Triple time for police, firefighters, and dispatchers who work Christmas, Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July is one example of how government sector employment conditions differ from much of the private sector.
The multiple-year contracts inked with employee groups when times were better are at the heart of the city’s financial woes as municipal leaders struggle to close what remains of a general fund deficit that started out at $14 million. The reason why the contracts are pivotal has to do with the fact employee compensation – including benefits – accounts for 85 percent of the general fund budget.
Back in the 1990s, the Manteca Police Officers Association, Manteca Police Employees Association, and Manteca Firefighters Association argued that the additional pay was justified since those working would not be able to enjoy the holidays with their families.
California does not impose any holiday payment obligation on private sector employers. They also do not have to provide time off for legal holidays or give employees additional compensation if they are required to work on a state-recognized holiday.
The cost of the triple overtime can be hefty. For example, a Manteca Police Officer I position that receives $296.95 per regular 10-hour shift would receive $890.05 for working any one of those three holidays. A Manteca Police Officer II normally paid $421.59 would receive holiday pay of $1,264.62 for a 10-hour shift. A sergeant working on a regular shift would receive $557.68. On Christmas, the Fourth of July of Thanksgiving the pay jumps to $1,673.04.
On other holidays such as Martin Luther King Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day and the day after Thanksgiving Manteca’s public safety employees receive 2.5 times their regular pay as overtime.
City shift workers – such as lab technicians at the wastewater plan that must be on site every day of the year - get two and a half times in overtime pay on any holiday they work that they aren’t normally scheduled to work that day. If it is a scheduled work day it is double overtime.
The day after Thanksgiving was negotiated as a holiday in all of the contracts and not just public safety. It is paid straight time unless the municipal employee has to work and then it is either double or 2.5 times the going rate depending upon their bargaining unit’s contract.
The number of law enforcement personnel that collect triple overtime depends upon where the holiday falls in the week. If it is on heavier call days such as Friday through Sunday – maximum staffing is in place.
As for the fire department, they always have 16 firefighters on the job. That means 16 firefighters each time are receiving triple overtime for working Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Fourth of July.
The firefighters have released the city from that commitment. It is a move that will cost a typical Manteca firefighter an average of $12,000 in overtime that was essentially previously guaranteed based on vacation and sickness over the next two years.
When staffing slips, Manteca now plans to idle the fire engine at the Union Road station for the 24-hour shift while keeping the aerial platform fire truck manned. Personnel remaining from the engine would be dispersed to other engine companies.
That would give Manteca the same level of service they had a year ago when there was only three engine companies manned 24/7.
Overtime is just one aspect of how municipal employees are treated differently than most private sector employees in Manteca. The others are retirement and benefit plans that tend to be more robust. Public safety is a high cost as they are able to retire after 20 years of servcie. The city currently pays 26.1 percent to the base salaries of public safety employees toward the Public Employment Retirement System costs. It is expected to reach 30 percent in 2011.
The city’s structured deficit started rearing its ugly head when PERS contributions started exceeding 10 percent after 2003.
They were right around 7.34 percent in 2002 and 10.61 percent in 2003 before jumping to 31.44 percent in 2004 for public safety.
It was a combination of things that forced the bump. There were new rules that gave public safety employees credit to retire sooner with a higher percentage of their highest average working income. The other was the end of the stock market bubble that made major returns on PERS investments reducing the need for cities, counties and the state to contribute larger amounts. That all changed when the economy and the market went south.
The multiple-year contracts inked with employee groups when times were better are at the heart of the city’s financial woes as municipal leaders struggle to close what remains of a general fund deficit that started out at $14 million. The reason why the contracts are pivotal has to do with the fact employee compensation – including benefits – accounts for 85 percent of the general fund budget.
Back in the 1990s, the Manteca Police Officers Association, Manteca Police Employees Association, and Manteca Firefighters Association argued that the additional pay was justified since those working would not be able to enjoy the holidays with their families.
California does not impose any holiday payment obligation on private sector employers. They also do not have to provide time off for legal holidays or give employees additional compensation if they are required to work on a state-recognized holiday.
The cost of the triple overtime can be hefty. For example, a Manteca Police Officer I position that receives $296.95 per regular 10-hour shift would receive $890.05 for working any one of those three holidays. A Manteca Police Officer II normally paid $421.59 would receive holiday pay of $1,264.62 for a 10-hour shift. A sergeant working on a regular shift would receive $557.68. On Christmas, the Fourth of July of Thanksgiving the pay jumps to $1,673.04.
On other holidays such as Martin Luther King Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day and the day after Thanksgiving Manteca’s public safety employees receive 2.5 times their regular pay as overtime.
City shift workers – such as lab technicians at the wastewater plan that must be on site every day of the year - get two and a half times in overtime pay on any holiday they work that they aren’t normally scheduled to work that day. If it is a scheduled work day it is double overtime.
The day after Thanksgiving was negotiated as a holiday in all of the contracts and not just public safety. It is paid straight time unless the municipal employee has to work and then it is either double or 2.5 times the going rate depending upon their bargaining unit’s contract.
The number of law enforcement personnel that collect triple overtime depends upon where the holiday falls in the week. If it is on heavier call days such as Friday through Sunday – maximum staffing is in place.
As for the fire department, they always have 16 firefighters on the job. That means 16 firefighters each time are receiving triple overtime for working Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Fourth of July.
Firefighters give up average of $12,000 each in overtime
The firefighters did make a major concession in the contract they had previously negotiated with the city. The language had called for minimum staffing of three firefighters per engine. That meant when someone is sick or on vacation the department had to call in how many off-duty firefighters needed to bring the ranks up to 16.The firefighters have released the city from that commitment. It is a move that will cost a typical Manteca firefighter an average of $12,000 in overtime that was essentially previously guaranteed based on vacation and sickness over the next two years.
When staffing slips, Manteca now plans to idle the fire engine at the Union Road station for the 24-hour shift while keeping the aerial platform fire truck manned. Personnel remaining from the engine would be dispersed to other engine companies.
That would give Manteca the same level of service they had a year ago when there was only three engine companies manned 24/7.
Overtime is just one aspect of how municipal employees are treated differently than most private sector employees in Manteca. The others are retirement and benefit plans that tend to be more robust. Public safety is a high cost as they are able to retire after 20 years of servcie. The city currently pays 26.1 percent to the base salaries of public safety employees toward the Public Employment Retirement System costs. It is expected to reach 30 percent in 2011.
The city’s structured deficit started rearing its ugly head when PERS contributions started exceeding 10 percent after 2003.
They were right around 7.34 percent in 2002 and 10.61 percent in 2003 before jumping to 31.44 percent in 2004 for public safety.
It was a combination of things that forced the bump. There were new rules that gave public safety employees credit to retire sooner with a higher percentage of their highest average working income. The other was the end of the stock market bubble that made major returns on PERS investments reducing the need for cities, counties and the state to contribute larger amounts. That all changed when the economy and the market went south.
