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Northampton County defers revised EMS overtime policy after staff presentation
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Summary
County staff proposed aligning EMS overtime pay with Department of Labor guidance (168 hours in a 28‑day period); after staff showed payroll examples and commissioners raised questions about calculation, scope and employee impact, the board voted to postpone the item for more review and staff outreach.
Staff presented a proposed change to Northampton County's personnel policy to calculate EMS overtime using the Department of Labor's 28-day, 168-hour "flexible workweek" method, explaining the change is intended to bring county practice into federal compliance and to correct longstanding calculation discrepancies.
The presenter said the revised method would leave base pay unchanged but calculate overtime at a higher rate for hours actually worked in a week; sample payrolls showed a typical 24 hours of built-in overtime every 28 days for 24-hour-shift employees and staff projected that tightening calculations could save the county on overtime payments for employees who currently accumulate extra premium pay. The presenter estimated county savings for heavy-overtime employees and suggested an effective date of June 1 with 30 days' notice for employees so staff could meet with EMS personnel.
Commissioners pressed staff for details on how the county had been calculating overtime, whether the discrepancies represented isolated abuse or widespread practice, and how the change would affect take-home pay and staffing. Staff said the discrepancy was identified while implementing a new time-and-attendance system, that neighboring counties use the same flexible-week approach, and that some previously paid premium hours appeared to be duplicated under the existing policy.
After discussion about parity with peer counties, employee outreach, and the mechanics of the proposed calculation, a commissioner moved to postpone the item to the second meeting in May to allow staff additional time to share details with EMS crews and to provide clearer payroll examples. The motion to defer carried unanimously.
The board did not adopt the policy; staff said they will meet with EMS employees, distribute the internal pay-policy details and return with a recommendation at the next meeting cycle.
