OVERTIME AND COMPENSATORY TIME

Audit Report 

County Controller 

Stephen J. Barron, Jr., CFE 

Audit Manager 

Frank S. Kedl, CIA 

OVERTIME AND 

COMPENSATORY 

TIME 

As of December 31, 2008 

Solicitor 

Timothy P. Brennan, Esq. 

County Executive 

John Stoffa 

County Council 

Ann McHale, President 

J. Michael Dowd, Vice-President 

Ron Angle 

Joseph H. Capozzolo 

John Cusick 

Charles M. Dertinger 

Margaret Ferraro 

Lamont G. McClure, Esq. 

Gerald E. Seyfried 

Office of the Controller 

County of Northampton 

Pennsylvania

STEPHEN J. BARRON, JR., CFE 

FRANK S. KEDL, CIA 

Audit Manager 

TIMOTHY P. BRENNAN, ESQ. 

Solicitor 

CONTROLLER OF NORTHAMPTON COUNTY 

NORTHAMPTON COUNTY COURTHOUSE 

669 WASHINGTON STREET 

EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA 18042 

PHONE (610) 559-3186 

FAX (610) 559-3137 

November 6, 2009 

Members of the Northampton County Council 

John Stoffa, County Executive 

County of Northampton, Pennsylvania 

We have completed an audit of Overtime and Compensatory Time as of December 31, 2008. 

The Executive Summary on page 1 summarizes the audit results and identifies opportunities for 

improvement, while the Audit Results section provides a detailed explanation. 

We acknowledge the cooperation and assistance we received from the various County 

Departments. Their help was essential to the performance of this audit. 

Our report was discussed with management at our exit conference on October 21, 2009. 

Management’s response is included in the Audit Results section of the report. 

Very truly yours, 

Stephen J. Barron, Jr., CFE 

County Controller 

Kathleen A. Kuzma, CPA 

Lead Auditor

Table of Contents 

PAGE 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT.................1 

INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................2 

PURPOSE AND SCOPE ..................................................................................................3 

METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................3 

AUDIT RESULTS .............................................................................................................4 

Section A – Reporting on Overtime Information 

1. Recalculation of Overtime..........................................................................................................4 

2. Overtime Statistics by Department ...........................................................................................6 

3. Compensatory Time....................................................................................................................8 

4. Cost of Hiring New Employees ..................................................................................................9 

Section B – Internal Controls 

1. Retaining Proper Documentation............................................................................................11 

2. Payroll Errors............................................................................................................................12 

Section C – Compliance 

1. Release Time Pay Code.............................................................................................................14 

2. Monitoring Compensatory Time .............................................................................................16 

Policies that Boost Overtime Costs........................................................................................18 

Attachment 1: Salary Analysis – Prison.………………………………………………20 

Attachment 2: Salary Analysis – Gracedale…………………………………………...21

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT 

The following is a summary of the content of the enclosed report. See report references noted 

below for full detail. 

Section A - Reporting on Overtime Information 

1. County Administration made significant changes in the grouping and financial reporting 

of certain pay codes affecting overtime expenditures. These changes should be noted 

when dealing with reports for years prior to 2008. (Section A-1, page 4) 

2. Overtime in most departments is relatively contained with the exception of the Prison 

and the Sheriff’s Department. Overtime at the Prison is the highest while the Sheriff 

Department’s overtime is the fastest growing among County departments. (Section A-2, 

page 6) 

3. The County’s comp time was reviewed for a 5 year period. Overall, comp time hours 

earned and paid have increased significantly over the years. The cost benefit of this 

option must be weighed against the staffing demands to ensure that it does not drive up 

the cost of overtime for other employees. (Section A-3, page 8) 

4. Our analysis revealed that there is a potential for cost savings by hiring new employees 

when there is a high enough volume of overtime for the department within job positions. 

