(A) This policy applies to all County employees including those covered by a collective bargaining agreement, unless the bargaining agreement or contract explicitly addresses the issue in a manner contrary to this chapter. In those instances, the terms of the bargaining agreement or contract will supersede the terms of this chapter.
(B) County offices are open to the public Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays. Some departments have adopted a different schedule due to the nature of the position or a flexible work schedule to better accommodate the public. An employee's supervisor will assign a specific work schedule. Please note that a work schedule is not guaranteed and is subject to change.
(C) Regular Work Time - The regular work week shall be considered Monday through Friday and the regular workday is defined as eight hours per day from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (unless as noted above).
(D) Lunch Hour
(1) Salaried employees are entitled to a one-hour lunch period per workday. Employees who fail to take a lunch period will not be compensated unless authorized by the department head to work through a lunch hour in order to allow that employee to adjust his/her start or end time (come in late or leave early on the same day), or due to circumstances where the employee was required to perform his/her work duties that precluded the employee from taking a lunch.
(2) Hourly employees are entitled to lunchtime set by department policy.
(E) Breaks - The County provides breaks or rest periods to its employees. Non-exempt employees who work at least seven hours in one shift will receive a break of 15 minutes at approximately the middle of every three and one half hours of work not interrupted by a meal period. Supervisors are responsible for scheduling the time for employee breaks. All breaks should be arranged so that they do not disrupt County business or service to the public and should consider the workload and the nature of the job or jobs being performed. When necessary, the frequency and time of breaks may be changed. Time spent on breaks is compensated as working time. Employees are expected to be punctual in starting and ending their breaks and are subject to disciplinary action for extending breaks beyond the 15 minutes allowed.
(F) Overtime/Compensatory Time
(1) Eligibility for compensable overtime will be determined by the Fair Labor Standards Act. All overtime must be approved and authorized by an employee's department head or supervisor. Under no circumstances may an employee authorize his/her own overtime.
(2) All non exempt employees will be granted compensatory or overtime at the rate of one and one-half (1-1/2) hours for all hours worked over (40) hours in any given work week. (Note: Although some full-time employees work only 35 hours, federal law requires that overtime [or compensatory time] be paid at 1-1/2 times that employee's normal rate of pay only when the hours worked in a week exceeds 40 hours.)
(3) Should compensatory time be awarded, an employee cannot accumulate more than 480 hours of compensatory time in one year if the employee works in a public safety activity, an emergency response activity or a seasonal activity. All other employees are limited to no more than 240 hours compensatory time per year. Employees who exceed these limits must be paid overtime. An accurate record of all compensatory time earned and used shall be maintained by the department bookkeeper (See “Record Keeping” this section). An employee's request for the use of compensatory time off shall be made at least three (3) working days prior to the date(s) requested off. The request shall be honored unless the use would unduly disrupt the operations of the department by imposing an unreasonable burden on the department's ability to provide services of acceptable quality and quantity for the public during the time requested without the use of the employee's services.
(4) All compensatory time must be taken within the year it was earned unless the time is accumulated in the last quarter of the calendar year. Time earned during the last quarter only may be carried over to the first quarter of the following year. The carried-over compensatory time must be taken within that first quarter. Unused compensatory time must be paid as overtime.
(G) Record Keeping
(1) Documented overtime and compensatory time records shall be kept by each department for all employees and shall include:
(a) Date and reason for accumulation
(b) Name of person authorizing the overtime
(c) Date compensatory time taken
(d) All other records required by the FLSA or other federal or state law or regulation
(2) Time sheets shall reflect compensatory time taken and shall not be reflected as hours worked on that date.
(3) The Attorney of Record for each division of County government has the final authority interpreting this policy and is responsible for ensuring that all required records are kept and in accordance with the FLSA and will take appropriate measures to ensure compliance with state and federal regulation.
(H) Special Exceptions - Special exceptions to the regular workday and work week may exist where employees may be required to work other hours or days to meet the particular requirements of County services. In addition, regular hours are subject to change with the authorization of the employee's department head.
(I) Time Sheet Requirement - It shall be the responsibility of the department head to ensure that an accurate daily attendance record is kept on every employee in the department.
(J) Falsification of Time Records - Any individual who is involved in the falsification of time records or who knowingly causes improper reporting may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.