The Company-Union Negotiating Committee meets
periodically to review overtime questions which have been raised
concerning implementation of the 1999 Plantwide Overtime Agreement
and to jointly agree upon the proper handling of each issue.
Following are answers to some overtime questions which have arisen
since implementation of the new Overtime Agreement. The list will be
revised and republished for your guidance as new issues are
addressed.
If an employee was wrongly bypassed for Sunday overtime and the
Shop Steward did not notify the Supervisor ahead of time, we offer
the next available overtime. What if the next available overtime
happens to be a Saturday and not a Sunday?
A: The employee would be offered the Saturday. In accordance
with the overtime policy, the employee is offered the next
available overtime whatever it might be. The employee would
continue to be offered the next overtime as long as he/she is low
on the list.
There is an area which works a lot of in-week overtime and the
department has a hard time getting people to work. When offering
four (4) hours of in-week overtime some people will say they can’t
or won’t work four hours but will work two or three. The
department needs those people to work. Do we charge them for all
four hours offered and let them work the two hours?
A: Yes, the employee would be charged for the four hours that
was offered even though he/she may only work two hours.
In the Fire Department, at the end of a shift if someone calls
in sick, they have to hold someone over. Do they go down the
overtime list from low to high hours and if they get no one then
draft the low senior or draft the low hour man?
A: Yes, you would go down the list from low to high hours
asking employees if they would like to work. After you have gone
through the entire list and have an insufficient number of
employees to work, you would then draft the low senior employee.
It is preferable to maintain a separate list of employees by
seniority for use when drafting. Employees should be drafted in
seniority order on a rotating basis each time a draft is required
by going from least senior to most senior with each successive
draft so that the least senior is not forced each time.
What about Leads working overtime. Some Shop Stewards and
Management think leads should be separate from the classification.
They want to be able to bring a Lead in on overtime when they need
the Lead whether he is low or not. They contend that Lead is not a
classification and thus Leads should not be on the same overtime
list as everyone else.
A: Leads are to be maintained on the same overtime list as the
other employees in their classification.
What if we offer Saturday and Sunday overtime on Thursday and
the bottom three employees have 60, 61 and 62 hours of overtime.
We offer the 28 hours of overtime to the man with 60 hours and
post 12 hours on Saturday and 16 hours on Sunday. If we have 4
hours of overtime come up on Thursday evening do we offer it to
the next lowest man, i.e. the man with 61 hours, or do we have to
ask the one who had 60 hours since he has not worked the Saturday
and Sunday overtime yet?
A: You would offer the 4 hours of overtime on Thursday evening
to the person with the next lowest amount of hours, i.e. 61 hours.
What if we ask for overtime on Saturday and Sunday and an
employee says he can’t work Sunday, but can work Saturday?
A: The employee would be allowed to work the Saturday overtime
but would be charged the appropriate number of hours for both
Saturday and Sunday.
What about consideration for working people with special skills
and qualifications?
A: Yes, the 50 hour spread still applies. We need to cross
train people so we do not violate the 50 hour margin.
When we offer weekend overtime on Saturday and Sunday, if an
employee turns it down are they charged for both days?
A: Yes, employees will be charged for all offered work, either
as “worked” or “refused.” Employees that work only one of the two
offered days would be charged paid hours worked for the day they
worked and paid hours refused for the day they refused. For
example, an employee offered Saturday and Sunday that could work 8
hours Saturday but refused 8 hours Sunday would be charged W/12 on
Saturday and R/16 on Sunday.
If an employee has accepted weekend overtime on Thursday and is
absent a partial day (not vacation E4) on Friday, are they still
eligible to work on the weekend?
A: Yes, as long as the employee works some time on the Friday
they should not be replaced for the weekend overtime and should be
allowed to work. If an employee leaving work on Friday says he
cannot be in on the weekend, he may be replaced and should be
charged for refused hours if he is leaving before lunch, or double
charged hours if leaving after lunch on Friday.
On Call-ins, page 4 number 7, on the Overtime Agreement, it
says hours worked, not hours paid. Is the employee charged hours
paid or hours worked?
