TABLE OF CONTENTS
Topics | Sections |
10.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? 10.2 What is the scope of this chapter? 10.3 What is the overall policy? 10.4 What are the authorities for this chapter? 10.5 What terms do you need to know to understand this chapter? | |
10.6 What are the responsibilities related to personal emergency, illness, injury, or death during official TDY travel? | |
10.7 What expenses does the Service cover if a member of an employee’s immediate family dies or contracts a serious illness during TDY travel? 10.8 What expenses does the Service cover if a disaster directly impacts or is expected to impact an employee’s home during TDY travel? | |
10.9 When does the Service cover expenses if an employee becomes incapacitated by a serious or life-threatening illness or injury during TDY travel? 10.10 What expenses does the Service cover if an employee becomes incapacitated by a serious or life-threatening illness or injury during TDY travel? 10.11 May the Service approve a family member or medical attendant to accompany an employee when incapacitated by a serious or life-threatening illness or injury during TDY travel? | |
10.12 What expenses does the Service cover if an employee dies while on official TDY travel? 10.13 Will the Service pay to relocate the family of a deceased employee from an OCONUS or foreign duty station? |
OVERVIEW
10.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? This chapter provides policy and procedures for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) employees about travel-related expenses when an official Temporary Duty Travel (TDY) assignment is interrupted due to personal emergency, illness, injury, or death.
10.2 What is the scope of this chapter?
A. This chapter covers employee travel-related expenses when official TDY travel is interrupted due to personal emergency, illness, injury, or death.
B. For the purposes of this chapter, we define employee as:
(1) Individuals employed by the Service, regardless of status or grade;
(2) Individuals employed intermittently by the Service as experts or consultants and paid for the days they are actually employed; and
(3) Individuals serving without pay (i.e., volunteers) or at $1 per year.
C. This chapter does not cover:
(1) Permanent Change of Station (PCS) travel (see 266 FW 1),
(2) Temporary Change of Station (TCS) travel (see Federal Travel Regulation (FTR), 41 CFR Part 302, Subpart E),
(3) Local travel in and around a permanent duty station (see 265 FW 12), and
(4) Non-employee travel and travel arranger responsibilities (see 265 FW 8).
10.3 What is the overall policy?
A. If an employee dies while in TDY travel status, we ensure the appropriate next of kin or legal representative receives reimbursement for travel and other related costs (see section 10.12 and 41 CFR 303-70).
B. We reimburse employees for travel-related costs when the employee's TDY trip is interrupted due to any of the following situations:
(1) A personal emergency, which is the death or serious illness of a member of the employee's immediate family, or a catastrophic occurrence or impending disaster that directly affects their home.
(2) A sudden incapacitating illness or injury not due to the employee's misconduct that renders the employee incapable of continuing the travel assignment, either temporarily or permanently.
C. The policies in 265 FW 5 and 265 FW 6 explain how to book transportation and calculate lodging and Meals and Incidental Expenses (M&IE) under the lodgings-plus method. This chapter supplements, rather than substitutes for, 265 FW 5 and 265 FW 6.
10.4 What are the authorities for this chapter? See 265 FW 1 for a list of the authorities for all the chapters in Part 265.
10.5 What terms do you need to know to understand this chapter?
A. Approving officials are supervisors, Directorate members (i.e., Regional Directors; Assistant Directors; Director, National Conservation Training Center (NCTC); Chief, National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS)), and other officials who approve travel-related transactions (e.g., authorizations and vouchers).
B. CONUS is the acronym for the 48 contiguous states in the United States (i.e., all the states except Alaska and Hawaii).
C. Electronic travel system is an automated, web-based process that Service employees and approving officials use to plan, document, manage, and monitor TDY travel (see 265 FW 2). ConcurGov is the Service’s current electronic travel system.
D. Immediate family are members of an employee’s household, including spouse, domestic partner, children of the employee or the employee’s spouse/domestic partner, dependent parents, and dependent siblings. Approving officials may expand this definition when authorizing emergency travel on a case-by-case basis.
