Swapping of RDO/shifts should be limited to those situations wherein an employee must have a particular day/shift off but is unable due to scheduling needs.
- Swap requests shall be submitted on the Form SH-R-442 (RDO/SHIFT SWAP REQUEST) at least five days prior to the first portion of the swap;
- No employee shall work more than twelve (12) consecutive days without a day off as a result of a swap except when necessary to appear in court or under other special circumstances approved by a division chief or division director;
- Swaps shall be made between two employees (self-swapping constitutes a change of work schedule) with the same compatible work schedule (e.g., 5/40, 4/40, 9/80, etc.);
- Swaps shall be initiated between same classifications (e.g., deputy sheriff with deputy sheriff; custody assistant with custody assistant, etc.);
- All swaps shall be completed within the same calendar month;
- When an employee swaps an RDO/shift, the employee cannot work overtime during his or her regularly assigned shift (e.g., employee swaps PM shift so he can have that time off, employee may work overtime on Day or EM shift, but not on PM shift);
- More than three (3) swaps per calendar month shall be approved by the scheduling sergeant or watch commander;
- No employee shall work back-to-back doubles as a result of a swap, except when necessary to appear in court or under other special circumstances approved by a division chief or division director. A back-to-back double is defined as working a shift of 16 hours or more followed or preceded by another shift in excess of 12 hours in any two (2) consecutive 24-hour periods.
The time accountant shall be immediately notified of the exchange of RDO/shifts and the names of the employees involved. The time accountant shall change the RDO/shifts on the Payroll Worksheet, plus (+) or minus (-) the days involved, and make a notation of the swap on each time card. Paper daily/weekly time sheets shall always reflect the name of the employee actually on duty.
No overtime shall be involved in a completed swap; it is merely an exchange of RDO/shifts. The party working the first portion of the swap shall receive voluntary overtime only if the swap cannot be completed (busted swap).
When a swap has been initiated and the other party is unable to complete it due to unforeseen circumstances (e.g., working partial hours), the following shall apply:
- If the party who worked the extra day cannot be granted the exchange day off due to manpower requirements, the extra time shall be changed to voluntary overtime and the day concerned changed back to a day off;
- If the party who is working the extra shift has a bona fide emergency and must leave work early, the employee may, if the unit does not need to fill behind this employee with overtime, submit an absence request for remaining hours not worked. This is not considered a “busted swap.” However, if the unit needs to fill behind the employee’s absence (i.e., position cannot go vacant), it is considered a “busted swap” and the swap rules apply.
- If the party who owes the County time cannot work the time owed, accrued benefits of the employee’s choice shall be applied in place of the exchanged RDO/shift or the employee shall be charged “AA” time (Authorized Absence Without Pay) if no accrued benefits are available;
- Swapping of RDO/shifts may be prohibited by the unit commander if he/she deems such practice to be detrimental to the operation of his/her unit.