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Administrative Manual - 402 Travel

402.02 Travel Procedure

402.02 Travel Procedure

  1. DOMESTIC
    1. Obtain verbal approval from Supervisor for allofficial travel.
    2. Secure funding approval through TA system, except forlocal travel that meets definition in 402.01.
    3. When travel is to a qualifying event (i.e.,conference, symposium, etc.) ascertain whether DOE program and/or fundingoffice conference approval is necessary. Refer to section"C" of this document.
    4. Travel arrangements, through your Division/DepartmentAdministrative Office, or directly with the JSA/JLab subcontractor travelagency (provide your trip number to the travel agent) can be made as longas approval on a conference is not required.
    5. When conference approval is required, travelarrangements must wait for TS confirmation that the conference attendancehas been approved.
    6. Within 10 working days aftercompletion of a domestic trip, complete a Travel Expense Report. If necessary, obtain approvals, and submit it to Travel Services viaemail with paper receipts to follow, or submit signed paper copy ofexpense report with receipts attached.
  1. FOREIGN TRAVEL

Contractor foreign travel shall be conducted pursuant to the requirements contained in

DEAR 952.247-70  Foreign travel. 

As prescribed in 48 CFR 947.7002, insert the following clause:
FOREIGN TRAVEL (DEC 2000)

DOE Order 551.1, Official Foreign Travel, or any subsequent version of the order in effect at the time of award. (End of Clause) [65 FR 81009, Dec. 22, 2000]

    1. Complete steps 402.02.A.1 through 402.02.A.3, above.
    2. At least 45 days before anticipated foreign travel begins, enter a Requestfor Approval of Official Foreign Travel in the DOE Foreign TravelManagement System (FTMS).
      1. Foreign Travel to a qualifying event (conference, meeting, symposium, etc) may require approval prior to receipt of foreign travel approval. See section "C" below.
      2. When personal foreign travel is combined with official foreign travel, the ratio will be 2 business days to 1 personal day.
        1. Each travel day is included as a business day
        2. When authorized, day of rest is considered a business day. See Guidance for the Traveler for this and other information at: http://www.jlab.org/div_dept/cfo/travel/foreign.html
    3. Traveler is responsible for assuring all foreign document requirements are met.
      1. The traveler is responsible for obtaining a passport when he/she:
          1. Does not have a current passport,
          2. Has a passport that will expired in less than six months,
          3. Has a passport that was issued before his/her eighteenth birthday, or
          4. Is applying for an official diplomatic passport.
      2. When required by the hosted country, a visa application must be completed and submitted to the appropriate embassy or consulate in sufficient time to have the visa issued prior to departing the United States.
      3. When travel to one foreign country is 30 days or more in duration the traveler is required to complete the S.A.F.E. (Serving Abroad for Family and Employees) training. To register, follow the directions on the Travel Department website: http://www.jlab.org/div_dept/cfo/travel/foreign.html or contact the Foreign Travel Administrator at ext. 7437.
    4. Passport, visa, work permit, passport photograph,immunization, and foreign exchange fees (when stated separately from theexchange rate) are reimbursable expenses.
    5. When conference approval is required, travelarrangements must wait for TS confirmation that the conference attendancehas been approved.
    6. Travel arrangements, to a non-sensitive country, can be made once the requirements described in A.3-5 have beenmet.  When travel is to a sensitive country, travelarrangements can not be made until TS has notified the traveler and/orTC, as described in #7 below.
    7. When a visa is required to enter a foreign country,travel arrangements can not be made until a copy of the visa has beenreceived and attached to the TA.
    8. Foreign travel must be approved and a countryclearance must be requested and granted before a JLab traveler can beginofficial foreign travel. Traveler will receive an email notification thatfinal approval has been received and country clearance has been grantedfrom the Travel Services office as soon as it is received from theDepartment of State.
    9. Within 20 working days aftercompletion of a foreign trip, complete a Travel Expense Report. If necessary, obtain approvals, and submit, via email, to TravelServices, with paper receipts to follow, or submit signed paper copy ofexpense report with receipts attached.
    10. Trip Report
      1. Prepare a trip report within 20 days of return from foreign travel.
      2. Submit the trip report to Travel Services.