Actual savings is dependent on many factors, however. The County would benefit from 

doing further analysis. (Section A-4, page 9) 

Section B - Internal Controls 

1. To be in compliance with the County Records Manual and to have the necessary 

documentation available to verify actual time worked, the Prison should be retaining their 

records for three years. (Section B-1, page 11) 

2. The County should seek reimbursement of overpayments of wages due to payroll errors. 

Proper implementation and use of scheduling software as well as the swipe card system 

at the Prison has the potential to alleviate their payroll errors. (Section B-2, page 12) 

Section C - Compliance 

1. Creating a pay code for Release Time with the appropriate payroll rules will allow for 

proper recording and subsequent monitoring by supervisors. (Section C-1, page 14) 

2. A policy should be put in place for comp time monitoring. Comp time should be 

recorded in compliance with the Employee Policies Manual to allow for proper 

monitoring by supervisors. (Section C-2, page 16) 

1

INTRODUCTION 

The country is currently in a state of shrinking revenues and escalating 

expenditures. During times like these, overtime can become an increasing 

concern to many organizations. As with any organization, good management 

practices require that overtime be managed in the most cost-effective manner 

possible. Overtime is a balance between meeting the needs of the organization, 

addressing appropriate staffing levels, and assigning staff to work the necessary 

overtime. 

The County adheres to the Fair Labor Standards Act originally enacted in 1938 

and has written Personnel Policies and collective bargaining agreements with 

those Federal guidelines in mind. Employees are compensated for their overtime 

by payment, usually at a premium rate, or by authorized time off in lieu of 

payment where specifically allowed. 

The County is currently in the process of implementing the SunGard financial, 

procurement and human resource/payroll software. This is the perfect 

opportunity to step back and analyze the current systems in an effort to improve 

upon the current limitations in processing payroll transactions. 

The Controller’s Office previously performed an audit of overtime and 

compensatory time dated August 15, 1996 for the calendar year 1995 and six 

months ended June 30, 1996. With a workforce of approximately 1,800 full and 

part-time employees encompassing 3 collective bargaining units, civil service and 

career service employees, total overtime costs amounted to $1,781,000 and 

$1,069,000, respectively. At that time, it was determined that an increased work 

force was not a viable option for reducing overtime due to the high cost of 

benefits. 

As of December 31, 2008, the County’s workforce was comprised of 2,152 full 

and part-time employees encompassing 11 collective bargaining units, civil 

service and career service employees with total overtime costs of $3,596,650 (as 

restated). The continual rise in overtime hours and the costs associated with 

overtime pay create a need to explore once again the cost benefits of hiring new 

employees versus current employees working overtime hours. 

2

PURPOSE AND SCOPE 

The purpose of the audit was to: 

• determine if overtime is assigned and paid and comp time is assigned, 

accrued and used in accordance with County Policies and 

Procedures, Collective Bargaining Agreements and other laws and 

regulations to safeguard against the potential for abuse, 

• determine if overtime and comp time are managed economically and 

effectively, and 

• report on overtime and comp time paid. 

Detailed transactions for various departments were tested for the year ended 

December 31, 2008 for the pay periods ending June 28 and September 20, 

2008. Various financial data were compiled for calendar years 2004 through 

2008. This audit did not examine whether departments/divisions were properly 

staffed to carry out their mission. 

METHODOLOGY 

Our methodology included: 

• Determining overtime and comp time policies based on County 

Personnel Policies and Procedures, Collective Bargaining 

Agreements and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). 

• Selecting departments and position titles for testing, conducting 

interviews with appropriate County personnel to gain an 

understanding of the payroll process, and then conducting audit tests 

on samples selected. 

• Compiling and analyzing financial data for overtime and comp time 

expenditures. 

• Benchmarking with other governmental organizations. 

We conducted this performance audit in accordance with generally accepted 

government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and 

perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a 

reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. 

We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our 

findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. 