A: All charges are “Paid” hours. An employee called in for 4
hours on Saturday would be charged 6 hours.
If an employee accepts weekend overtime on Thursday and then
either changes his mind on Friday or is absent on Friday and calls
in to report his/her absence and notifies management that he/she
will not work on Saturday, is he/she charged double?
A: Employees who change their mind and refuse previously
accepted overtime before lunch (normally scheduled lunch on their
shift) on Friday will be single charged, as refused overtime.
Employees that change their mind and decline overtime after lunch
should be double charged.
If after asking all the employees in the classification to work
week-end (Saturday and Sunday) overtime, management still needs
people to work (and there is no other department or shift from
which to borrow people, what option does management have to get
people to work overtime?
A: The least senior employee in the work group may be drafted.
Drafting may be rotated among the work group if it becomes a
regular necessity.
How should we charge overtime worked by employees while they
are on Field duty?
A: Employees on Field duty should be charged as if they had
refused the work they would have been offered if they had remained
within their home overtime group. Any overtime hours worked while
on Field Duty will not to charged to the employee upon return to
their home group.
Does the before/after lunch rule for single/double charging an
employee for accepting and later refusing weekend overtime also
apply to in-week overtime accepted and later refused?
A: The rule for in-week overtime is that employees who accept
the overtime and later refuse are charged with a refusal (single
charge) unless the refusal is within the last hour and one-half of
the shift. If the employee waits until the last hour and one-half
of the shift to notify management that they now wish to refuse,
the overtime is double charged.
One of the departments in the plant has day and swing shift on
the same overtime list. There is a difference of 84 hours between
the high and low employee. Other than weekend overtime, employees
on day shift are frequently asked to work overtime to replace a
swing shift employee in that classification who is absent on a
given day. Day shift can survive with an absence or two without
replacing the employee, but swing cannot, therefore day shift
employees are asked to work more often and their hours are
greater.
A: Overtime lists must be classification by Supervisor or by
classification Department for each shift. Different shifts may not
be on the same overtime list.
If an employee is working on Saturday and it is determined that
Sunday overtime is needed, is the employee charged with a refusal
if they elect not to work the Sunday?
A: The employee is charged with the refusal.
In a department where they have a lot of Call-In/Call-Back
overtime, at what time do you stop calling day shift and start
calling swing shift?
A: After 2:00 p.m. you should use the swing shift overtime list
when calling employees in to work.
An employee goes out for an approved late lunch and while he is
out, a need for in-week overtime arises for that day. How long
should management delay asking for the overtime waiting for that
employee to return?
A: If overtime arises and is asked while an employee is not
here, he/she is charged for the overtime. This would apply to Late
Lunches, Sick Leave or Vacation, both full and partial day. We
should, however, assure that no one in management uses this to
play games by deliberately waiting for someone to leave to ask for
overtime or deliberately asking earlier than usual just to avoid
asking a particular person.
Should we add hours to an employee’s overtime total as a result
of a grievance settlement where overtime was the issue? What about
monies paid on a grievance for other issues like employees
grieving subcontractors performing work in-plant?
A: Any time monies are paid as a result of an overtime
grievance, the appropriate number of overtime hours must be added
to the employees overtime balance on the overtime list.
On Holidays do we ask for overtime for the entire period or ask
for each individual day?
A: If a Holiday(s) join(s) a weekend, the holiday(s) should be
asked individually and the weekend should be asked as normal, i.e.
if on the weekend you are working both Saturday and Sunday, then
the appropriate employee should be offered both days.
Example #1. Monday, July 5, 1999 is a holiday. If management
will be offering overtime for Saturday, July 3rd, Sunday,
July 4th and Monday, July 5th the overtime should be asked as
follows: Ask the low hours employees to work the Saturday and
Sunday. When the weekend requirements have been fulfilled, then
the next low hour employee should be offered the Holiday.
