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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPO 7364: OVERTIME COMPENSATION, NARROWLY DEFINED CLASS OF EXEMPT EMPLOYEES P.O.No. 7364 08/24/25 ATT ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 78-150(a)(1) [OVERTIME COMPENSATION] OF DIVISION 4 [ WAGE AND SALARY ADMINISTRATION] OF ARTICLE II [PERSONNEL POLICY] OF CHAPTER 78 [PERSONNEL] OF THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR CODE OF ORDINANCES BY PROVIDING OVERTIME PAY FOR A NEWLY AND NARROWLY DEFINED CLASS OF EXEMPT EMPLOYEES WHEREAS, the City of Port Arthur is a chartered municipality located in Jefferson County, Texas; and, WHEREAS, City of Port Arthur, Texas, pursuant to federal law classifies its workforce into overtime categories of"exempt" and "non-exempt" as those terms are used in the Fair Labor Standards Act(FLSA);and, WHEREAS, the City Manager has determined that there is a narrow segment of City exempt employees who are required to work hours in excess of the statutory maximum established by City ordinance and for whose skill set there is an extremely limited or no substitute;and, WHEREAS, the referenced employees continually accrue compensatory time in excess of the statutory maximum responding to the needs of the City, but there is not a path to compensate them therefor;and, WHEREAS, the City Manager deems it necessary and appropriate to compensate said employees once they have reached the statutory maximum in the service of the City as provided in the memorandum executed on July 28, 2025; and, WHEREAS, the City Manager recommends such compensation for these employees be adopted by the City Council of the City of Port Arthur and codified within its ordinances; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR,TEXAS: Section 1. That,the facts and opinions in the preamble are true and correct. Section 2. That, the City Council hereby authorizes the creation of the ExemptET designation for exempt employees as approved by the City Manager as meeting the definition provided in Attachment "A" to wit: "...a narrowly defined group of exempt employees whose technical skill and expertise require them to be called on to work overtime under a number of circumstances. The documented hours causes them to continuously, and significantly, exceed the 160 hours cap; further, there is not a staff substitute available." ExemptET employees are eligible for overtime compensation for work performed that exceeds the 160 hours cap. Section 3. That, said ExemptET classification with its definition be codified as Subsubsection(6) of Subsection (a) of Section 78-150 [Overtime Compensation] of Division 4 [Wage and Salary of the Cityof Port Arthur Administration] of Article II [Personnel Policy] of Chapter 78 [Personnel] Code of Ordinances be adopted as shown in Exhibit"B". Section 4. That,this amendment be codified in the Personnel Policy of the City of Port Arthur in Article IV. [Wage and Salary Administration] Section 17-64 [Overtime Compensation] as show in Exhibit Section 5. That, all ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed, but only to the extent of said conflict. Section 6. That, a copy of this Resolution be spread upon the minutes of the City Council. READ, ADOPTED, AND APPROVED this day of , AD, 2025, at a Meeting of the City Council of the City of Port Arthur,Texas,by the following vote: AYES: Mayor Councilmembers NOES: Hon. Charlotte M. Moses,Mayor ATTEST: Sherri Bellard, City Secretary APPROVED AS TO FORM: Roxann Pais Cotroneo,Esq. City Attorney APPROV FOR ADMINISTRATION: Ron B n,CP C. anager EXHIBIT ')Y! 1'1111t!' www.PortArthurTx.gov INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER Date: June 25, 2025 To: Director(s) of Human Resources and Finance, Council File, Respectfully From: Ronald "Ron" Burton, CPM, City Manager Re: Revision of Overtime Policy Ref. Section 78-150 of the City of Port Arthur Code of Ordinances and Section 17-64 of the City of Port Arthur Personnel Policy COMMENT Recognizing that the nature of municipal operations often involves response, and action, outside of the normal business hours of operation, the City of Port Arthur has established, and codified, a methodology and policy for the compensation of staff working as .noted—overtime comperi'sation. Said policy, following federally established guidelines, divides this compensation into two groups "exempt"and "non-exempt" employees. The referenced designation determining whether compensation is in "time" only, versus the option for "time" or "money". In reviewing the needs of the City, I have determined it prudent to further divide the exempt class to ensure fair compensation for all employees. There is a narrowly defined group of exempt employees whose technical skill and expertise require them to be called on to work overtime under a number of circumstances. The documented hours causes them to continuously, and significantly, exceed the 160 hours cap; further, there is not a staff substitute available. Based on the foregoing, I am approving, pending the amendment of the subject ordinance and policy, the creation of the ExemptET designation for those individuals approved by the City Manager's office, to have their compensation time accrual/use changed from a maximum of 160 hours to rc. Time pay lot all beyond the 1611 hour cap . Please amend the respective ordinance and policy, accordingly. Thank you. APPROVED: 0Vg$Vi2, Ronald Burton,CP r Manager Date c: Pamela Langford,CPM Dr. Albert Thigpen "Remember, we are here to serve the Citizens of Port Arthur." 