Title 11 - Overtime

11.1 Policy

It is the District's policy to adhere to the definition and requirements of applicable Federal and State laws which define overtime as hours worked in excess of eight (8) hours per day or forty (40) hours per week unless otherwise provided. The District defines overtime as hours in excess of eight (8) hours per day unless waived by the employee as a result of an approved alternate work schedule. It is the District's policy to avoid the necessity for overtime whenever possible while understanding that overtime work may sometimes be necessary to meet emergency situations, seasonal, or peak work load requirements. All overtime work will be distributed among employees by department in the same classification as equally as practicable. Further, District employees will be offered overtime work before such work is offered to hourly contractors hired by the District as practicable. Additionally, no employee shall work overtime unless authorized by the appropriate Department Manager or his/her designated representative.

11.2 Definitions

1. Continuation Overtime
   Shift Continuation Overtime is defined as overtime hours worked immediately following any regularly scheduled work period with no release from work of the employee by the District, except for situations where the overtime work was prearranged.
2. Call Back Overtime
   Call Back Overtime is defined as overtime requested of the employee after there has been a release from work by the District. Whenever an employee is called to respond to an emergency condition, he/she will begin receiving overtime compensation from the time the call is received by the employee. If an employee is able to resolve the condition over the phone, he/she will receive overtime compensation for 1/2 hour or the actual time the employee was on the phone to resolve the condition, which ever is greater. An employee requested to report for a regular shift schedule will not be entitled to any overtime compensation prior to reporting for the shift, whether under Call Back Overtime or Prearranged Overtime. The minimum time paid for Call Back Overtime will be two (2) hours except Troubleshooters on standby, whose minimum call back overtime will be one (1) hour. If the Call Back Overtime overlaps into a regular work shift, and the employee has not qualified for a rest period, the employee will receive Call Back Overtime until the beginning of the regular work shift.
3. Prearranged Overtime
   Prearranged Overtime is defined as overtime hours worked when advance notice to work was received with a minimum notice of twelve (12) hours prior to the requested reporting time. The advance notice shall specify the starting time and ending time for the Prearranged Overtime assignment. If circumstances other than inclement weather require work to cease short of the prearranged ending time, the employee will receive overtime pay as if he/she worked the full Prearranged Overtime assignment. If inclement weather causes cancellation of Prearranged overtime prior to beginning work there will be no pay liability. If inclement weather causes cancellation of Prearranged Overtime work after employee begins work the employee will be paid for the actual time worked or two (2) hours whichever is greater.
   
   If circumstances require work to continue beyond the prearranged ending time, the overtime work after the prearranged ending time will be considered continuation overtime. No minimum time paid will be associated with Prearranged Overtime if it immediately precedes or succeeds the normal work shift.

11.3 Overtime Compensation

Non-exempt employees normally shall be paid at the rate of one and one-half (1-1/2) for all hours worked beyond eight (8) hours per day or forty (40) hours per week. Ditchtenders, Night Tenders, Main Canal and Reservoir Tender, Dispatchers, Dispatching Shift Supervisor, Power System Schedulers, Senior Water Treatment Plant Operators, Water Treatment Plant Operators and Woodland Generation Technicians will be compensated at one and one-half (1-1/2) for hours worked over forty in the designated workweek and for additional hours worked above the designated work schedule. Employees on Alternate Work Schedules as defined in Section 10.5 will be compensated at one and one half (1-1/2) for hours worked above the designated Alternate Work Schedule. Time worked shall include non-productive hours such as: paid vacation, sick leave, paid holidays, paid jury duty, or paid workers' compensation. Overtime will be paid for all productive hours over forty (40) in a given work week or any productive hours prior to or exceeding an employee's normally scheduled shift on a work day. Overtime will not be paid for hours over forty (40) to the extent that such total includes non-productive hours. Overtime pay for employees, when applicable, shall be computed on the base rate multiplied by the appropriate shift differential factor. Overtime shall be computed to the nearest one-quarter hour.

11.4 Compensatory Time Off Policy

Subject to the following limitations, any employee eligible for overtime pay may choose to accept Compensatory Time Off (CTO) in lieu of cash compensation for earned overtime will be granted at the rate of one and one-half (1-1/2) hours of straight time compensation for each hour of overtime earned.

