Form to Record Time Worked Beyond Normal Work Hours

 

This form was created so that bargaining unit employees may track the amount of time that they work beyond their scheduled hours of work .  Since bargaining unit employees work beyond their scheduled work hours to meet the numbers, the National Council developed a form to make it easy for employees to keep a record of the hour they work “above and beyond”. Why should you do this?  In about 1993 the Council filed a class grievance on the Overtime issue. A settlement was reached and EEOC bargaining unit employees received money or time off.  One reason the Council agreed to a settlement is that it had no concrete evidence that bargaining unit employees worked unofficial overtime nor how much of it they worked.  The National Council wants to be more prepared when and if the issue is revisited.  If employees work unofficial overtime and can substantiate it, we have a strong case.

The CBA provides protections and procedures for Overtime.  When an employee works beyond the tour of duty, through lunch or on weekends, this is a form of Overtime.  Official Overtime must be pre-approved by a Supervisor or above. See Article 31.05 and 31.07. Under those conditions, an employee may choose whether they want to be paid for the Overtime work or receive compensatory time in lieu of pay.  See Article 31.08.  Even if the employee chooses the latter, the Agency must have the money available. As we all know, EEOC does not offer official Overtime to most employees. But, we also know, that a large number of employees nationwide work unofficial Overtime.  Supervisors are not supposed to sanction bargaining unit employees working beyond their scheduled work hours unless overtime is offered and pre-approved. But, many Supervisors are aware of the fact that employees are working beyond their scheduled hours and do not discourage it. By knowing that an employee is working unofficial overtime and closing an eye to it or even encouraging it, a Supervisor renders EEOC potentially liable for overtime compensation. This is called “suffered and permitted”. See Article 31.09.

The National Council understands the pressures that lead bargaining unit employees to work this unofficial overtime. However, the National Council discourages bargaining unit employees from doing so. In the long run, working unofficial overtime allows the EEOC to avoid fully staffing offices. In recent years, the year end statistics reflect that EEOC is doing a better job even as the number of employees shrinks and are not replaced.  Chair Dominguez brags that the EEOC is “doing more with less”. That is exactly right! The success of the EEOC has been accomplished with fewer and fewer employees precisely because bargaining unit employees have devoted uncompensated hours to that success.

The National Council believes that if employees work Overtime they should be compensated. The National Council believes that bargaining unit employees should not be pressured into working for free.  The National Council believes that bargaining unit employees should be evaluated on work that can be reasonably achieved within an employees work week.  See Article 31.05.  It is the Law!  It is a contractual provision! The National Council believes that the EEOC should abide by the law and the contract.