3

AUDIT RESULTS 

Section A – Reporting on Overtime Information 

1. Recalculation of Overtime 

OBSERVATION 

Effective January 1, 2008, the County Administration decided to make significant 

changes in the reporting of certain pay codes to more accurately depict financial 

statement presentation with actual time worked. Certain pay codes previously 

grouped and reported as overtime wages were reclassified to regular wages and 

removed from overtime reporting. This reclassification resulted in a significant 

reduction in overtime costs per the financial statements. Comparative analysis of 

financial data in Bi-Tech and County financial statements could be misleading 

since previous year’s data have not been restated. 

Salary information was obtained from the Lawson payroll system and verified for 

accuracy to the County financial statements. Pay codes currently classified as 

overtime wages and posted to Bi-Tech account # 50050 were compiled for the 

period 2004 through 2008. For comparative purposes, the restatement with 

corresponding year to year increases of overtime are listed below. Overall for 

the period, Northampton County had an increase in overtime costs of 76.1%. 

Overtime As 

YEAR 

Overtime As Originally 

Reported in County 

Financial Statements 

Restated for Change 

to Pay Code 

Groupings 

Effective 1/1/08 

2004 4,182,703 2,042,416 

4 

% Increase in 

OT from 

Year to Year 

(Restated) 

2005 5,055,956 2,699,290 32.16% 

2006 5,795,004 3,170,758 17.47% 

2007 5,642,525 3,142,679 -0.89% 

2008 ** 3,590,385 3,596,650 14.45% 

** This is the first year the financial statements reflected the change in payroll code groupings. The amount per 

the financial statement reflects adjustments and expenditure credits and hence will be lower than the 

amounts actually paid for overtime. 

RECOMMENDATION 

The Fiscal Affairs Department prepares several overtime reports for 

management’s and Council’s review. The above change in pay code groupings 

should be noted when dealing with reports for years prior to 2008.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSE 

Victor Mazziotti, Director, Fiscal Affairs 

Fiscal Affairs will provide such a note on all future reports prepared by our 

Department. 

5

2. Overtime Statistics by Department 

OBSERVATION 

In order to gain a better understanding of the departments and their overtime 

costs, analysis was performed to determine total salaries, overtime (as restated) 

and the percentage of overtime to total salaries. The five year averages for the 

period 2004 through 2008 are scheduled below: 

Avg. Salaries Avg. Overtime % Overtime to Salary 

Gracedale 25,334,768 875,829 3.46% 

Prison 10,093,140 1,513,684 15.00% ^^ 

Sheriff 2,205,201 64,259 2.91% ** 

All Other Depts. 34,427,238 476,587 1.38% 

Totals $ 72,060,347 $ 2,930,359 4.07% 

^^ The percentage of overtime to salaries was 13.31% for 2008 and 12.2% for year-to-date 

9/30/09. 

** The percentage of overtime to salaries was 4.09% for 2008 and 7.6% for year-to-date 9/30/09. 

From this analysis, it can be seen that overtime in most departments is relatively 

contained, including the largest round-the-clock operation at the County – 

Gracedale. But, overtime costs in the Sheriff’s Department are rapidly on the rise 

and the Prison overtime ranks the highest among all County departments. 

Research was done with regard to overtime at other Prison facilities. For those 

institutions that provided data for 2008, overtime as a percentage of total salaries 

ranged between 7.0% and 9.5%. The Northampton County Prison overtime is 

significantly higher than at other Prisons. Overtime at the Prison is mainly the 

result of covering absences from leave time and weekend shifts which are 

typically only at minimum staffing. 

The Prison has made some progress in reducing overtime due to factors such as 

staffing issues from sick leave by offering the no-sick stipend. This comes at a 

price, however, and further analysis on the relationship of this stipend to overtime 

would have to be performed to determine the overall impact on reducing 

overtime. Many factors play a part in regard to staffing issues. 

