Disaster Overtime Pay Policy Information

Transcription

1 Disaster Overtime Pay Policy Information The following issues need to be considered by your City Attorney, in close consultation with someone familiar with FEMA regulations: Some cities are prohibited from paying overtime to exempt employees or certain personnel by a specific legal ordinance. If your city does not have an ordinance prohibiting such, you may be OK. If there is a specific legal authority prohibiting such salary payments, FEMA might cite the ordinance as a reason not to reimburse the city for exempt employee disaster overtime. If your city does have such a prohibiting policy, it may be necessary to address an override of that policy during a proclaimed/declared 1 disaster. Payment of "exempt employee disaster overtime" cannot be made contingent upon reimbursement by FEMA or OES. Any policy must be equally in force whether reimbursement is received or not. A policy should NEVER make any reference to FEMA or FEMA reimbursement. Even pre-adoption discussion notes should not make any reference to FEMA reimbursement. The hours shown in the methods for calculation are for example only. Other methods or a combination of methods may be used. Any enacted policy must be applied consistently. If one application is used for only state and/or locally proclaimed disasters, and another application is used for Federal declarations, FEMA will not reimburse the agency. Any policy must be in writing, approved by the governing board (City Council) and in place before a disaster occurs. FEMA will not recognize verbal policies or policies adopted after an event has occurred. There is no guarantee that in future disasters FEMA will reimburse for "exempt employees" overtime. But without a written policy in place, they do not consider any reimbursement. If an exempt employee is sent on a Mutual Aid assignment, language should be included that would cover this circumstance. The employee could be working overtime on a disaster, even though no disaster would be proclaimed in their home jurisdiction. Both the sending and receiving jurisdictions should have clear agreement of how many hours an exempt employee would be paid for when working on a mutual aid assignment 1 Only the President can declare a disaster. Local and state authorities proclaim a disaster. April 9, 2014 (8:01pm) 1 C:\Users\Mike's Desktop\Documents\My Dropbox\FA-12 Modules\9 Cost Rec Policies (Pay & EE Support)\34 - Disaster Overtime Pay Policy.wpd

2 in excess of 40 hours per week. Any standing limits (as defined in municipal employee rules, regulations or collective bargaining agreements) on accruals of comp time off (CTO), vacation hours, holiday hours and sick hours should be waived by written policy, formally adoted by the governing board, during the period of the proclaimed/declared emergency. CTO accrued during a disaster should not be subject to the ordinary limits defined in other personnel policies or regulations. Such exemption must exist in a formally adopted written policy that pre-date the onset of the disaster. April 9, 2014 (8:01pm) 2 C:\Users\Mike's Desktop\Documents\My Dropbox\FA-12 Modules\9 Cost Rec Policies (Pay & EE Support)\34 - Disaster Overtime Pay Policy.wpd

3 : Declared Disaster Pay Policy for Exempt Employees 2 Whereas the City/County of is completely dependent on its disaster service worker employees to eliminate or lessen immediate threats of significant additional damage to life, public health, or safety; or to eliminate or lessen immediate threats of significant additional damage to improved public or private property through measures that are cost effective; and Whereas disaster response efforts not only include police, fire and emergency medical services, they may also include disaster response efforts from all city departments and all city employees, and Whereas many supervisory and management level employees in the city are considered exempt employees and do not normally receive overtime compensation for their hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week, and Whereas many of these same employees are critical to the effective operation of the city/county s disaster response and recovery efforts, and Whereas in a proclaimed oe declared disaster, such critical exempt employees may be called upon to work twelve or more hours in a single day and seven days a week without time off, for indefinite periods during a disaster, and Whereas all hourly employees working during a disaster will be paid overtime in accordance with their respective bargaining unit agreements, and Whereas it is in the best interest of the city and its employees to fairly compensate otherwise exempt employees during a proclaimed disaster for their long hours of dedicated service to providing for the public safety and welfare of the citizens, Be it now hereby resolved that the City Council of the City of does hereby adopt a Disaster Overtime Pay Policy for Exempt Employees, attached hereto as Exhibit (A.( This policy shall take effect on the day of, 20. Signed:, Mayor Attest:, 2 See FEMA Recovery Policy RP9525.7(F)5 April 9, 2014 (8:01pm) 3 C:\Users\Mike's Desktop\Documents\My Dropbox\FA-12 Modules\9 Cost Rec Policies (Pay & EE Support)\34 - Disaster Overtime Pay Policy.wpd

4 Declared Disaster Pay Policy for Exempt Employees 3 Exhibit (A) SECTION 1. In the event that a disaster or a state of emergency is proclaimed or declared in accordance with Chapter xx, section xx of the Municipal Code and/or a disaster or a state of emergency that affects the City of is proclaimed by either the County of, the State of California, or declared by the President, exempt employees shall be compensated for the overtime hours that they work as disaster service workers. SECTION 2. The exempt employees working as disaster service workers shall be paid only for those hours actually worked in excess of forty (40) hours during their normal work week and the hourly rate of pay shall be calculated by dividing the exempt employers current monthly salary by (straight time). (See optional alternate rates below) SECTION 3. Exempt employees working as disaster service workers may, at their option, elect to take either overtime pay as described in this policy or compensatory time off at the equivalent rate of pay. Accrual of such compensatory time off shall (shall not) not be counted against any other limits for compensatory time off that may other wise exist in policy, bargaining unit contract or memorandum of understanding. SECTION 4. Any previously promulgated policies for a Declared Disaster Pay Policy for Exempt Employees are hereby repealed and rescinded. This resolution shall take effect immediately. SECTION 5. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution. (See the following notes for alternative language to determine overtime pay and pay rates.) 3 See FEMA Recovery Policy RP9525.7(F)5 April 9, 2014 (8:01pm) 4 C:\Users\Mike's Desktop\Documents\My Dropbox\FA-12 Modules\9 Cost Rec Policies (Pay & EE Support)\34 - Disaster Overtime Pay Policy.wpd

5 An alternate method for calculation "Exempt Employee Disaster Overtime Pay" shall not be paid for the first ten hours of overtime worked by an exempt employee in a given proclaimed/declared disaster. After fifty (50) hours of work (40 hours regular plus 10 hours overtime), employees shall be paid "Disaster Overtime" for all hours worked over fifty hours per week. In each successive week under the same disaster proclamation/declaration, overtime shall be paid for all hours worked in excess of the first forty hours. This method of accounting for "Exempt Employee Disaster Overtime Pay" shall be followed in all disasters, proclaimed or declared at any level. Alternate overtime pay rate: The hourly rate of pay shall be calculated by dividing the exempt employers current monthly salary by (time and one-half pay). *Refer to your city or labor attorney for appropriate language. In all cases, legal counsel must review the exempt employee disaster overtime pay plan for applicability and conformance to local, state and federal requirements. April 9, 2014 (8:01pm) 5 C:\Users\Mike's Desktop\Documents\My Dropbox\FA-12 Modules\9 Cost Rec Policies (Pay & EE Support)\34 - Disaster Overtime Pay Policy.wpd