E. OCONUS is the acronym for outside the contiguous United States.
F. Per diem is the sum of the daily allowable costs associated with lodging and M&IE.
G. Permanent duty station, for the purposes of travel, means the street address to which the traveler most commonly reports (i.e., the majority of the time). Some duty stations cover a large contiguous area of more than 50 miles, which Service employees must regularly maintain or patrol. For such duty stations, traveling from one area to another, regardless of distance, is part of the employee’s regular duty and is not considered TDY travel.
H. Travel arranger is a staff member who books, documents, and adjusts travel reservations on behalf of others, including invitational travelers. The staff member could be a Service employee or contractor.
I. Travel authorization is the form the Service uses to approve official TDY travel and travel-related expenses. These forms are created and approved in the electronic travel system. All travelers must receive written authorization from their approving official before traveling, except in emergencies.
J. Travel Management Center (TMC) (i.e., Duluth Travel, Inc. and El Sol Travel, Inc.) is responsible for assisting travelers with booking and adjusting travel itineraries. The TMC charges higher fees to assist with booking travel and adjusting reservations than those associated with self-service booking through ConcurGov.
K. Travel voucher is the form the Service uses to approve travelers for reimbursement of travel-related expenses. These forms are created and approved in the electronic travel system.
RESPONSIBILITIES
10.6 What are the responsibilities related to personal emergency, illness, injury, or death during official TDY travel? See Table 10-1.
Table 10-1: Responsibilities for TDY Personal Emergency, Illness, Injury, or Death
These employees… | Are responsible for… |
A. The Director | Approving or declining to approve Servicewide policy. |
B. Joint Administrative Operations (JAO), Administrative Operations Center (AOC), Financial Operations Division Chief | Providing employees with guidance on the FTR and Department of the Interior (Department) and Service travel policies. |
C. JAO AOC Travel and Charge Card Operations Branch Chief | Providing employees with guidance on the FTR and Departmental and Service travel policies. |
D. JAO AOC Travel Team (i.e., Federal Agency Travel Administrators (FATA), Audit team, Help Desk team) | (1) Providing employees with guidance on the FTR and Departmental and Service travel policies, (2) Canceling reservations if an employee dies while on TDY assignment and arranging for the return of a rental car as necessary, and (3) Completing any required actions in the electronic travel system on behalf of a deceased employee. |
E. Approving officials | (1) Considering the following factors when authorizing emergency travel: (a) Extent of the emergency, (b) Relationship between the employee and person involved in the emergency (when it involves another person), and (c) Amount of responsibility the employee has for the person involved in the emergency (when it involves another person). (2) Determining the most appropriate course of action during an emergency, such as: (a) Employee suspending official duty and remaining at the TDY location for the duration of the interruption, (b) Employee returning to their permanent duty station, (c) Employee traveling to an alternate location to receive medical care, or (d) Member of the employee’s family or a medical attendant traveling to the employee’s TDY location (only for life-threatening illness or injuries). (3) Notifying the next of kin or legal representative of an employee’s death (see 054 FW 1, the Line of Duty Death Response Handbook, and 240 FW 7) and coordinating payment of allowable expenses. |
F. Employees | (1) Notifying their approving official as soon as possible of the need to interrupt or discontinue TDY travel because of an emergency, (2) Obtaining approval prior (when possible) to incurring costs associated with emergency deviations, (3) Taking leave for the duration of the interruption to TDY travel, (4) Contacting the TMC to adjust travel reservations, and (5) Ensuring their travel authorization is updated after the emergency concludes. |
G. Travel arrangers | Assisting family members or medical attendants with travel arrangements. |
EMERGENCIES
10.7 What expenses does the Service cover if a member of an employee’s immediate family dies or contracts a serious illness during TDY travel? The Service will cover:
A. Reimbursement of transportation costs and change fees up to the cost associated with return travel to the permanent duty station. If an employee travels to an alternate location, we limit reimbursement to the cost of returning to their permanent duty station (see 265 FW 5), and