Overtime costs in the Sheriff’s Department are rapidly on the rise. This is an 

area that could see the largest increase in overtime costs over the course of the 

year. Provisions in the collective bargaining agreement and a shift in 

responsibilities have contributed to the rise in overtime. Sheriff Deputies are now 

required to cover inmate hospital visits; a job that was previously handled by the 

Prison. In addition, the Deputy Sheriff Association collective bargaining 

agreement (signed in August 2008, effective shortly thereafter, and expires in 

2010) Article XI, Officer Safety, requires that “. . . all work assignments shall be 

scheduled and performed by a minimum and constant staffing of two (2) sworn, 

certified, Deputy Sheriffs at all times” except under limited low risk 

circumstances. Another provision in the collective bargaining agreement that is 

contributing to overtime costs is Article XXIX Hours of Work/Overtime, “Any 

change in the work schedule with less than ten (10) calendar days notice which 

6

esults in an employee working at a time when he/she has not been regularly 

scheduled for work, the employee shall be paid at time and a half (1.5) for all 

hours worked outside of his/her regular schedule.” 


Overtime at the Prison and in the Sheriff’s Department are areas that warrant 

further analysis with regard to staffing requirements, total annual manpower 

hours needed, scheduling needs due to leave time, and the optimal staffing ratio 

in an effort to reduce overtime hours and minimize costs. An analysis of costs to 

hire new employees is detailed in the following section of this audit report (item 

#4) for additional information and further consideration in the performance of 

these department reviews. 



A committee will be put together to look at overtime and trends within the County. 

We will look to use the group to come up with ways to lower overtime. The 

committee will be put together with representatives from the affected groups and 

organized by Vic Mazziotti. 

Connie Sutton-Falk, Director, Human Resources 

I agree. 

7

3. Compensatory Time 

OBSERVATION 

Per the Employee Policies Manual, “The County reserves the right to offer 

compensatory time off in lieu of paid overtime (commonly referred to as Comp. 

Time) and the employee retains the right to refuse compensatory time off in lieu 

of paid overtime.” Most collective bargaining agreements have provisions that 

allow their members to opt for comp time instead of paid overtime. 

The County’s comp time was reviewed for a 5 year period and is scheduled 

below. Overall, comp time hours earned based on time and one half of hours 

worked increased 128.1%. The actual amounts paid for the period increased 

75.7%. 

Year 

Comp Time Earned 

@ Time and One Half 

- Hours 

Amounts Paid – 

Dollars 

2004 3,512 164,437 

2005 3,300 185,395 

2006 3,312 159,346 

2007 6,220 240,811 

2008 8,009 288,924 

Totals 24,351 $ 1,038,913 

Nothing came to our attention with the areas that we tested to suggest that comp 

time was a major contributing factor to the increase in overtime since most areas 

that had higher overtime were not areas in which comp time was an option for 

the employees. The subject of comp time will also be addressed again later in 

this report. 


Since more employees continue to take advantage of comp time in lieu of 

overtime pay, the cost benefit of this option should be weighed against the 

individual department’s staffing demands to ensure that when comp time is 

taken, it does not drive up the cost of overtime for other employees to fill the 

staffing gap. The County should continue to monitor comp time usage. Where 

possible, this should be a consideration of the supervisors in the various 

departments for whether or not to allow comp time to be earned in lieu of 

overtime wages. 



I agree. 

8

4. Cost of Hiring New Employees 

OBSERVATION 

There has been a common belief that because of the high cost of benefits, it is 

less costly for the current employees to work the necessary overtime rather than 

hire new employees. An analysis was performed on a few select positions taking 

into consideration the costs for current employees for 2008 and the overtime 

worked and then comparing that to hiring a new employee to work this overtime. 

The average cost of employee benefits for health insurance, life insurance and 

retirement costs for each employee is $13,120 and $16,116 for 2008 and 2009 

respectively. Social Security and Medicare costs of 7.65% of wages paid and 

worker’s compensation insurance costs (range from .31% to 4.85% for 2008 and 

.5% to 6.9% for 2009 on total wages paid) must be added to the above employee 

benefits’ cost to arrive at the total cost of hiring employees. The Social Security 

and Medicare costs along with the worker’s compensation insurance costs are 

calculated on all wages paid and continue as an expense on overtime wages 

paid. 

