- No employee shall work overtime when his/her job can be done during regular work hours;
- Credit for overtime worked shall be accrued on a daily basis in a minimum of 15-minute increments. Overtime shall not be accumulated in smaller increments, except as required by an applicable MOU or federal law;
- Unit commanders shall establish guidelines whereby non-emergent service requests received near shift change will be assigned, when possible, to the oncoming shift;
- Except for emergencies, all overtime shall be approved by the unit or watch commander, prior to being worked. Only that overtime, which in the unit commander's judgment, is necessary to provide required services in the accomplishment of Department objectives, shall be approved;
- All operations, which require the use of overtime, shall be carefully evaluated in terms of cost-effectiveness. If a program's or operation's cost exceeds its value, the program shall be modified or terminated;
- Employees covered by FLSA shall have prior approval from their supervisor, before working overtime, unless such overtime worked is the result of a bona fide emergency (e.g., natural disaster, riot, spontaneous jail lockdown, etc.). Absent emergent situations, per this MPP, failure to obtain prior approval violates County policy and may result in employee discipline;
- Managers and approving supervisors shall ensure that overtime is within their budget and is not misused by employees. However, any overtime that is worked by an employee, and that is properly documented, whether it was pre-authorized or unauthorized, shall be paid/saved, if applicable, in accordance with the FLSA;
- Through proper scheduling and continued utilization of reserve deputies, unmanned positions shall be efficiently filled without the use of overtime;
- Use of overtime to fill a need created by vacancies or foreseeable excess workload shall receive prior approval from the division chief or division director. For the purpose of these guidelines, vacancies are those positions not filled when personnel are either transferred or permanently leave a unit. Positions left temporarily vacant by personnel on vacation, military leave, or absence due to injury or illness may be filled through the use of overtime, only when deemed absolutely necessary by the unit commander;
- Unit commanders shall conduct an audit of their overtime accrual each month to ensure adherence to all overtime guidelines established by the Department;
- Unit commanders shall define and set a minimum level of acceptable service for their unit, consistent with Department objectives. This minimum level of service shall serve as a general guideline for watch commanders to assess their manpower requirements;
- Watch commanders shall assess their manpower strengths on a shift basis to determine if time off can be allowed. This shall be based upon the level of service to be maintained, the unit commander's and watch commander's determination of anticipated workload, and the manpower available;
- Desk personnel, the watch deputy, dispatcher, and the watch sergeant shall be responsible for monitoring late calls for possible reassignment to oncoming personnel;
- When service requirements permit, watch commanders may permit employees to take a portion of a shift off on creditable service time (E, V, F, or SP);
- County employees shall not work overtime while using vacation time or during the same shift they elected to take off, except on two specific circumstances:
- Pre-approved Special Projects: When the CEO or Department head gives approval for employees to do so on certain projects (e.g., the Olympics, or the yearly Rose Parade);
- Court Time Other than During Shift Hours: When an employee is off work using vacation leave benefits and, because of a subpoena, must appear in court on behalf of the Department, during hours that are not his regular work shift hours, the employee shall earn overtime for those hours he must appear in court that are not during his regular shift hours (e.g., if a PM or EM employee is off using vacation leave and must appear in court, on behalf of the Department, during AM hours, the employee may earn overtime for the time period attending court during AM shift hours).
When an employee is off work using vacation leave and, because of a subpoena, must appear in court, on behalf of the Department during his regular work shift hours, the employee shall be taken off vacation for that day, returned to work, and appear in court on County time. No overtime shall be earned for those hours. The employee shall attend court during regular shift hours (e.g., if an AM shift employee is off from work using vacation leave and, because of a subpoena, must appear in court during AM shift hours, the employee shall be taken off vacation, returned to work, and appear in court on County time during the AM shift hours).
When an employee is off work using vacation leave immediately prior to and after his regular-days-off (RDO), the employee shall not work overtime on those RDO’s, with the exception of must-appear court time.
The Cadre of Administrative Reserve Personnel Program (CARP) is the process of utilizing personnel to work vacant fixed post assignments in an effort to prevent overtime (paid or saved). Personnel are not entitled to overtime when they work a CARP assignment. They are simply working their regular shift at another unit/location.
A CARP - Hours Worked Report form (SH-AD-678C) shall be prepared for each separate period of CARP hours worked by an employee on any given day.
The short-term loan program is a management tool to address temporary operational requirements that are not addressed by CARP Short-term loans are for a limited duration (less than 30 days) or are part-time reassignments only. Short-term loans are made for temporary or part-time reassignments only.
A Loan - Hours Worked Report form (SH-AD-678L) shall be prepared for each separate period of loan hours worked by an employee on any given day.