B. En route per diem expenses (see 265 FW 6).
10.8 What expenses does the Service cover if a disaster directly impacts or is expected to impact an employee’s home during TDY travel? The Service will cover:
A. Reimbursement of transportation costs and change fees up to return to their permanent duty station (see 265 FW 5), and
B. En route per diem expenses (see 265 FW 6).
ILLNESS OR INJURY
10.9 When does the Service cover expenses if an employee becomes incapacitated by a serious or life-threatening illness or injury during TDY travel? The Service will cover costs associated with any of the following scenarios:
A. Employee returning to their permanent duty station,
B. Employee traveling to an alternate location for medical treatment, or
C. Employee remaining at the TDY location and suspending official duty for the duration of the illness/injury.
10.10 What expenses does the Service cover if an employee becomes incapacitated by a serious or life-threatening illness or injury during TDY travel? The approving official may approve reimbursement for:
A. Transportation costs, change fees, and en route per diem of an employee:
(1) Returning to their permanent duty station,
(2) Traveling to an alternate location to receive medical treatment, and
(3) Traveling (e.g., taxi fare, fuel for rental car) to or from medical facilities around the TDY location, but excluding emergency transportation;
B. Per diem expenses (i.e., lodging, M&IE) at the TDY location where the illness or injury occurred for up to 14 calendar days while the employee is on sick leave; and
C. Dual lodging expenses if an employee travels to an alternate location for medical treatment and the employee is unable to adjust existing lodging reservations.
10.11 May the Service approve a family member or medical attendant to accompany an employee when incapacitated by a serious or life-threatening illness or injury during TDY travel? The Service may cover, subject to the approving official’s authorization, the transportation costs of one family member or medical attendant as an invitational traveler (see 265 FW 8) to accompany the employee from the TDY location. Family members or medical attendants are not eligible for per diem reimbursement. A competent medical authority must confirm that this course is warranted.
DEATH
10.12 What expenses does the Service cover if an employee dies while on official TDY travel? Exhibit 1 is a handout that the Service representative may give to the employee’s next of kin or legal representative. The handout may be helpful to the employee’s family members or legal representatives. The Service will cover:
A. All costs associated with the TDY trip;
B. Preparing and transporting the remains of the deceased (see 41 CFR 303-70.100), including:
(1) Preparation of remains, including:
(a) Embalming or cremation,
(b) Necessary clothing,
(c) A casket or container suitable for shipment to place of interment, and
(d) Expenses necessary to comply with local laws at the port of entry in the United States; and
(2) Transportation of remains by common carrier, hearse, other means, or a combination of these, from the TDY location, OCONUS location, or CONUS location, to the employee’s residence, permanent duty station, or place of interment, including:
(a) Movement from place of death to a mortuary or cemetery;
(b) Shipping permits;
(c) Outside case for shipment and sealing of the case if necessary;
(d) Removal to and from the common carrier; and
(e) Ferry fares, bridge tolls, and similar charges;
C. Transportation, lodging, and M&IE for up to two people to accompany the remains (see 41 CFR 303-70.200);
D. Shipping costs to return baggage and other personal items to the employee’s permanent duty station or residence (see 41 CFR 303-70.400); and
E. Costs associated with returning a Privately Owned Vehicle (POV) from the TDY location to the employee’s permanent duty station or residence when the employee was authorized to travel by POV (see 41 CFR 303-70.402).
10.13 Will the Service pay to relocate the family of a deceased employee from an OCONUS or foreign duty station? Yes, when an employee, on a service agreement or a mandatory mobility agreement, dies at or while in transit to their OCONUS or foreign official duty station, we will return the employee’s immediate family, baggage, POV, and household goods within 1 year to:
A. The place of the employee’s former residence at the time of assignment to the OCONUS or foreign duty station,
B. New CONUS location if in transit, or
C. Alternate destination as approved by the Service (see 41 CFR 303-70.500).