Analysis revealed that there is a potential for cost savings by hiring new 

employees in situations where there is a high enough volume of overtime in total 

for the department within job positions in department such as the Prison, the 

Sheriff’s Department and possibly Gracedale. This actual savings is dependent 

on many factors among which are the status of department vacancies, ability to 

fill vacancies, current staffing requirements, necessity and ability to fill daily voids 

due to staff leave time taken, the actual overtime that will be required, and the 

current level of staff seniority. 

Specific employees from the Prison and Gracedale who were among the top 

wage earners for 2008 and their actual overtime hours were analyzed. In the 

case of the Prison employee, enough overtime hours were worked to justify 

hiring another employee at a potential cost savings of up to $26,600. See 

Attachment 1, page 20. In the case of the Gracedale employee, overtime worked 

did not justify hiring another employee. However, if there were 2 current 

employees in the same position at Gracedale with similar overtime hours to the 

individual in our analysis, it would have presented a situation in which hiring an 

employee to work the overtime of those 2 employees could have saved the 

County up to $43,933. See Attachment 2, page 21. 


It would benefit the County to take a look at the departments with the highest 

volume of overtime hours to determine the exact savings that could occur with a 

redistribution of staffing and hiring new employees. 



9

A committee will be put together to look at overtime and trends within the County. 

We will look to use the group to come up with ways to lower overtime. The 

committee will be put together with representatives from the affected groups and 

organized by Vic Mazziotti. 


While Human Resources plays no role in determination of the amount of 

overtime or staffing levels in each department because this is a budgetary 

matter, I concur that you reach a breakeven point of whether to pay overtime or 

hire more staff. I also suggest that the County look into hiring more part time 

relief workers. 

Marvin Granda, Gracedale Administrator 

Gracedale agrees that certain initiatives could be instituted that could potentially 

save on overtime and nursing pool costs. 

10

Section B – Internal Controls 

1. Retaining Proper Documentation 

OBSERVATION 

Documentation is the process of creating a record that provides evidence, 

information or proof of a transaction. Records that document certain time earned 

and taken such as Holiday, Vacation, Flex Time and Overtime are completed 

daily by certain Prison employees and approved by their supervisors as 

evidenced by the supervisor’s signature. These forms are then used to record 

payroll exception items. This documentation has been destroyed by the Prison 

for 2008. 

Per the County Records Manual published by the Pennsylvania State Archives 

Office, these documents are considered the Time Cards / Attendance Records 

as outlined in Section PL-16 and are required to be retained for three years. 

Without these documents, there is no way to verify actual time worked against 

what was paid. Out of the 32 transactions tested that required this type of 

backup documentation to verify time worked to actual amounts paid for 

employees, 21 of those transactions could not be verified because 

documentation was destroyed. 


Daily time records approved by supervisors should be retained for the stated 

period of 3 years per the County Records Manual. Scanning is an acceptable 

means of record retention. 



I agree. 

AUDITOR’S COMMENT 

A response was requested from the Prison with regard to this item. As of 

November 6, 2009 no response was received. 

11

2. Payroll Errors 

OBSERVATION 

Two pay periods were reviewed for a select group of job titles for various 

departments throughout the County. There were a total of 186 transactions that 

were reviewed for the two pay periods. In addition to the 21 instances mentioned 

in Item #1 above, testing also found: 

• Three instances where overtime hours were incorrectly applied 

resulting in overpayment of wages for the following: 

• an overpayment of $234.29 occurred in Elections when 

overtime hours worked were incorrectly entered and paid 

• an overpayment of $85.60 occurred at the Prison because 

the shift report showed only 4 hours of overtime worked 

not the 8 hours of overtime actually paid 

• an overpayment of $90.44 occurred at the Prison when 

FMLA Sick time was incorrectly counted as compensable 

time when calculating overtime hours worked 

• Four additional potential overpayments at the Prison that could not 

be quantified because documentation on the shift report differed 

from what was actually paid with no explanation of what actually 

transpired. This usually occurs with Shift Supervisors since there is 

no one place where their time worked is recorded. 