444 4'h Street X Port Arthur,Texas 7764 1-1 089 X 409.983.8182 X FAX 409.983.8294 EXHIBIT REDLINED VERSION Sec. 78-150. - Overtime compensation. (a) Employees who are designated as exempt from the overtime pay requirements of state and federal laws shall not receive overtime pay for overtime work. (1) Exempt employees may be compensated for approved overtime worked through compensatory time. Compensatory time shall be accrued on a one-to-one basis(one hour of compensatory time for each hour of overtime worked). Exempt employees shall qualify for overtime compensation only when they have been actively at work for more than 48 hours during the workweek.An employee shall not be considered actively at work if the employee is on any approved or unapproved leave, with the exception of citybusiness or jury duty. P (2) All hours worked in excess of 48 hours during the workweek by department heads must be approved by the city manager, in writing, prior to accrual as compensatory time. All hours worked in excess of 48 hours during the workweek by all other exempt personnel must be authorized by the department head prior to working overtime and must be documented on the daily overtime report prior to accrual as compensatory time. (3) Exempt employees shall not be eligible to use more than 160 hours of accrued compensatory time within a calendar year. Compensatory time taken must be documented on the daily attendance report. (4) Upon separation of employment,exempt employees shall not be paid for remaining unused compensatory time. (5) Exempt employees shall not accrue more than 160 hours of compensatory time. (6) ExemptET employees is a narrowly defined group of exempt employees whose technical skill and expertise require them to be called to work overtime under a number of circumstances. The documented hours cause them to continuously and significantly exceed the 160-hour cap on accrued compensatory time, and no staff - substitute is available. The City Manager designates ExemptET employees. ExemptET employees may be eligible for overtime compensation for approved work that exceeds 160 hours of accrued compensatory time. (b) Overtime compensation for employees who are designated as nonexempt from the overtime requirements of state or federal laws shall be determined by the number of overtime hours actually performed, computed to the nearest 15-minute increment in accordance with the following provisions: (1) No compensation of any sort shall be made for overtime work not approved by the employee's immediate representative of management, subsequently certified in writing as necessary by the department head concerned. REDLINED VERSION a. It shall be the duty of the employee and the responsibility of the supervisor to ensure that employees are not permitted to work overtime unless specifically authorized and/or requested to do so. b. Except for members of the fire department, each workweek will consist of seven consecutive 24-hour periods. Hours cannot be averaged over two or more workweeks to determine overtime hours. (2) Overtime work shall occur under the following circumstances, and at the rates indicated: a. Regular employees, excluding those in civil service positions in the police or fire departments, who work in excess of 40 hours during the normal workweek shall receive overtime pay or compensatory time off at the rate of time and one-half. b. Regular employees who are called out shall receive overtime pay or compensatory time off at the rate of time and one-half with a guaranteed minimum of two hours for all hours worked without regard to whether 40 hours per week have been worked (the guaranteed two-hour minimum is intended for the first call out within a 24-hour period only, any additional call outs within this period shall be paid for actual time worked at time and one-half to the nearest 15-minute increment). Call-out on a holiday which occurs within the employee's normal working hours shall be compensated at a straight time rate unless the employee has otherwise worked 40 hours in that workweek. c. Except for members of the police and fire departments, regular employees required to work on a holiday shall be compensated at the regular individual base