Many deviations from the approved itinerary require resubmission of the foreign travel request in FTMS. Contact Travel Services at x7437 for assistance.

  1. CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE
    1. OVERVIEW
      JSA/Jefferson Lab maintains controls over the attendance to conferences by Lab staff and sponsored guests. The Deputy Secretary memorandum of 12/6/12 provided guidance in establishing these controls. This guidance states that Conference related activities will be limited to what is appropriate and necessary to minimize expenses.

      A “Conference” may be a meeting, retreat, seminar, symposium, or other event that generally involves attendee travel, but can also be a local event. It usually involves topical matters of interest to multiple agencies and/or nongovernmental participants. Additionally, some training events may qualify as conferences for purpose of this policy, particularly if they take place in a hotel or conference center.

      Exclusions: Even if the general definition of a conference is met, some meetings, trainings, and bi-lateral and multi-lateral international cooperation engagements are exempt if they fully meet the definition and intent of the criteria described the Definition of a Conference link at:
      http://www.jlab.org/div_dept/cfo/travel/Conferences.html

    2. POLICY
      Attendance at a domestic or foreign DOE or Non-DOE sponsored conference shall follow the requirements below:
          1. Conference attendance by JSA/Jefferson Lab will be kept to the minimum level needed to accomplish the objectives for participating.  Emphasis will be placed on:
            1. The contribution being made by each individual attending including rationale for attendees as required.
            2. The potential benefit to JLab, DOE, and the candidate(s) for travel / conference participation (training, etc.).
            3. How an individual’s participation is being funded.
            4. The location of the conference.
          2. NO costs (including deposits, registration fees, and airline tickets) should be incurred prior to DOE Conference approvals being obtained.
          3. The Lab must report all planned attendance and estimated cost (excluding labor) to DOE at least 75 days prior to the start date of an event. The reporting cut-off (lock-out) dates could be greater than 75 days. There is no minimum cost reporting threshold.
          4. When requested by DOE or if the total cost of the conference is greater than $20k, the Lab must enter actual costs incurred into the DOE Conference tool by the required deadline.

    3. PROCEDURES
      The JSA/JLab Chief Finance Office (CFO) shall be responsible for accumulating, tracking, reviewing, reporting, and submitting all projected conference attendance and planned costs via the DOE conference tool that meets the requirements specified in the most current DOE Conference Guidance.
      Prior to travel approval by JLab Division authorizing personnel, consideration must be given to:

      The benefit of attending this event by Jefferson Lab.

      1. The number of JLab attendees necessary to achieve the purpose for JLab's participation.
      2. The amount of total DOE funds to be allocated for travel and registration fees.
      3. Approximate number of attendees the funds will support.
      4. The contribution of each individual is identified on the travel projections.
      5. Would sending fewer people impact JLab's objective?
      6. Was all the relevant conference information entered on the Travel Authorization (TA)?
      7. Any other relevant factors?

    4. PROCESS
      The CFO Travel Services (TS) office will perform the following functions:
          1. Monitor the JLab travel event and projection databases.
          2. Review lock-out dates in the DOE Conference Tool to assure JLab attendance is included prior to that date.
          3. Communicate to the Lab early lock-out information. Notify potential interested parties via email and via the Conference Requiring Approval report which can be found at http://wwwold.jlab.org/div_dept/cfo/travel/Conferences.html.
          4. Enter events supported by DOE funds (excluding exemptions) into the DOE Conference Tool at least 75 days prior to the event start date or upon notification of an early lock-out.
          5. Validate all travel authorizations; place those awaiting conference approval determination or approval waiver on hold.
          6. Confirm that a foreign travel request in FTMS for any conference attendee identifies the conference and contains a completed abstract before it is routed to DOE for foreign travel approval.
          7. Release TAs once:
            1. DOE Conference approval is obtained and
            2. DOE Foreign Travel approval is obtained (if applicable) and
            3. Country Clearance approval is obtained (if applicable)
          8. Notify Division Coordinators when conferences have been approved and TAs have been released.
          9. Maintain a report on the travel website of all events in the JLab event database that have been entered to the iPortal DOE Conference Tool so interested parties can view the status of an event.
          10. Enter all relevant actual cost data into the DOE Conference Tool by the DOE required deadline.


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