We recommend that the County seek reimbursement for the overpayment of 

these wages. We further recommend that the Prison continue to improve upon 

their procedures for processing payroll by ensuring that all time worked is 

accurately recorded on the shift reports and proper documentation is retained. 

The Prison should continue working on implementing scheduling software and 

the swipe card system. Implementation of these software packages have the 

potential to alleviate most of the issues listed above if used properly. 


Dee Rumsey, Registrar, Elections 

I called Human Resources to find out the status and what steps will be taken for 

the county to retrieve the over payment. Human Resources referred me to the 

Payroll Office; Brenda stated that a letter was going out immediately to notify the 

overpaid employee of this matter. She advised that the full amount of $234.29 

will be deducted from the employee in this week’s paycheck. 


Having been made aware of these overpayments, Human Resources is in the 

process of recovering those overpayments. 

12

AUDITOR’S COMMENT 

A response was requested from the Prison with regard to this item. As of 

November 6, 2009 no response was received. 

13

Section C – Compliance 

1. Release Time Pay Code 

OBSERVATION 

Effective August 1, 2007, the County updated the Employee Policies Manual, 

Code 3.402, Section - Hours of Work – Overtime, Comp. Time, and Release 

Time, to include Release Time for FLSA exempt (non-union) employees. The 

County has no legal obligation to pay overtime wages or provide additional time 

off to employees who are FLSA exempt. This policy authorized departments to 

offer additional time off for FLSA exempt employees to use after they have 

worked extra hours because of extraordinary or seasonal workloads as a means 

to adjust their work schedules to meet varying workloads. 

FLSA exempt employees are eligible for Release Time when they have worked 

more than forty-five (45) hours in a workweek. Paid time off (benefit leave 

entitlements) shall be included in that calculation with the exception of sick leave. 

Only the excess over the forty-five (45) hours are eligible for Release Time on an 

hour for hour basis. Accurate records showing time worked shall be certified to 

by the employee and maintained by the supervisor. Release Time must be used 

within twenty (20) working days of occurrence or forfeited. 

Our testing revealed the following: 

• There currently is no pay code in the payroll software for timekeepers 

to code hours earned and hours taken for Release Time. This leaves 

each individual department responsible for maintaining their own 

manual records. 

• There are two FLSA exempt employees earning Release Time for any 

hours in excess of forty (40), not the stated forty-five (45) hours per 

policy. 

• One department is using Comp time pay codes to record hours earned 

and taken for Release Time for two individuals that are FLSA exempt. 

These individuals were previously in positions where they were FLSA 

non-exempt earning comp time until their promotions to FLSA exempt 

positions. This resulted in comp time hours being co-mingled with 

release time hours. Further complicating this situation is the fact that 

documentation of actual hours worked was destroyed resulting in an 

inability to verify how hours earned were calculated. In addition, these 

individuals are not using their Release Time within the twenty (20) 

working days of occurrence and the time is not being forfeited as per 

policy. 


14

We recommend setting up a separate pay code for Release Time with the 

appropriate payroll rules in the new payroll system. This will ensure the proper 

recording and allow for monitoring of this pay code. Department supervisors 

should be held accountable in ensuring County policies are followed. 



Having just recently been provided with information that no such pay codes had 

been established, I have asked the payroll administrator to set up those codes. I 

have asked my staff to work with all due diligence to assist with establishing 

those codes for the current Lawson system. Since we are in the planning stages 

of the new system, SunGard, we have already established those codes. 

Victor Mazziotti, Director, Fiscal Affairs 

The new Payroll/Human Resource system, which will be implemented as of 

January 1, 2010, will contain release time pay codes. 

15

2. Monitoring Compensatory Time 

OBSERVATION 

Per the Employee Policies Manual, Code 3.402, Section Hours of Work – 

Overtime, Comp. Time, and Release Time, “The County reserves the right to 

offer compensatory time off in lieu of paid overtime . . . and the employee retains 

the right to refuse compensatory time off in lieu of paid overtime. . . . When the 

collective bargaining agreement is silent on the subject of Compensatory Time 

Off in Lieu of Overtime (Comp. Time) for FLSA non-exempt employees, Comp. 

