THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1775
Headquarters
Department of the Army
Washington, DC
7 May 2024

*Army Regulation 215-3

Effective 7 June 2024

Morale, Welfare, and Recreation

Nonappropriated Funds Instrumentalities Personnel Policy

By Order of the Secretary of the Army:

RANDY A. GEORGE
General, United States Army
Chief of Staff

MARK F. AVERILL
Administrative Assistant to the
Secretary of the Army

History. This publication is an administrative revision. The portions affected by this administrative revision are listed in the summary of change.

Authorities. This regulation implements uniform policies governing personnel management and administration for employees of nonappropriated fund instrumentalities of the Department of Army. It incorporates the requirements of DoDI 1400.25, Volumes 1401 through 1471 and the Office of Personnel Management instructions when they specifically address nonappropriated fund instrumentality employees.

Applicability. This regulation applies to the Regular Army, the Army National Guard/Army National Guard of the United States, and the U.S. Army Reserve, unless otherwise stated. This regulation applies to those under the exclusive control of the Secretary of the Army, including: all civilian employees and off-duty U.S. military personnel employed by a nonappropriated fund instrumentality within the United States; U.S. citizens and all off-duty U.S. military personnel or permanent residents of the United States, employed by a nonappropriated fund instrumentality outside the United States except where specifically limited to employees within the United States. This regulation does not apply to foreign nationals or third country nationals employed in foreign areas; employees of private associations and funds; independent contractors, such as professional entertainers, where no employer/employee relationship exists; civilian instructors and administrators in the General Education Program who are employed in accordance with a special contract; individuals employed by private concessionaires doing business under contract with a nonappropriated fund instrumentality; nonappropriated fund employees of the Air Force, the Navy (Bureau of Personnel, Navy Exchange and the Marine Corps) and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service; employees paid from appropriated funds.

Proponent and exception authority. The proponent of this regulation is the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1. The proponent has the authority to approve exceptions or waivers to this regulation that are consistent with controlling law and regulations. The proponent may delegate this approval authority, in writing, to a division chief within the proponent agency or its direct reporting unit or field operating agency, in the grade of colonel or the civilian equivalent. Activities may request a waiver to this regulation by providing justification that includes a full analysis of the expected benefits and must include formal review by the activity's senior legal officer. All waiver requests will be endorsed by the commander or senior leader of the requesting activity and forwarded through their higher headquarters to the policy proponent. Refer to AR 25-30 for requirements.

Army internal control process. This regulation contains internal control provisions in accordance with AR 11-2 and identifies key internal controls that must be evaluated (see appendix D).

Suggested improvements. Users are invited to send comments and suggested improvements on DA FormDA FormDepartment of the Army form 2028 (Recommended Changes to Publications and Blank Forms) via email to usarmy.belvoir.ag1cp.mbx.naf@army.mil.

Distribution. This regulation is available in electronic media only and is intended for the Regular Army, the Army National Guard/Army National Guard of the United States, and the U.S. Army Reserve.

*This regulation supersedes AR 215-3, dated 29 August 2019.

AR 215-3 • 7 May 2024

UNCLASSIFIED

Accrued leave The amount of leave earned but not used during the current leave year.

Accumulated leave The unused leave to the employee’s credit at the end of the leave year.

Administrative workweek A period of 7 consecutive calendar days

Appropriate authority An entity having authority in the case to correct or direct the correction of an unjustified or unwarranted personnel action.

Appropriated fund employee A person employed by the United States Government and paid from funds appropriated by the Congress of the United States.

Appropriated funds Defined in DoDI 14400.24 vol. 1406 enclosure 3 2.d.(10).

Army morale, welfare, and recreation fund Army central nonappropriated fund provides up to 90 percent of funds for approved NAFNAFNonappropriated fund(s) major construc- tion and supports other Armywide MWRMWRMorale, Welfare, and Recreation programs. Successor to all IMCOMIMCOMU.S. Army Installation Management Command Region single MWRMWRMorale, Welfare, and Recreation NAFIs.