Example #2. Thanksgiving holidays for 1999 are Thursday,
November 25th and Friday, November 26th. If management has a
requirement for overtime for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and
Sunday, the overtime should be offered as follows: Offer the low
hours employees the Thursday until that requirement is filled;
offer the next low hours employees the Friday until that
requirement is filled; then offer the next low hours employees the
Saturday and Sunday, i.e. both days, until that requirement is
filled.
When an employee is changing departments through surplus,
promotion, or other reason, the change of status to the new
department will be effective on Saturday. Which overtime list will
the employee be considered to be on for the first weekend?
A: The employee is eligible to work overtime in the releasing
department.
There is an employee who has medical limitations which preclude
him/her from performing the normal duties of the job and
management has made job accommodations by allowing the employee to
perform a job function which he/she can perform within his/her
limitations. How should the employees be treated when overtime
arises in their classifications, which they can’t perform due to
their medical limitations? (Note- the employee has been assigned a
job during the week which involves paperwork and ground level work
which the employee can perform within his/her limitations. The
work which is to be performed on overtime is in the employee’s
classification and requires climbing on the aircraft and
performing tasks which would violate his/her limitations.)
A: The employee would be bypassed and charged for the offered
overtime. However, if the same work management has been assigning
them to do in-week, to accommodate their limitations, is available
on overtime then they would be eligible to work that overtime.
On Thursday a need arises for four hours of in-week overtime
for that evening. The low hours employee refuses the overtime as
does the next low hour employee. The third employee who is asked,
accepts the overtime. The first two employees are charged with a
refusal for six (6) hours and the employee who accepts is charged
with working six (6) hours. After asking and filling that
requirement, another need arises, this time for eight (8) hours of
in-week overtime also on Thursday after the shift. The first
employee who had been asked to work the four hours and who had
refused and was charged six (6) hours is still low on the list.
That employee is then asked to work the eight (8) hours and
accepts it. He is charged for fourteen (14) hours for the overtime
he accepts. Is it fair that he is also charged with the first six
(6) hours that he refused since it is for the same time period he
is now working and is being charged? He is effectively being
charged twice for the same time period?
A: The employee should be charged only for the highest number
of paid hours for which he/she is asked when a situation such as
this arises and employee is asked for two different amounts of
overtime for an overlapping period of time. Therefore, this
employee should be charged for fourteen (14) hours for the
accepted overtime, but not the six (6) hours of refused overtime.
A salaried employee is declared surplus and receives a change
of status placing him/her back hourly effective Saturday. If
overtime is being worked on that Saturday is the former salaried
employee eligible to work that overtime?
A: No, the employee was not hourly when the overtime was asked
and therefore is not eligible to work the weekend overtime.
When calling employees in for “call-in” overtime the supervisor
makes a mistake when totaling hours and selecting the correct (low
hour) employee for the overtime. How should the situation be
handled to correct the mistake, i.e. should the injured employee
be paid, or allowed to work the next available overtime? Since
this was call-in overtime the Shop Steward was not available to
catch the mistake and forewarn management.
A: If a mistake was made, the employee should be paid. When a
need arises to call employees in at a time when the Shop Steward,
Committeeman or designee is not available, the Supervisor should
double check his/her list and/or have someone else review to
assure the proper employee is called in.
A swing shift employee is scheduled to work “off shift” on
Saturday on day shift for eight (8) hours. The employee did not
report for work on Saturday because he/she was ill. How many hours
should the employee be charged?
A: The employee will be charged double for the amount of hours
he/she would have been paid had he/she worked the overtime.
Therefore, provided the employee had worked eight hours on Friday,
he/she would be paid fourteen (14) hours for working eight (8) on
Saturday. Since day shift Saturday falls within the employee’s
swing shift twenty-four hour cycle, the first four (4) hours on
day shift Saturday would be paid at time and one-half for a total
of six (6) paid hours and the last four (4) hours would be paid at
double time since it is hours over twelve (12) in the employee’s
work day (twenty-four hour cycle). Therefore, the total paid hours
is fourteen (14).