Time shall not be an option and paid overtime shall prevail”. 

Among some of the guidelines in the Policies Manual are the following: 

• Comp time is earned at time and one half of the hours worked. 

• Accurate records showing time worked shall be certified to by the 

employee and maintained by the supervisor. 

• Earned compensatory time must be recorded in the County’s central 

payroll system as part of the regular payroll processing. 

• Comp time earned must be used within forty (40) working days of 

occurrence or paid at overtime rate. 

• FLSA non-exempt employees may not accrue more than 240 hours of 

comp time with some exceptions. 

• Any balance of unused comp time should be paid to the employee 

before the employee transfers from one department to another. 

• Upon separation from County employment, payment for all 

accumulated comp time will be made in one lump-sum payment at the 

employee’s final regular rate. 

Our testing revealed the following items: 

• The County supervisors, as a whole, are not monitoring accrued comp 

time balances for the maximum balances allowed and the timeframe in 

which balances must be used or paid out. Balances are allowed to 

accumulate above the maximum accrual amount and are allowed to 

carryover for long periods of time creating a situation in which the 

County could be responsible for paying out wages at a higher rate 

when time is taken or upon separation from County employment. This 

increases overtime costs. 

• Gracedale is not recording comp time in the County’s central payroll 

system as part of the regular payroll processing using the pay codes 

set up in Lawson. They have been overriding the Lawson system 

comp time balances to reflect comp time earned. Comp time used 

was recorded properly. 

• The Deputy Sheriff Association’s collective bargaining agreement is 

silent with regard to comp time except with regard to overnight 

assignments. Deputy Sheriffs earned comp time for assignments 

other than overnight work after their contract effective date which is in 

violation of the County Employee Policies Manual and the Deputy 

Sheriff Association collective bargaining agreement. 


16

Comp Time should be recorded in accordance with the Employee Policies 

Manual. Overrides of data in Lawson should only be done as a last resort to 

correct errors and should be done with proper management approval. Human 

Resources should monitor these types of entries and provide exception reports to 

supervisors requesting explanations. 

The Sheriff, after reviewing County Policy on comp time, agreed that the 

department is in violation of the policy. He stated that he has taken corrective 

action and will no longer authorize comp time. This situation should be 

monitored to ensure that the Sheriff’s Department is in compliance with policy. 

A policy should be put in place to monitor comp time earned, accrued and used. 

Supervisors should be held accountable for ensuring County Policies are 

followed. Human Resources should consider maintaining this information in the 

SunGard human resource software system, if at all possible, where it can be 

accessed online by Supervisors, or provide exception reports to supervisors to 

assist in monitoring these comp time issues. 



I agree with the recommendation. The Deputy Sheriff’s Association is currently 

negotiating an agreement on the issue of Comp. Time which limit the accrual of 

Comp. Time. While Human Resources has developed methods for monitoring 

Comp. Time in the SunGard system, we will continue to refine those methods 

and programming to meet the Controller’s Office recommendations. 

Marvin Granda, Gracedale Administrator 

Gracedale will use the automated payroll system to record compensatory time as 

now directed. It is noted that comp time was used correctly. 

17

Policies that Boost Overtime Costs 

One purpose of this audit was to determine if overtime and comp time are managed 

economically and effectively. In order to assess our County’s approach to overtime and comp 

time, a questionnaire was sent to organizations that subscribe to the Association of Local 

Government Auditors (ALGA) listserv asking for information from similar audits they performed. 

The responses we received were used to assess County practices. 

County practices found to boost overtime, some of which have been detailed previously in this 

report, are as follows. 

1. The County has adopted policies over the years that go above and beyond minimum 

requirements per the Fair Labor Standards Act with regard to work performed after 8 

hours worked per day and compensable hours included in the overtime hours 

calculation. This creates an environment whereby the County is providing more 

opportunities for employees to earn overtime. 