Basic pay The total amount of pay received during any 1 calendar year at the rate fixed by law or administrative ac- tion for the position held by the employee, including night and environmental differentials for prevailing rate employees respectively, but before any deductions and exclusive of any additional pay of any kind.

Basic workweek The days and hours within an administrative workweek which make up the employees’ regularly sched- uled workweek.

Business–based action A reduction in employment category or pay rate, a furlough, or separation action initiated by management for non-disciplinary reasons.

Compensatory time off Time off in lieu of overtime pay.

Compressed work schedule Fixed work schedules, but they enable full-time employees to complete the basic 80-hour biweekly work requirement in less than 10 workdays.

Conditions of employment Personnel policies, practices, and matters, whether by rule, regulation, or otherwise, affecting working conditions. These conditions may include items such as medical examination, licenses, drug testing, travel, mobility, required training, annual financial disclosures, shift availability, working conditions, or background investigation/clearances, as applicable.

Continuing position A position that is expected to continue in excess of 1 year.

Covered active duty Duty of a member of a regular component of the Armed Forces during deployment to a foreign country, and duty of a member of a Reserve Component of the Armed Forces to a foreign country under a call or order to active duty under a provision of law referred to in 10 USCUSCUnited States Code 101(a)(13(B)).

Covered Servicemember An individual who is or has been a member of the Armed Forces, including the National Guard or Re- serves, during the 5 years preceding the medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy.

Department of Defense component Any of the Military Departments, DoD agencies, the AAFES, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Department of Defense personnel Military personnel (including retired members and reservists on active or inactive duty for training) and DoD Civilian employees paid from appropriated and NAFs.

Detail A detail is a temporary assignment of an employee for a specified period, to a position or set of duties dif- ferent from the employee’s regular assignment, including higher or lower graded positions, with the em- ployee returning to the regular assigned duties at the end of the detail.

Direct threat A significant risk of substantial harm to the individual or others in the workplace that cannot be reduced or eliminated through reasonable accommodation referred to in 29 CFRCFRCode of Federal Regulations 1630.2(r).

Duty station Geographic location where work is performed.

Equivalent position Position which is sufficiently alike in duties, responsibilities, and requirements that the employee could be moved to without significant employee training or additional increase in skills or knowledge, or without un- duly interrupting the work program.

Executive control and essential command supervision Those managerial staff functions and positions located above the direct program managerial and opera- tional level of individual MWRMWRMorale, Welfare, and Recreation programs that support planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling the overall operations of MWRMWRMorale, Welfare, and Recreation programs and activities. ECECS consists of program, fiscal, lo- gistical, and other management functions that are required to ensure oversight and that are separate from the daily working level activities and tasks of the MWRMWRMorale, Welfare, and Recreation programs. ECECS does not include the direct op- eration of individual MWRMWRMorale, Welfare, and Recreation programs and activities.

Extended active duty Full-time duty in the active military Service of the United States entered into with the original expectation of serving for an indefinite or stated period of time, other than active duty for training.

Family member any of these relationships to the employee: spouse and their parents; domestic partner and their parents; sons and daughters and their spouses or domestic partners; parents and their spouses or domestic part- ners; brothers and sisters and their spouses or domestic partners; grandparents and grandchildren and their spouses or domestic partners; or any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship. Family member for FMLA purposes is defined in Part 630.201 of Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations. Includes— child of a sponsor, including an adopted child, stepchild, foster child, or ward or unmarried dependent child of the employee’s spouse who—(1) Has not passed his or her 23rd birthday, or (2) Is incapable of self-support because of a mental or physical incapacity that existed before that birthday and is (or was at the time of the member’s or former member’s death) in fact dependent on the sponsor for over one-half of his or her support, or (3) Any Family member that has been granted an extension of up to 1 year by the Secretary of the Army, when it is in the best interest of management or for humanitarian reasons, (for ex- ample, adjustment following the death of a sponsor) or to allow a dependent to complete the school year.

Federal service For the purposes of unemployment compensation, service performed after 1952 as a civilian or by military personnel during off-duty hours in the employment of the U.S. or any instrumentality thereof. Service out- side the U.S. by non-U.S. citizens is excluded from this definition.

