EXTRA HOURS / COMP TIME
Did you know that your Supervisor cannot ask you to work extra hours and only offer you Comp time?
Did you know that it is your right, based on Appendix D of our CSEA Contract that if you have “the right to demand salary payment for any extra time worked” but you “do not have the right to demand comp time for extra time worked.”
What this means is that if your supervisor asks you to work extra hours, they need to pay you for that time. If your supervisor asks you to work extra hours and wants you to instead of being paid, to accept comp time, you can choose to agree to but it has to be done BEFORE you work the extra hours.
Comp time is accrued at time and one half only if an employee works over eight hours in one day or over 40 hours in one week. A part time employee who works additional time, e.g., a three hour/day instructional assistant who works four hours on a particular day would only earn one hour of comp. time, not an hour and a half.
This being said, it has been the general practice of the District in recent years to not offer comp time. In reality, comp time affects your job duties in that it requires you to be gone from your job in order to use the comp time, but who does your work while you are gone? Most classified positions do not get subs and therefore, the work just piles up awaiting your return.
It is CSEA’s stance that whenever you are asked to work additional hours, you should always say that you want to be paid for those hours and if your supervisor tells you that they cannot pay you, you need to decline working extra hours. However, if you are fine with accepting comp time, you need to follow the contract language and those hours must be utilized within 12 calendar months of the date they are accrued.
Members, please familiarize yourself with the contract language on this subject.
Below is the full contract language on this subject.
APPENDIX D
Procedures to be Followed in the Handling of Compensatory Time
1. There must be an ongoing record of time earned and time used. Attached is a copy of the form to be used.
2. Any time taken off from work must be turned in on an absence sheet.
3. The decision as to whether the employee is to receive comp. time or salary payment needs to be made before the employee works the extra time.
The employee has the right to demand salary payment for any extra time worked, but does not have the right to demand comp. time for extra time worked. There must be mutual agreement between the employee and the supervisor before the extra time can be considered comp. time. In addition, there must be mutual agreement between the employee and supervisor as to when the comp. time is to be taken.
4. The supervisor needs to approve and monitor accrual of comp. time. All requests for comp. time at the site level need to be approved by the principal or his/her designee. Teachers should not be involved in granting comp. time to instructional assistants without principal approval.
5. Supervisors are not to grant comp. time when it affects another site or position without first consulting, and reaching mutual agreement, with the other supervisor.
General Information Regarding Comp. Time
1. Comp. time is accrued at time and one half only if an employee works over eight hours in one day or over 40 hours in one week. A part time employee who works additional time, e.g., a three hour/day instructional assistant who works four hours on a particular day would only earn one hour of comp. time, not an hour and a half.
2. There is no maximum amount of comp. time that can be accrued. Each supervisor determines this. Comp. time must be used no later than 12 calendar months after is it earned. If not, then salary payment must be made.