COUNTY OF SAN MATEO
HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT
Inter-Departmental Correspondence
DATE: April 21, 2014
TO: All Management Employees
FROM: Nicole McKay, Employee & Labor Relations Manager
SUBJECT: Employee Relations Bulletin 18 Alternate Work Schedules
More and more departments, divisions and units are implementing alternate work schedules (e.g. 4/10 and 9/80 schedules). The following guidelines should be followed prior to implementing such schedules:
- Maintenance or enhancement of service levels to the public should always take first priority in determining work schedules. 9/80 and 4/10 schedules often allow an extension of office hours, thus affording a higher level of service to the public. Alternate work schedules should never be entered into if they will negatively impact service levels.
- Prior to discussing alternate work schedules with employees or the union, a sample schedule should be developed to determine whether an alternate work schedule is practical. You may find, for example, that a 4/10 schedule leaves too few employees for a given day coverage or that it may not be possible, under a 9/80 or 4/10 schedule, for all employees to have Monday or Friday as an off day.
- As a general rule, employees should be supervised during all work hours.
- 9/80 schedules require specific documentation of each employees hours of work to preclude payment of overtime. A form documenting the schedule, available from Employee Relations, must be completed for and signed by each employee on the 9/80 schedule.
- Alternate work schedules are a change in working conditions which require notification to the affected union(s) and a meet and confer process. If an agreement is reached on an alternate work schedule, it should be documented in a signed agreement. Employee Relations is available for consultation during this process and can provide sample agreements reached in other organizations.
Any agreement should include criteria which will be evaluated to determine whether the alternate schedule will be continued. These criteria should include, at a minimum, coverage levels, measurement of service levels and customer complaints related to the schedule, and attendance levels.
The agreement should include language stating that employees on alternate schedules may be returned to standard hours if they experience attendance or performance problems, or in case of staffing problems. It should also document that employees on jury duty, attending training, working out of classification etc., may be required to return to a standard schedule during that period.
If you do end up implementing Alternative Work Schedules, it is very important to be mindful of when an employee requests to have an informal flex schedule arrangement. The flex schedules under question involve situations where an employee works more than their scheduled hours on one day and, instead of being paid overtime, agrees to work fewer hours on another day. For example, an employee who normally works five 8-hour days may work 10 hours on Tuesday and 6 hours on Friday. This section provides guidance on such schedules relative to overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and for represented employees covered by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
Section I (below) applies only to employees who are covered by the FLSA. These are employees in Work Group 1. Section II applies to employees in Work Groups 2 and 5 who are exempt from the FLSA, but who are covered by a Memorandum of Understanding. Prior to entering into discussions with an employee about an informal flex schedule, please call Employee Relations to confirm the employee’s Work Group.
Section I – FLSA Covered Employees in Work Group 1. The informal flex schedule described above is acceptable and in accordance with the provisions of the FLSA as long as the following criteria are met:
- The employee must code the actual number of hours worked each day on the timecard. In the example above, the employee would code 10 hours of 001 time on Tuesday and 6 hours of 001 time on Friday.
- The employee must not work more than 40 hours in any week. In the case above, the employee worked 40 hours during the work week. It is not acceptable for a FLSA-covered employee to work extra hours in one week and take the time off in the following week. For example, an employee who is covered by the FLSA cannot work 10 hours on a day in the first week of a pay period and then work 6 hours on a day in the second week of the pay period without being paid overtime for the additional 2 hours worked in the first week. The FLSA requires overtime for all hours worked beyond 40 in any given week.
Section II – FLSA Exempt Employees in Work Groups 2 and 5: The FLSA provisions outlined above do not apply to employees in Work Groups 2, or 5. However, most employees in Work Groups 2 and 5 are covered by a Memorandum of Understanding that requires the payment of overtime for hours in excess of the 40 hour weekly work schedule. Prior to allowing a represented employee in Work Group 2 or 5 to flex their schedule beyond a single work week, make sure that the employee is voluntarily agreeing to the arrangement and then document the agreement in the form of a dated note. As for employees in Work Group 1, make sure that the timecard accurately reflects the actual number of hours worked on each work day.
Work schedules are covered in more detail in Section 16 of the Employee Relations Handbook.
Please contact your Employee Relations Analyst with any questions regarding this matter.