(A) Pay plan.
(1) A pay plan prepared pursuant to this chapter shall prescribe for each class a minimum and a maximum rate of pay and whatever intermediate steps, if any, the Judge/Executive and Fiscal Court, or the relevant constitutional officer deem equitable.
(2) Upon the adoption of a pay plan in accordance with this chapter, the Fiscal Court, or the appropriate constitutional officer shall assign each class to one of the pay grades the plan provides.
(3) Salary grades are determined by the relative difficulty and responsibility of the positions of the class, minimum qualifications; prevailing rates of pay; cost of living factors; the financial policy of the county; and other related considerations.
(4) At least once each year, the executive authority or his or her designee may:
(a) Compare the county’s salary rates, compensation policies and personnel developments of the county with those of other employers, public and private, in the area;
(b) Analyze fluctuations in the cost of living; and
(c) Make recommendations for amendment of the pay plan based upon comparison, analysis and examination.
(5) Employees shall be given consideration prior to the beginning of the fiscal year for increase to the next step of the grade assigned to their position, pending satisfactory service and availability of county funds.
(6) An appointee to a new position shall receive the minimum salary for the class to which the position is allocated, except that the Judge/Executive (with the approval of the Fiscal Court) or the appropriate constitutional officer may cause the appointment to be made at a salary above the minimum in cases of unusual difficulty in filling the position, or in hiring exceptionally qualified personnel.
(7) In cases where appointments have been made above the minimum, justification for these appointments shall be made by the executive authority in writing.
(B) Hours of work.
(1) Each employee shall work according to a schedule of hours determined by his or her supervisor. Non-supervisory full-time employees shall work a minimum of 35 hours per week.
(2) Flexible work schedules may be utilized as agreed to in writing between each employee and his or her department head with the executive authority’s approval.
(C) Overtime.
(1) In order to determine whether an employee will receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week, each class shall be declared “exempt” or “non-exempt” in accordance with provisions of existing labor laws. Exempt employees shall not be compensated in cash for overtime worked. Non-exempt employees shall receive overtime pay at the rate of one and one-half times the hourly wages for actual hours worked in excess of 40 hours in any work week. Non-exempt employees who are required to work all seven days in a work week shall receive overtime pay at the rate of one and one-half times the hourly wage for all hours worked on the seventh day of the work week if the cumulative weekly total exceeds 40 hours.
(2) Time off with pay (such as vacation or sick leave) shall not be considered as hours worked for overtime pay purposes.
(3) Holidays, vacation, sick leave, voting leave or other days for which employees are paid, but which are not worked, shall not be used for computing overtime.
(4) Overtime work shall be approved in advance by the employee’s immediate supervisor whenever possible, and shall be kept at the minimum consistent with maintenance of essential services and the county’s financial resources.
(D) Work week.
(1) The official work week begins on Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. and ends on Tuesday at 12:00 midnight.
(2) The county may change the official work week at any time, but not to avoid overtime provisions.
(2001 Code, § 31.042) (Ord. passed 1-14-2000)