required to revert  to a fixed tour.

3. CWS  plans will be requested and approved for 6-month periods twice    yearly. The two prescribed periods will be April through September and    October through March.  Each new schedule will begin the first day of the pay period.

4. In order to be included in the CWS plan, employees must submit to    management, within the first five workdays of the month preceding the start of each period, their requests for a tentative work schedule.  A form    designated by management will be used for this purpose.  Each request must specify the day the employee wishes to be off and the day the employee  wishes to work eight hours.  Management will act upon these requests as soon as possible, but in no case later than 10 workdays following the end of the requesting period.  A written explanation will be provided when an employee does not get his/her requested schedule.

5. Management will consider operational needs and employee preferences in making assignments in CWS schedules.  Any conflicts will be resolved in favor of the employee with the earliest SCD within the work unit by position. This process will be repeated for each scheduling period.

6. After submitting written notice to their supervisors, employees who    wish to discontinue a CWS schedule may do so only at the beginning of a pay period, and must complete the current pay period as scheduled.  Employees  who discontinue a CWS must wait until the next six-month scheduling period before applying to return to a CWS.

7. DOC employees on a CWS may vary their arrival times, if the flexible    band permits, provided they have sufficient time to complete their    scheduled eight or nine hour workday by the latest departure time.

B.  Special Provisions for CWS (5-4-9) Schedules

1. Part-time employees are not eligible to participate in the CWS plan.

2. An employee may be involved in travel, training, or unusual activities    that do not accommodate a CWS.  Consequently, an employee may be precluded from participating in the CWS plan for one or more pay periods. During such pay periods, the employee may participate in a flexible schedule to the extent that she/he is not required to be on a fixed shift.

3. Operational exigencies may dictate that an employee participating in    the CWS plan may be required by the Agency to have his/her schedule    modified for a particular pay period. The modification may involve