Article 20 Overtime

evaluate the employee. The decision of the third-party health care provider will be binding and paid for by the City. Employees with work related injuries/illnesses will be given preference for modified duty assignments. Employee is responsible for requesting modified duty to the Fire Chief through the chain of command within 24 hours. In the event of sensitive and confidential information, the employee may go directly to the Fire Chief.

The City may assign modified duty personnel to any fire department-related activity at any fire department work site provided that the assignment is within the member’s certification and/or licensure status and that such activities are within the member's physical limitations, as determined by the health care provider by the above-established procedure. Qualified personnel may be temporarily assigned to any Fire Department divisions as modified duty assignments. Modified duty personnel shall work a fortyhour schedule, unless the employee and the Fire Chief or his/her designee mutually agree in writing to an alternative schedule. Except for on-duty injuries, after 30 modified duty calendar days, members shall not receive Special Assignment compensation for the remainder of the modified duty assignment. Special Assignment compensation shall be reinstated for the first payroll following the member’s return to full duty.

Upon receiving a medical release back to full duty, shift personnel shall resume their normal work schedule at the earliest opportunity that is consistent with the following:

(a) After receiving a release to full duty, members will complete their 40-hour week prior to returning to a normal shift assignment. (b) Before returning to work, members must comply with the Restricted- Light

Modified Duty Policy.

The provisions of this article shall not preclude an eligible employee from pursuing disability benefits. When appropriate, employees applying for disability benefits may continue to perform in a modified duty capacity.

ARTICLE 20 OVERTIME

All hours worked in excess of any employee’s regularly scheduled hours shall be considered overtime work. Hours worked excludes sick pay, sick pay family, leave without pay, suspension without pay, administrative leave with pay, all FMLA pays, job injury pay, Worker’s Compensation, and forty (40) hours paid disability. Time spent in required re-certification training is to be compensated at straight time.

Employees performing overtime work shall, at the discretion of the employee only, be given compensatory time or overtime pay at the rate of time and one-half (1 and ½) times his base hourly rate of pay for such work. Overtime shall be paid out no later than the second paycheck after the date on which an employee worked overtime.

The City shall keep a record of each employee’s accrued compensatory time.

Employees who accept compensatory time in lieu of overtime shall document this election on their time sheet in order to ensure proper accounting of compensatory time and accurate record keeping. No overtime shall be scheduled during the first 6 months of employment, unless approved by the Fire Chief or a state of emergency has been declared.

Where a more specific article in this Agreement applies to the work outside of the employee’s regularly-scheduled shift period, the parties intend for the more specific article to apply, and do not intend for a multiplier effect, e.g. 1 and ½ times 1 and ½ the employee’s base hourly rate.

The maximum accumulation of compensatory time for shift member employees covered by this Agreement shall be one-hundred forty-four (144) hours. The maximum accumulation of compensatory time for non-shift member employees covered by this Agreement shall be one-hundred twenty (120) hours. Any employees who by working overtime would accumulate greater than the established maximum, shall be paid overtime in all instances.

For shift employees, seventy-two (72) hours of notice shall be required for the use of compensatory time. Exceptions to this notice requirement may be approved through the employee’s chain of command, which approval will not be unreasonably denied. “Compensatory time” for the purposes of this Agreement means one and one-half hours of paid leave, paid at the employee’s current hourly wage rate, for each hour of overtime worked.

In the event of an employee’s permanent disability or death, one hundred percent 100% of their accumulated compensatory time shall be paid to the employee or their estate, at the hourly rate of pay in effect for that employee at the time of their permanent disability or death. The Public Information Officer (PIO), shall be paid overtime when called out and not on duty, based on actual hours worked and pursuant to the provisions of paragraph one of this article.

The SWAT-MEDIC Team, shall be paid overtime when called out and not on duty, based on actual hours worked and pursuant to the provisions of paragraph one of this article.

In the event that an employee is called back to work after being relieved of duty for more than fifteen (15) minutes, or called in to work at a time the employee is not scheduled to work, that employee shall receive a minimum call back pay equivalent to three (3) hours’ pay at the employee’s base hourly rate paid at time and one-half.

CROSS REFERENCE: Article 17 PREVAILING BENEFITS which now includes the City’s Administrative Policy #06.03.08 entitled Critical Incident Premium for times when the City is considered closed for regular business.