300-36 Exempt Time Compensation Flashcards
Exempt Officer. For the purpose of this General Order, an exempt officer is one who holds the rank of lieutenant or above or classified pay grade VII or above.
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Exempt officers who work less than their regularly scheduled workday (e.g., 8 or 10 hours) must account for the time through approved paid leave, a docking of salary, or flexing their schedule with prior approval of the employee’s supervisor.
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Requests for exempt time compensation other than for court attendance must be reviewed and approved by the assistant chief and executive assistant chief in the officer’s chain of command.
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Other than for court attendance, the decision to award ETC as either straight time payor exempt time credit will be determined by the approving executive staff member.
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Exempt officers will not be authorized to flex their shift for the purpose of working ETC qualifying events without prior approval of their executive assistant chief.
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The following events may qualify for ETC for all exempt officers.
a. Court Attendance
Exempt officers will receive ETC for attending court during off-duty hours in accordance with General Order 300-25, Court Attendance and Compensation. Off-duty court attendance is considered a permanent special project for purposes of compensation.
b. Holidays
When City of Houston holidays fall on exempt officers’ regular days off, those officers will receive holiday accrual in their accrued leave bank equal to the number of hours of their regular shift.
When holidays fall on exempt officers’ regular workdays and they work that day as authorized by this General Order, officers will receive exempt time compensation on an hour-for-hour basis.
c. Major Emergency Events
These events typically are accompanied by a partial or full mobilization of department personnel and require extraordinary efforts to ensure order in and around the city. These events may extend for days or even weeks. Examples of such events include, but are not limited to major weather events, large civil disturbances or riots, major flooding or industrial explosions, or acts of terrorism.
The following events and assignments may qualify for ETC for only lieutenants and captains.
a. Emergency Call Outs
These events require the presence of a lieutenant or above to provide guidance during sensitive or high profile events in order to effectively accomplish the police mission. Two or more hours of an exempt officer’s time are required before consideration for ETC is warranted. Examples of such events include, but are not limited to SWAT or Hostage Negotiation Team events, large-scale missing person searches, kidnappings, Internal Affairs Division call outs, police involved shootings, serious injury or death of an officer, or other sensitive investigations.
b. Extended After-hours or Weekend Assignments
These events require the presence of a lieutenant or above to provide guidance during sensitive or high profile events in order to effectively accomplish the police mission. Two or more hours of an exempt officer’s time are required before consideration for ETC is warranted.
Additionally, these events should either require the management of several police units or be of a sufficiently sensitive nature that a negative result could undermine the confidence of the community in the Police Department.
Examples of such events include, but are not limited to dignitary protection assignments, large-scale protests or demonstrations, designated crime fighting initiatives, mounted patrol assistance for crowd control efforts, parades, large festivals, or rare major sporting events such as Super Bowl, Olympics, World Series, or All Star games.
In addition to the above, attendance of after-hours community meetings may be approved for ETC if in the judgment of the reviewing executive staff members, the length, timing, or frequency of the meeting(s) exceeds reasonable expectations and presents undue hardship on a lieutenant or captain.
For example, after-hours community meetings that are exceptionally long, occur on the exempt officer’s regular day off, or include multiple meetings over a short period of time, may be approved for ETC. After-hours community meetings will be considered for ETC on a case-by-case basis.
Normal duties and ceremonial responsibilities that are required of or associated with an exempt position or rank do not qualify for exempt time compensation regardless of the amount of hours required to accomplish them. Non-qualifying circumstances include, but are not limited to the following.
- Attendance at events such as charitable events, promotions, or academy class graduations.
- Travel accompanying training.
- Attendance at work-related seminars.
- Administrative tasks completed after normal working hours.
- Tasks completed at home, on the weekend, or after hours.
- Meetings that extend beyond the normal workday.
- Assigned review of materials or other work completed at a location other than the work site.
All exempt officers requesting ETC must submit the request on the Exempt Employee Compensation Request form (see HPD Intranet Portal, Department Forms) regardless of the manner in which the officers became eligible for the compensation.
The request form will be submitted through the officer’s chain of command within five calendar days of the hours worked. The “Details” section of the form will thoroughly document all requisite and important information.
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Requests for exempt time compensation other than for court attendance must be reviewed and approved by the assistant chief and executive assistant chief in the officer’s chain of command.
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Exempt time credit will be accrued in a separate time bank with no maximum cap and will remain in the bank until used. Exempt time credit can be carried over from one benefit year to another, but it has no cash value; therefore, it cannot be taken, used, or awarded:
- As drag-up pay at retirement or separation.
- In the event of the officer’s death.
- During the Phase Down Program.
Exempt time credit may be used for any type of personal leave in a manner consistent with the department’s leave policy.
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Federal and state law and the Meet and Confer Agreement recognize the department’s right to manage an employee’s assignment, shift, and days off for the best interest of the department and the community and to ensure all essential police services are provided.
Accordingly, supervisors may assign exempt officers adjusted days off, shifts, or assignments to avoid earning exempt time compensation for qualifying events other than court attendance or City holidays.
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