rate for the time actually worked on the holiday. This pay will be in addition to the pay automatically received for the holiday. (3) All overtime worked must be reported on the department's daily overtime report. (4) Overtime compensation may be taken in the form of overtime pay or compensatory time off if requested by the employee and approved by the immediate representative of management. Compensatory time, which is taken, must be documented on the daily attendance report and on properly executed authorization for leave forms. a. Overtime pay or compensatory time will be granted at the rate of time and one-half. b. If an employee elects to receive overtime pay and then later decides to take compensatory time off for overtime hours worked, such overtime wages shall not be paid; provided, however, that such a decision must be made REDLINED VERSION during the same pay period in which the overtime work occurred. Appropriate reports reflecting the change in the method of compensation shall be filed with the human resources department. c. If compensatory time is desired, the employee must sign a statement to signify the desire to receive compensatory time off in lieu of overtime wages. Such an agreement needs only to be executed once. d. Unused, accrued compensatory time shall be paid at a rate consistent with state/federal laws upon separation from employment. e. Requests for the use of compensatory time shall be honored within a reasonable period of time after the request is made. The employee's representative of management will schedule compensatory time off in accordance with the most efficient operation of the employee's department. f. At no time shall any nonexempt employee accumulate more than 40 hours of compensatory time. Overtime exceeding the 40-hour ceiling must be compensated through overtime wages. (5) If an employee, at his own option, works occasionally on a part-time basis in a different capacity from his regular employment, the hours worked in the two jobs shall not be combined for the purpose of determining overtime liability. The term "different capacity" means that the work must not fall in the same occupational category as the employee's regular position. (6) Employees shall qualify for overtime compensation only when they have been actively at work during the workweek. An employee shall not be considered actively at work if the employee is on any approved or unapproved leave, with the exception of city business or jury duty. (Code 1961, § 17-64; Ord. No. 00-60, § 2, 10-3-2000; Ord. No. 01-20, § 2, 6-12-2001; Ord. No. 07-19, §§ 2, 3, 2-28-2007; Ord. No. 08-92, § 2, 9-9-2008) Editor's note—Ord. No. 01-20, § 2, adopted Jun. 12, 2001, deleted § 78-105(b)(2) subsections b. and c. in its entirety. Former subsections b. and c. pertained to overtime provisions for civil service employees governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act and derived from Ord. No. 00-60, § 2, adopted Oct. 3, 2000 and the 1961 Code, § 17-64. In order to preserve the alphabetical numbering style of the Code § 78-105(b)(2) subsections d.—f. has been redesignated as subsections b.—d. EXHIBIT «C„ REDLINED VERSION-PERSONNEL POLICY Section 17-64. Overtime compensation. A. Employees who are designated as exempt from the overtime pay requirements of state and federal laws shall not receive overtime pay for overtime work. 1. Exempt employees may be compensated for approved overtime worked through compensatory time. Compensatory time shall be accrued on a one-to-one basis(one hour of compensatory time for each hour of overtime worked). Exempt employees shall qualify for overtime compensation only when they have been actively at work for more than 48 hours during the workweek.An employee shall not be considered actively at work if the employee is on any approved or unapproved leave, with the exception of city business or jury duty. 2. All hours worked in excess of 48 hours during the workweek by department heads must be approved by the city manager, in writing, prior to accrual as compensatory time. All hours worked in excess of 48 hours during the workweek by all other exempt personnel must be authorized by the department head prior to working overtime and must be documented on the daily overtime report prior to accrual as compensatory time. 3. Exempt employees shall not be eligible to use more than 160 hours of accrued compensatory time within a calendar year. Compensatory time taken must be documented on the daily attendance report. 