A swing shift employee is called in a couple of hours prior to
the start of the swing shift on Saturday. They only work less than
half an hour, but are paid four (4) hours at straight time. How
should that time be charged, i.e. on Friday or Saturday or some on
each day?
A: The employee will be charged for the four (4) hours which
they are paid. The time should be recorded on the overtime list as
Saturday overtime since the work was performed on Saturday, even
though the time falls within the employee’s Friday twenty-four
hour time cycle.
We have a department where there were previously two
supervisors, each with an overtime group reporting to them. Due to
downsizing, now there is only one Supervisor who will be over both
of the groups. How should the two groups be combined to form the
new overtime group?
A: The two previous overtime lists should be combined by first
putting all employees on one list and bringing their prior
overtime hours over to the single list the same as they were on
the old list. Then the overtime hours should be “Zeroed” by taking
the employee with the lowest amount of hours and subtracting their
total amount of hours from each person in the new overtime group.
If, after this is accomplished, there are employees who have the
same number of overtime hours, those employees should be arranged
in order of seniority giving first preference to the most senior
employee.
We have a department where there was previously one supervisor
who had two overtime groups reporting to him. Due to
reorganization, one of the groups was split off from the
supervisor and now there are two supervisors, each with one of the
overtime groups reporting to them. How should the overtime be
handled now that the groups report to two different supervisors?
A: The two prior overtime groups should remain as they were
structured before the reorganization. All employees will remain on
the same list they were on prior to the reorganization and will
retain the same hours. The only change will be that each of the
overtime groups will report to a Supervisor rather than both
reporting to one Supervisor as they did before the reorganization.
When an employee works one (1) hour of overtime in-week they
are paid 1.5 hours. How much time is charged on the overtime list?
1 hr., 1.5 hr. or 2 hrs.? The question is do you round?
A: Overtime hours should not be rounded. The employee is
charged with the number of paid hours offered. In the above case
the employee would be charged with 1.5 hours.
An employee was loaned to another department or overtime group,
but not for the purpose of working overtime. Since he/she was not
loaned for the purpose of working overtime, it was not required
that the low hours person be loaned. In this instance, the
employee who was loaned was not low on the overtime list. Later in
the day it was decided that overtime must be worked in that area.
Can the loaned person work the overtime or must he/she be sent
back to their normal work group and the low hours employee be sent
to work the overtime?
A: The loaned employee can work the overtime provided he/she
works on the job they were loaned to perform and provided they are
eligible in accordance with the “Loan” provision of the Plant-Wide
Overtime Agreement.
If an employee is absent on Friday are they still eligible for
Call-In overtime which might occur on the weekend?
A: The absent employee would only be eligible for Call-In
overtime after all employees who were present on Friday have been
given an opportunity to work in accordance with their respective
position on the overtime list.
If an employee is either temporarily promoted to a higher
classification or is working lateral or down for a temporary
period, how should they be treated with respect to being allowed
to work overtime? What is their overtime group for purposes of
working current overtime? How should their overtime hours be
charged?
A: The employee is eligible for overtime in the overtime group
to which he/she is temporarily assigned. However, if overtime is
required in the employee’s normal overtime group and he/she is not
working overtime in the group to which temporarily assigned,
he/she may work overtime in the normal group once all
contractually required efforts have been exhausted to fill those
requirements. (See Paragraph 4 on Pages 222 and 223 of the
Company-Union Agreement).
An employee temporarily promoted or working lateral or down
should be treated like a loaned employee, i.e. should be given the
average hours of the group when being considered for overtime, and
should carry any overtime hours worked back to their regular
overtime group when they return to their normal classification.
An employee is loaned to another department and works a lot of
overtime while in that department. The weekend he/she is to return
to the home department, that department is scheduled to work
overtime and would like that employee to work. If all employees in
the department have been asked to work overtime, can the employee
who had been on loan be asked to work overtime also, even if
he/she has an overtime total which is more than 50 hours greater
than the employee with the lowest overtime hours.