1. The maximum accumulation of CTO at any time shall be limited to120 straight time hours. However, any accumulation above 80 straight time hours will be subject to supervisory approval.
2. An employee shall decide whether earned overtime will be recorded as overtime, CTO or an equivalent combination prior to submission of their next time card. Accumulation above 80 straight time hours will be subject to supervisor approval. Such decision shall be irrevocable subsequent to the submission of the time card.
3. Accumulated CTO shall be used in minimum increments of eight (8) hours in the case of crew-type operations and four (4) hours in the case of non-crew-type operations and for Dispatchers shall be used in minimum increments of six (6) hours. Exceptions may be allowed by the supervisor to accommodate occasional unforeseen needs of an employee. Such exceptions shall be granted in minimum increments of one (1) hour, and shall not exceed an aggregate of eight (8) hours in any calendar year and shall be subject to all conditions of subsection d. below.
4. An employee request to use accumulated CTO shall be granted at the sole discretion of the department head with due consideration to both the wishes of the employee and the efficient conduct of District business. Two working days notice is required. However, if the supervisor feels that the workload is such that shorter notice is acceptable, he/she may grant CTO accordingly.
   e. CTO shall not be used in the same pay period in which it is earned.

11.5 Overtime Meal Expense

When non-exempt employees are required to work overtime, the District will provide meal expense allowance and overtime meal breaks in accordance with the following provisions:

1. The overtime meal allowance shall be $1.00 effective 12-1-03 per overtime quarter-hour worked for Continuation and Call Back Overtime worked. For Prearranged Overtime worked, overtime meal expense begins when time worked is in excess of eight (8) hours on a non-workday, or in excess of two (2) hours worked on a regular workday. The overtime meal allowance shall be automatically adjusted at the same rate as any general wage adjustment granted through action of the District's Board of Directors rounded to the nearest $0.01. For purpose of calculation of meal expense, the point in time an employee begins collecting pay for overtime will be the same starting point for calculation of meal allowances. However, any overtime payment not associated with time actually worked at the end of the overtime assignment, will not be used to calculate meal allowance such as guaranteed minimums for Call Back Overtime. Payment for overtime meal expense allowance shall be made in accordance with District procedures.
2. With the exception of classifications that require continuous operation where visual attendance is the primary function of the classification, overtime meal breaks are earned at the rate of 0.03125 hours per overtime quarter-hour worked for Continuation and Call Back Overtime worked and for Prearranged Overtime worked in excess of eight (8) hours on a non workday or in excess of two (2) hours worked as a prearranged extension of regular work hours on a regular workday. Overtime meal breaks will normally be taken at four (4) hour intervals and will not be delayed beyond a six (6) hour interval without the employee's consent. If circumstances do not permit some or all of the earned meal break time to be taken during the work assignment, the balance of the earned meal break time will be credited to the employee as additional overtime worked at the applicable overtime rate(s) which applied when the overtime meal break was earned.
3. Overtime meal breaks shall not be included in overtime hour worked for the purposes of determining overtime meal expense allowance and the overtime meal breaks earned.

11.6 On Call

An additional compensation, as outlined below, shall be paid Troubleshooters who are assigned to be "on call" for emergency maintenance or repair work during periods outside normal working hours.

1. Two (2) hours of standby pay at straight time rate for employees regularly scheduled workdays and four (4) hours of standby pay at straight time rate for non-workdays and Holidays.
2. Pay for all time worked outside of normal working hours at the overtime rate.

11.7 Overtime Rest Period

The intent of the District is to provide a rest period to employees as soon as possible after the completion of emergency work. Employees who are entitled to a rest period in accordance with the following guidelines shall be compensated at the applicable overtime rate until released from work. Routine work will not be assigned to prolong the beginning of rest periods.

1. If an employee has worked for eight (8) hours or more at the overtime rate during the sixteen (16) hour period immediately preceding the beginning of his/her regular work hours, on a work day, he/she shall be given a rest period of eight (8) consecutive hours at the completion of the emergency work.
2. If an employee has worked for six (6) hours or more at the overtime rate during the twelve (12) hour period immediately preceding the beginning of his/her regular work hours, on a work day, he/she shall be given a rest period of six (6) consecutive hours at the completion of the emergency work.
3. If an employee has worked for four (4) or more hours at the overtime rate during the eight (8) hour period immediately preceding the beginning of his/her work hours, on a work day, he/she shall be given a rest period of four (4) hours at the completion of the emergency work.
4. If an employee has worked Prearranged Overtime in excess of five (5) hours, immediately preceding his/her regular work hours, on a regular work day, he/she shall qualify for the five (5) hour rest period.

Compensation for the rest period will be allowed at the straight time rate for the hours within the rest period that overlap into the normal working hours. Vacation, DAL or CTO may be used to extend the rest period to the end of the employee's normal shift with the approval of his/her supervisor.

11.8 Special Rest Period

Troubleshooters who are on call and have not received four (4) hours of continuous rest as a result of rendering service shall be entitled to a four (4) hour paid rest period in accordance with Section 11.7 above.