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County HR proposes ending comp time, paying overtime each pay period; commissioners press on $2 million budget increase
Summary
A proposed policy change would remove compensatory time for non‑exempt employees and require overtime paid at time‑and‑a‑half when hours exceed 40 in a workweek, standardizing pay across departments; commissioners questioned how that change relates to a roughly $2 million overtime increase flagged in the budget and asked for further review before a vote on June 16.
County human-resources staff presented a proposed revision to the county’s overtime policy that would move all eligible non‑exempt employees to cash overtime (time‑and‑a‑half for hours worked over 40 in a workweek) and remove compensatory time as a payment option in most departments.
Shauna, the county’s human resources director, told commissioners the revision aims to provide consistency across departments and to ensure compliance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The policy clarifies that overtime accrues by workweek rather than pay period, explains overtime calculations for non‑exempt employees (including holiday considerations), and assigns managers responsibility to monitor schedules and distribute extra hours to avoid repeated overtime for the same employee.
Commissioners asked how the update connects to the county budget, where staff had flagged an approximately $2 million increase in overtime costs concentrated in public‑safety departments. Staff explained that some departments already pay overtime each pay period while others bank compensatory time and paid it out annually; moving to consistent pay‑as‑earned across the organization will surface those costs earlier and allow the county to track overtime more accurately.
Staff said the change will be brought back for a formal vote at the next board meeting and is intended to be effective by the start of the next fiscal year. Commissioners asked for more time to review proposed language and requested clearer budget explanations and departmental breakdowns before the adoption vote.
