• Frequently Asked Questions

  COVID-19 Hazardous Duty Pay

  
  

  What types of COVID-19 duties qualify for Hazardous Duty Pay (HDP)?

  The USPHS Commissioned Corps will pay HDP to an officer who is assigned, by lawful orders, for a period of 30 consecutive calendar days or more (after 12 May 2021 and not including travel or leave days) to primary duties related to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic that involves one or more of the following:

  • Laboratory work that utilizes live dangerous viruses including COVID-19 that requires the officer to participate in or conduct applied or basic research that is characterized by a changing variety of techniques, procedures, equipment, and experiments; and to work with micro-organisms that cause diseases in humans.
  • A deployment response where the officer:
    1. Performs pre-deployment site surveys and unit manning position job hazard analysis;
    2. Performs real-time site inspections to ensure the safety, welfare, and accountability of incident personnel; or
    3. Identifies and corrects potentially hazardous situations during all stages of a response operation.
  • Risk of exposure to COVID-19 as a part of their regularly assigned duties (whether at their regularly assigned duty station or on deployment) while providing clinical care for COVID-19 infected or possibly infected patients or working at community-based testing sites or quarantine sites.
  • Officers are eligible for HDP when they are continuously at risk for injury or illness as first responders; encounter unrecognized safety issues; or must continue to identify, investigate, and correct hazardous events that places their own safety at risk.

  These provisions would authorize HDP for officers providing vaccinations (either directly injecting shots or others exposed to patients during triage) since those injecting the vaccine cannot maintain the recommended social distance from others and many vaccine sites do not test patients for COVID- 19 before the PHS officer vaccinates them. There are silent COVID-19 carriers, so officers are at risk.

  Is HDP only for officers who went on deployment?

  No. If an officer’s primary assigned duties (for at least 30 days after 12 May 2021) involve at least one of the above criteria, the officer is eligible for HDP.

  While I did not administer the vaccine or provide clinical care, I worked in an environment where people could have been infected. Do I qualify for HDP?

  It depends. You must meet at least one of the criteria listed above to qualify for HDP.

  I went on deployment to fight COVID-19 or my primary assigned duties were related to the response to COVID-19. What is the process for claiming my HDP?

  If your deployment’s primary duties are related to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and you meet the criteria specified above, you should write a validation memo (see appendix) explaining how you qualify for at least one of the risk factors stated above and have it signed by your deployment commander as part of your demobilization from deployment. Send this with the deployment order to your liaison who will attest to the completeness of the documents and send the packet to Financial Services Branch (FSB) for payment.

  If your agency regular duties or temporary duty assignment (TDY) are related to the response to the COVID-19 and you meet the criteria specified above, you should write a validation memo and have it signed by your site supervisor. Then send this memo with the personnel order or TDY memo assigning you to the hazardous duties to your liaison who will attest to the completeness of the documents and send the packet to FSB for payment. If your hazardous duties continue, you must work with your liaison to renew your application every 90 days.

  If you sent the orders and validation memo and did not receive HDP within 90 days, please check with your liaison to inquire about the status of your HDP.

  What are the packet requirements?

  The packet for deployment HDP must contain:

  • A copy of the officer’s deployment orders
  • The validation memo signed by the deployment commander.

  The packet for regular duty/TDY must contain:

  • A copy of the officer’s personnel orders for regular duty or TDY memo
  • The validation memo signed by the officer’s site supervisor.

  How can I access my deployment orders to include them in the packet?

  Readiness and Deployment Branch (RDB) is generating past deployment orders to add to officers’ eOPF. These should be complete and available in the ‘Personnel Orders’ section of your eOPF by 30 November 2021.

  I was exposed to COVID-19 risks on deployment (or assigned duties) before 12 May 2021, can I receive HDP?

  Unfortunately, no. The USPHS Commissioned Corps cannot pay HDP retroactively for work before leadership authorized payment of HDP for COVID-19.

  Why is this HDP not retroactive to periods before 12 May 2021?

  Leadership signed the memo authorizing HDP for Public Health Service Officers (PHS) participating in the COVID-19 response on 12 May 2021. The law (37 U.S.C. § 351 (a)(2)) only authorizes HDP starting from that date.

  What will be done so that in future pandemics, PHS officers can qualify for HDP from the start?

  CCHQ is in the process of creating a new policy authorizing the Assistant Secretary for Health to designate additional duties and conditions as hazardous duty. This will enable the USPHS Commissioned Corps to obtain HDP authorization more quickly without requiring the Secretary’s signature.

  If I qualify for HDP, does that mean I also qualify for the Hazardous Duty Award (HDA)?

  Yes. According to CCI 511.01, “Awards Program,” 6-3.b.(3)(d) “An officer who receives hazardous duty pay or imminent danger pay qualifies for the HDA.”

  If I serve on a COVID-19 response for less than 30 days do I get HDP?

  No. An officer must serve at least consecutive 30 days on deployment or in regularly assigned duties that meet the above requirements for COVID-19 risks to receive HDP.

  If I was exposed to COVID-19 risks, but was not on a deployment or regular duties related to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, do I qualify for HDP?

  No, to receive HDP officers must have lawful orders assigning them to primary duties related to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  If I serve for 30 days and then part of a month, do I get paid for those additional days?

  Yes. Officers serving qualifying duties for part of a month (after their 30 consecutive days as defined above) receive prorated HDP based on a 30-day month. When an officer is entitled to HDP for a fractional portion of a month because of entry into or removal from HDP on an intermediate day of a month, a payment of one-thirtieth of the monthly rate will be made for each day of entitlement.

  If I qualify for HDP and then go on a TDY somewhere else, do I still receive HDP?

  Officers who receive HDP will continue to receive HDP while in a TDY status away from the assigned specific duties that place them at risk of exposure to COVID-19 for no more than 29 days; however, the USPHS Commissioned Corps will stop HDP when an officer is assigned away from a qualifying duty for a period in excess of 29 consecutive calendar days. When officers return after a TDY of more than 29 days, they must once again qualify for HDP by reapplying after working an HDP-eligible position for 30 consecutive days (not including travel or leave) before receiving HDP. CCHQ will terminate the HDP for officers reassigned to a new duty assignment or specialty not eligible for HDP on the date of reassignment or reclassification.

  How do I submit for HDP?

  See Sample below, click to zoom.

  
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