prohibiting the payment of premium pay:

(1) Continuation of premium pay. An employee given training during a period of duty for which he or she is already receiving premium pay for overtime, night, holiday, or Sunday work shall continue to receive that premium pay. This exception does not apply to an employee assigned to full-time training at institutions of higher learning.

(2) Training at night. An employee given training at night because situations that he or she must learn to handle occur only at night shall be paid by the applicable premium pay.

(3) Cost savings. An employee given training on overtime, on a holiday, or on a Sunday because the costs of the training, premium pay included, are less than the costs of the same training confined to regular work hours shall be paid the applicable premium pay.

(4) Availability pay. An agency shall continue to pay availability pay during agency-sanctioned training to a criminal investigator who is eligible for it under 5 U.S.C. 5545a and implementing regulations. Agencies may, at their discretion, provide availability pay to investigators during periods of initial, basic training. (See 5 CFR 550.185 (b) and (c).)

(5) Standby and administratively uncontrollable duty. An agency may continue to pay annual premium pay for regularly scheduled standby duty or administratively uncontrollable overtime work, during periods of temporary assignment for training as provided by 5 CFR 550.162(c).

(6) Firefighter overtime pay. (i) A firefighter compensated under part 550, subpart M, of this chapter shall receive basic pay and overtime pay for the firefighter's regular tour of duty (as defined in § 550.1302 of this chapter) in any week in which attendance at agency-sanctioned training reduces the hours in the firefighter's regular tour of duty.

(ii) The special pay protection provided by paragraph (b)(6)(i) of this section does not apply to firefighters who voluntarily participate in training during non-duty hours, leave hours, or periods of excused absence. It also does not apply if the firefighter is entitled to a greater amount of pay based on actual work hours during the week in which training occurs.

(7) Agency exemption. An employee given training during a period not otherwise covered by a provision of this paragraph may be paid premium pay when the employing agency has been granted an exception to paragraph (a) of this section by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

(8) Border Patrol agent overtime supplement. A Border Patrol agent may receive an overtime supplement under 5 U.S.C. 5550 and 5 CFR part 550, subpart P, during training, subject to the limitation in 5 U.S.C. 5550(b)(2)(G) and (b)(3)(G) and 5 CFR 550.1622(b).

(c) An employee who is excepted under paragraph (b) of this section is eligible to receive premium pay in accordance with the applicable pay authorities.

(d) Regulations governing overtime pay for employees covered by Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) during training, education, lectures, or conferences are found in § 551.423 of this chapter. The prohibitions on paying premium pay found in paragraph (a) of this section are not applicable for the purpose of paying FLSA overtime pay.

(e) Compensation for time spent traveling to and from training. (1) Compensation provisions are contained in 5 CFR 550.112(g) for time spent traveling for employees subject to title 5 of the United States Code.

(2) Compensation provisions are contained in 5 CFR 551.422 for time spent traveling for employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act. (See also 29 CFR 785.33 through § 785.41.)

Section 4109(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, provides that an agency may pay, or reimburse an employee for, all or a part of the necessary expenses of training, including the necessary costs of travel; per diem expenses; or limited relocation expenses including transportation of the immediate family, household goods and personal effects:

(a) If an agency chooses to pay per diem, or in unusual circumstances the actual subsistence, expenses for an employee on a temporary duty training assignment, payment must be in accordance with 41 CFR part 301-7 or 41 CFR part 301-8 (or, for commissioned officers of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in accordance with sections 404 and 405 of title 37, United States Code, and the Joint Federal travel Regulations for the Uniformed Services).

(b) An agency may pay a reduced per diem rate, such as a standardized payment less than the maximum per diem rate for a geographical area. If a reduced or standardized per diem rate was not authorized in advance of the travel and the fees paid to a training institution include lodging or meal costs, an appropriate deduction shall be made from the total per diem rate payable on the travel voucher (see 41 CFR 301-7.12).

(c) An agency may pay limited relocation expenses for the transportation of the employee's immediate family, household goods and personal effects, including packing, crating, temporarily storing, draying, and unpacking the household goods in accordance with section 5724 of title 5, United States Code (or, for commissioned officers of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in accordance with sections 406 and 409 of title 37, United States Code, and the Joint federal travel Regulations for the uniformed Services). Limited relocation expenses are payable only when the estimated costs of transportation and related services are less than the estimated aggregate per diem or actual subsistence expense payments for the period of training. An employee selected for temporary duty training may receive travel and per diem (or actual subsistence expenses) for the period of the assignment or payment of limited relocation expenses, but not both.

Agencies may sponsor an employee's attendance at a conference as a developmental assignment under section 4110 of title 5, United States Code, when—

(a) The announced purpose of the conference is educational or instructional;

(b) More than half of the time is scheduled for a planned, organized exchange of information between presenters and audience which meets the definition of training in section 4101 of title 5, United States Code;

(c) The content of the conference is germane to improving individual and/or organizational performance, and

(d) Development benefits will be derived through the employee's attendance.

The head of an agency shall establish such procedures as he or she considers necessary to protect the Government's interest when employees fail to complete, or to successfully complete, training for which the agency pays the expenses.