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Council approves class consolidations and related pay adjustments; DWP overtime rules tweaked for FLSA compliance
Summary
The council approved classification consolidations that raise pay for about 238 employees (estimated $1.2 million annually) and adopted a technical amendment to DWP overtime accruals to comply with FLSA; councilmembers debated management flexibility, employee concerns and cost justifications before approving both items.
The Los Angeles City Council voted to approve personnel class consolidations that will reclassify certain engineering-related job series and result in pay adjustments for approximately 238 employees. The council also approved a separate, technical amendment to Department of Water and Power (DWP) overtime rules intended to bring the department into compliance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
Councilmember Larry Wax called items 8 and 9 special to request explanations of why the consolidations were needed and what city value would result from an estimated $1.2 million annual increase tied to the consolidations. Personnel staff said the adjustments followed class consolidation work reviewed by the Employee Relations Committee and were intended to broaden the applicant pool, allow management flexibility, and elevate minimum professional qualifications. "When you consolidate, you have you increase management's flexibility to assign staff to different functions or responsibilities," staff or proponents explained; Councilmember Sheila Kuehl described consolidations as a way to "elevat[e] a whole group of people in the workforce to a much higher skill level."
On the DWP overtime item, staff said the change was a technical adjustment recommended by the city attorney to reduce employees' ability to accumulate overtime in a way that brought the unit into compliance with FLSA and to reduce future litigation risk. Councilmembers noted prior debates about excessive overtime in DWP and discussed the need to protect the city from FLSA-related lawsuits.
Both items were approved on recorded votes (item 8: 13 ayes; item 9: 13 ayes). Councilmembers acknowledged employee concerns over career advancement competition created by consolidations but said training and degree requirements would be used to manage transitions.
Ending: Council approved consolidations and the DWP overtime technical amendment; staff will implement classification changes, apply new salary bands as consolidated classes take effect, and proceed with necessary MOU or administrative steps to reflect FLSA compliance changes.
