Meridian updates holiday and overtime policies to clarify pay and align with FLSA; time-and-a-half for holiday hours added

Debbie Hoops, director leading policy updates, presented revisions to the city’s holiday policy and overtime compensation rules. On holidays, the policy retains 11 city holidays and clarifies that employees receive holiday pay equal to their scheduled shift (for example, 8 hours for 8‑hour schedules, 10 hours for 4‑10 schedules). The revised policy also removes the requirement for director approval when an employee must take a comparable day in the same week because the holiday falls on their scheduled day off.

Hoops said the key change for fairness is premium pay for hours physically worked on an observed holiday: "they receive time and a half for hours worked on the actual holiday," she said. Part‑time and temporary employees’ treatment did not change.

On overtime, staff reorganized policy language to align with FLSA definitions and clarified police‑specific overtime categories (supervisor‑directed, court time, special assignments and minimum staffing). Paid leave was clarified not to count toward overtime thresholds; only actual hours worked count toward the 40‑hour overtime calculation. Staff acknowledged system‑implementation questions tied to the Workday platform (split shifts and daylight‑savings scenarios), and said training and additional adjustments will come as Workday is refined.

Council expressed appreciation for the clarity and asked staff to continue training supervisors and public safety staff on time‑recording and Workday procedures. The items will return for further follow‑up as needed.