Federal wages All gross pay and allowances, in cash and in kind, for Federal wages.

Fitness determination A decision, based on review of background check findings, that an individual is fit to perform duties in a position subject to a criminal history background check. Fitness determinations will be favorable or unfa- vorable.

Flexible employee An employee serves in a continuing position on a scheduled or an as-needed basis. There is no upper limit to the number of hours a flexible employee may work (subject to overtime obligations and work scheduling requirements).

Foreign areas Area (including the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) situated outside the United States.

Foreign national employee A citizen of an overseas host country or foreign country who is employed by a NAFI and receives com- pensation from NAFIs.

Full–time employee An employee hired for a regular position that has a regularly scheduled workweek of 40 hours each week.

Full–time tour of duty A basic weekly tour consisting of 40 hours of duty each week.

Fund manager An individual appointed by written authority to a post of responsibility and trust to exercise administrative and management control of a NAFI and charged with accountability for the NAFNAFNonappropriated fund(s) resources thereof.

Furlough The placing of a NAFNAFNonappropriated fund(s) regular employee in a temporary non-duty, non-pay status.

Garrison commander or equivalent The term refers to the local commander who has jurisdiction over one or more NAFIs at an installation or military community, such as the garrison commander, deputy garrison commander, area support group, or base support battalion commander, and is responsible for NAFNAFNonappropriated fund(s) employees. For purposes of this regu- lation, it also includes the general managers of the Armed Forces recreation centers.

Grievance A request by an employee or a group of employees for personal relief from matters of concern or dissatis- faction, including requests for relief from personnel actions that have previously been administered as ap- peals.

Grievance decision A decision issued as a result of consideration of a formal grievance.

Honorary award An award in the form of a certificate, pin, emblem, plaque, or other item that can be worn or displayed.

Hourly rate of basic pay An employee’s hourly rate of pay that is determined by dividing the annual rate of basic pay by 2,087 with the result adjusted to the nearest cent.

Incentive award An incentive term, covering cash awards, honorary awards, length of service awards, and pay adjust- ments.

Installation morale welfare recreation fund A NAFI established for the purpose of providing installation/community MWRMWRMorale, Welfare, and Recreation activities, including food and beverage, retail, recreation, and community support services.

Interim suitability or fitness determination Part of the pre-screening process in the identification and resolution of suitability or fitness issues, which occurs prior to the initiation of the required investigation. It involves the review of applications and other employment-related documents. A favorable interim suitability or fitness determination is a status granted on a temporary basis, which permits individuals to work after the return of the advance FBI criminal history check and other preliminary checks, as applicable, pending completion of full investigative require- ments and a final suitability or fitness determination.

Irregular tour of duty A tour which may require service on different shifts, different hours of the day, or different days of the ad- ministrative workweek.

Leave year The period beginning with the first day of the first complete pay period in a calendar year and ending with the day immediately before the first day of the first complete pay period in the following calendar year.

Nonappropriated fund Cash and other assets derived from sources other than Congressional appropriations, primarily the sale of goods and ser-vices to DoD personnel and their Family members that are used by the NAFI to support or provide authorized programs. NAFs are Government funds used for the collective benefit of those who generate them. These funds are separate and apart from funds that are recorded in the books of the Treasurer of the United States.

Nonappropriated fund instrumentality A U.S. Government organization and fiscal entity that performs essential Government functions. It is not a Federal agency. It acts in its own name to provide, or assist other DoD organizations in providing MWRMWRMorale, Welfare, and Recreation and other programs for military personnel, their Families, and authorized civilians. It is established and maintained individually or jointly by two or more DoD components. As a fiscal entity, it maintains custody of and control over its NAFs, equipment, facilities, land, and other assets. It is responsible for the prudent administration, safeguarding, preservation, and maintenance of those APF resources made available to carry out its function. With its NAFs, it contributes to the MWRMWRMorale, Welfare, and Recreation programs and other authorized organiza- tional entities, when so authorized. It is not incorporated under the laws of any State or the District of Co- lumbia but has the legal status of an instrumentality of the United States. NAFIs are not “persons” subject to federal trade and antitrust laws, and they are not subject to State regulation or control in the absence of specific authorization in a Federal statute.