4. Upon separation of employment, exempt employees shall not be paid for remaining unused compensatory time. 5. Exempt employees shall not accrue more than 160 hours of compensatory time. 6. ExemptET employees is a narrowly defined group of exempt employees whose technical skill and expertise require them to be called to work overtime under a number of circumstances. The documented hours cause them to continuously and significantly exceed the 160-hour cap on accrued compensatory time, and no staff substitute is available. The City Manager designates ExemptET employees. ExemptET employees may be eligible for overtime compensation for approved work that exceeds 160 hours of accrued compensatory time. B. Overtime compensation for employees who are designated as nonexempt from the overtime requirements of state or federal laws shall be determined by the number of overtime hours actually performed, computed to the nearest 15-minute increment in accordance with the following provisions: 1. No compensation of any sort shall be made for overtime work not approved by the employee's immediate representative of management, subsequently certified in writing as necessary by the department head concerned. REDLINED VERSION-PERSONNEL POLICY a. It shall be the duty of the employee and the responsibility of the supervisor to ensure that employees are not permitted to work overtime unless specifically authorized and/or requested to do so. b. Except for members of the fire department, each workweek will consist of seven consecutive 24-hour periods. Hours cannot be averaged over two or more workweeks to determine overtime hours. 2. Overtime work shall occur under the following circumstances, and at the rates indicated: a. Regular employees, excluding those in civil service positions in the police or fire departments, who work in excess of 40 hours during the normal workweek shall receive overtime pay or compensatory time off at the rate of time and one-half. b. Regular employees who are called out shall receive overtime pay or compensatory time off at the rate of time and one-half with a guaranteed minimum of two hours for all hours worked without regard to whether 40 hours per week have been worked (the guaranteed two-hour minimum is intended for the first call out within a 24-hour period only, any additional call outs within this period shall be paid for actual time worked at time and one-half to the nearest 15-minute increment). Call-out on a holiday which occurs within the employee's normal working hours shall be compensated at a straight time rate unless the employee has otherwise worked 40 hours in that workweek. c. Except for members of the police and fire departments, regular employees required to work on a holiday shall be compensated at the regular individual base rate for the time actually worked on the holiday. This pay will be in addition to the pay automatically received for the holiday. 3. All overtime worked must be reported on the department's daily overtime report. 4. Overtime compensation may be taken in the form of overtime pay or compensatory time off if requested by the employee and approved by the immediate representative of management. Compensatory time, which is taken, must be documented on the daily attendance report and on properly executed authorization for leave forms. a. Overtime pay or compensatory time will be granted at the rate of time and one-half. b. If an employee elects to receive overtime pay and then later decides to take compensatory time off for overtime hours worked, such overtime wages shall not be paid; provided, however, that such a decision must be made REDLINED VERSION-PERSONNEL POLICY during the same pay period in which the overtime work occurred. Appropriate reports reflecting the change in the method of compensation shall be filed with the human resources department. c. If compensatory time is desired, the employee must sign a statement to signify the desire to receive compensatory time off in lieu of overtime wages. Such an agreement needs only to be executed once. d. Unused, accrued compensatory time shall be paid at a rate consistent with state/federal laws upon separation from employment. e. Requests for the use of compensatory time shall be honored within a reasonable period of time after the request is made. The employee's representative of management will schedule compensatory time off in accordance with the most efficient operation of the employee's department. f. At no time shall any nonexempt employee accumulate more than 40 hours of compensatory time. Overtime exceeding the 40-hour ceiling must be compensated through overtime wages. 5. If an employee, at his own option, works occasionally on a part-time basis in a different capacity from his regular employment, the hours worked in the two jobs shall not be combined for the purpose of determining overtime liability. The term "different capacity" means that the work must not fall in the same occupational category as the employee's regular position. 6. Employees shall qualify for overtime compensation only when they have been actively at work during the workweek. An employee shall not be considered actively at work if the employee is on any approved or unapproved leave, with the exception of city business or jury duty.