US border patrol labor group pushes for streamlined overtime system

Because of continuing problems with the U.S. Border Patrol's employee tracking of a form of overtime, the leader of the organization's union is asking for changes that would amount to a reduction in pay for most officers.

The unwieldy use of administratively uncontrollable overtime, also known as AUO, by border patrol agents led to the request, according to The Washington Post. AUO is supposed to be used for agents in the field working unpredictable hours but has become a standard way for all border patrol employees, even those working in offices, to boost their paychecks.

After federal investigators realized the scope of the issue, the National Border Patrol Council understood it needed to make a change.

"Frankly, I am asking you for a pay cut," Brandon Judd, the union's president, told a subgroup of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. "I am coming to you and I am telling you, agents are willing to take a pay cut."

A new overtime plan, presented in legislation that has bilateral support in Congress, allows for overtime in a more structured form. The proposal lets workers to choose a level of overtime but stops the extremely frequent use of AUO that has the border patrol under scrutiny.


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