Nonappropriated fund locality supplement A rate of pay used to offset the reduction of nonforeign area COLA in areas authorized to receive such an entitlement.

Off–duty military Enlisted, active duty military personnel employed as civilians by a NAFI.

Part–time tour of duty A basic weekly tour consisting of 20 to 39 hours of duty each week.

Pay adjustment A change in an employee’s basic rate of pay for pay schedule changes, employment cost index adjust- ments, performance recognition, BBA, or for retention purposes.

Pay, allowances, and differentials Monetary benefits to which an employee is entitled by statue or regulation by virtue of the performance of a Federal function.

Priority consideration An applicant eligible for a priority consideration who applies for a vacancy and is determined to be quali- fied, is accorded increased priority and order of selection on a referral list. Priority consideration does not create an obligation to hire; however, justification of non-selection is required.

Rate of basic pay Rate of basic pay for grade and pay retention purposes is the rate of pay fixed by law or administrative action for position held by an FWS employee before any deductions and exclusive of additional pay of any kind, such as night or environmental differentials.

Reassignment Movement of an employee from one position to another position at the same grade/level in the same NAFI. For pay band employees, it may be with or without a pay adjustment. This action may be taken noncompetitively.

Regular employee Includes— workweek is 40 hours; or, regular part-time if the workweek is from 20 to 39 hours. The minimum work- week for a regular part-time employee is 20 hours. ing position with a duty and pay status of at least 6 months but less than 12 months each year. sition in excess of 1 ear but with a known termination date.

Regular tour of duty A tour of duty, which requires service on the same days and the same hours or shift of each administra- tive workweek.

Regularly scheduled work Work that is scheduled before the beginning of the administrative workweek and determines premium pay entitlements.

Rotating tour of duty A tour of duty which periodically requires service on different shifts, different hours of the day, or different days of the administrative workweeks.

Servicing civilian personnel office The personnel office which provides technical advice, guidance, and administrative staff supervision to the NAFNAFNonappropriated fund(s) personnel staff which is responsible for implementing this regulation for all NAFIs on an installa- tion.

Special act or service award Consists of meritorious nonrecurring personal effort, an act, or a service performed within or outside as- signed job responsibilities, which contributes to the efficiency, economy, profitability, or other improve- ment of NAFNAFNonappropriated fund(s) operations. Included are acts of heroism or other deeds that reflect credit on NAFI opera- tions.

Standard nonappropriated fund instrumentality identification number Alpha numeric code number assigned by HQDA that uniquely and exclusively identifies each Army NAFI by its ACOMACOMArmy service component command, ASCCASCCArmy service component commander, or DRUDRUDirect reporting unit, installation, classification, and other coded information.

Successor (or successor in interest) nonappropriated fund instrumentality A NAFI designated by the Army to provide financial support and assistance to specified or assigned NAFIs, as required; receive and redistribute excess assets of its assigned NAFIs; receive or distribute re- sidual assets of a dissolved or disestablished assigned NAFI; or assume residual liabilities of a dissolved or disestablished NAFI.

Suitability Refers to a person’s identifiable character traits and/or conduct that may have an impact on the integrity or efficiency of the service.

Supervisor Individual employed by an Army NAFI with authority, in the interest of that NAFI, to conduct any or all of the following activities for employees: hire, direct, assign, promote, reward, transfer, furlough, layoff, re- call, suspend, discipline, remove, adjust grievances, or effectively recommend noted activities. Exercise of such authority not in routine or clerical in nature, but requires consistent exercise of independent judg- ment.

Suspension A nonduty, nonpay status effected as a disciplinary measure. No leave of any kind is authorized during the suspension period.

Unjustified or unwarranted personnel action An act of commission or an act of omission (that is, failure to take an action or confer a benefit) that an appropriate authority subsequently determines, on the basis of substantive or procedural defects, to have been unjustified or unwarranted under applicable law, rule, regulation, or mandatory DA personnel policy or under a collective bargaining agreement.

Work schedule The hours of a day and the days of a workweek that an employee is required to work.