A: First, the returning employee is eligible to work overtime
that weekend in the department to which he/she has been on loan
provided he/she is asked in accordance with his/her position on
the overtime list for that group. If, however, the employee is not
offered overtime in the department to which he/she has been
loaned, the employee may be asked to work overtime in his/her
normal group in the home department on that weekend provided all
contractually required efforts have been exhausted to fill the
overtime requirements. (See paragraph 4 on Pages 222 and 223 of
the Company-Union Agreement). The fact that the returning employee
is more than 50 hours higher than another employee would not keep
that employee from being allowed to work overtime provided all
other employees with rights to the overtime had been given an
opportunity to work.
An employee works Saturday and Sunday on a Holiday weekend when
Monday is the Holiday. If it not determined until Sunday evening
that overtime will also be required for the Monday Holiday, would
you first ask employees who had worked Saturday and Sunday to work
the Holiday since they were here, or should you call someone else
in for the Monday Holiday?
A: You should not ask the employees who had worked the Saturday
and Sunday, but should ask the next low hours employee on the
overtime list.
An employee takes either four (4) hours of sick leave or four
(4) hours of vacation during the week and then works four (4)
hours that day. The employee is then asked to work four (4) hours
overtime on that day. What is the employee charged if he/she
refuses? What is he/she charged if he/she works the four (4)
hours?
A: The employee would be charged four (4) hours for either
refusing or working that time since it will only be paid at the
straight time rate.
Flight Line Mechanics have been working "unlimited" overtime.
Management goes through the Swing Shift overtime list on Thursday
asking for weekend overtime. After asking everyone to work, they
still need two (2) more employees to work the weekend overtime.
One Swing Shift employee was out on Thursday when the weekend
overtime was asked. If that employee is at work on Friday, can he
be asked for the overtime or should management go to other shifts
first and then ask the employee who was absent on Thursday, if
they still need additional people?
A: If there is truly unlimited overtime being worked and
everyone is being asked to work, then it is acceptable to ask the
swing shift employee on Friday after he/she was absent on
Thursday. (Note - the swing shift employee should still be charged
with the refusal on Thursday).
Management asked for weekend overtime on Thursday and one
employee was absent when the overtime was asked. Then the
situation changes and no one works the overtime on the weekend.
Would you still charge the absent employee for the hours he/she
would have been asked?
A: No, you would not charge the employee.
Management in a department asks all employees on day shift in
one classification to work overtime on Saturday. They do not get
enough volunteers and need one additional employee to work
Saturday on day shift. There is only one employee in that
classification in the department on swing shift. That employee has
been asked to work overtime on swing shift Saturday. Is management
obligated to also ask the swing shift employee to work day shift
Saturday? If they do, the swing shift employee would be working a
double shift on Saturday.
A: No, Management is not obligated to also ask the swing shift
employee to work the day shift overtime on Saturday.
In the Fire Department, for Firemen on shifts 1 - 4, is there
any application of the Saturday/Sunday rule (offering both days
together if both days are needed) to any of their off days?
A: No
In the Fire Department, is there any situation where job
continuity would cause anyone other than the low man to be offered
the overtime?
A: This would have to be considered on a case by case basis.
Most overtime work in the Fire Department has been Call-In.
Under "Distribution - para. 7" Call-In work refused is not
chargeable causing a wide disparity in hours (75 vs. 269 on shift
1). Are there any circumstances where Cal - In overtime refused
should be charged?
The 1999 Christmas Break Holidays are as follow: How should
overtime be asked during that period if overtime will be needed
during the entire time?
Friday, December 24, 1999 - Christmas Eve
Monday, December 27, 1999 - Christmas Holiday
Tuesday, December 28, 1999 - Christmas Holiday
Wednesday, December 29, 1999 - Christmas Holiday
Thursday, December 30, 1999 - Christmas Holiday
Friday, December 31, 1999 - Christmas Holiday
Monday, January 3, 1999 - New Year's Holiday
A: Overtime should be asked as follows:
(1) Friday, December 24, 1999
(2) Saturday and Sunday, December 25th and 26th
(3) Monday, December 27, 1999
(4) Tuesday, December 28, 1999