2. Offering comp time in lieu of paid overtime can increase overtime costs in departments 

with critical staffing requirements. While nothing came to our attention in the areas we 

tested to suggest that comp time was a major factor in increased overtime, it bears 

noting that it can have an impact on overtime. Allowing comp time balances to accrue 

above maximum balances and not enforcing the time period in which comp time is to be 

used creates an opportunity to increase costs when time is paid out at a higher pay rate 

at some future time. 

3. Provisions in the Deputy Sheriff Association collective bargaining agreement with regard 

to minimum staffing and the switch in duties to include providing security for inmate 

hospital visits has dramatically increased overtime in that department. 

4. Understaffing and excess leave time in general has contributed to overtime costs. In the 

past the County has had difficulty hiring at Gracedale and the Prison. It would benefit 

the County to do further analysis for the breakeven point at which it is more cost 

effective to hire additional staff as opposed to current employees working overtime 

hours. Areas that would benefit from a more in-depth review are the Prison, the Sheriff’s 

Department and possibly Gracedale. 

Another practice that was shown to boost overtime costs is Shift Switching. Gracedale has an 

internal policy for shift switching per management. Switching is recorded in the payroll system 

using a pay code called “approved switch” and occurrences are limited to within that pay period. 

Overtime pay does not appear to be an issue with regard to switching at Gracedale. 

Shift switching at the Juvenile Justice Center and the Prison can create situations where time 

worked as a result of the switch is paid at an overtime rate. This usually occurs when an 

employee switches time outside of the work week the originally schedule work day was to occur, 

or when the switch involves two employees and extends over more than one week or pay 

period. 

• Currently, the Juvenile Justice Center AFSCME Youth Care Worker collective bargaining 

agreement does not specifically address shift switching, but the department has an 

internal office policy allowing switches. Testing revealed that this practice has increased 

18

the overtime costs for the department. 

• The Prison AFSCME Correction Officer collective bargaining agreement, Article 37, does 

address shift switching. Per the agreement, shift switching requests are to be denied if 

switching results in additional overtime. Our testing revealed that there was a great deal 

of overtime on the weekends at a time when the Prison is at minimum staffing. This is 

typically the time that shift switching will occur per management at the Prison. 

Employees are not allowed to request time off on the weekends. Therefore, the only 

way to get a weekend off is to switch with another employee. Shift switching was not 

part of the scope of this audit. As such, adherence to the policy above was not tested. 

However, the fact that there is a high volume of overtime on the weekends and switching 

is allowed and has been shown in other departments to contribute to overtime costs, it 

would benefit the County to do further analysis at the Prison. 

MANAGEMENT COMMENTS: 


With regard to “County practices found to boost overtime”: 

1. It should be noted that County policy does not provide for overtime after 8 hours per day 

but rather after 40 hours per week. The precedent for 8 hours per day was set by prior 

union contracts and/or recent arbitration awards. I’ve already taken steps to negotiate 

this out of the union contracts whenever the opportunity arises. 

2. I agree. While this is the sole responsibility of the supervisor, I have advocated for 

payment of overtime rather than accrual of Comp. Time with the potentials mentioned 

above. 

3. This Administration took all steps available to us to prevent these added costs. 

Unfortunately, the arbitrator ruled against the County without regard to the costs it would 

create. 

4. I agree. 

With regard to “Shift Switching”: 

The supervisors need to monitor the shift switching to ensure it doesn’t create more overtime. 

The Prison union contract specifically states that shift switching will be denied if it creates 

overtime so it’s not a collective bargaining issue. I also feel the Prison union contract that 

restricts the full use and training all Corrections Officers by the “preferred positions” adds to the 

overtime costs. I am currently attempting to negotiate the “preferred positions” out of the 

collective bargaining agreement. Once again, I also believe that the use of trained part time 

employees would lessen the overtime burden. 

I cannot comment on the Juvenile Center’s shift switching issue since I have no knowledge of it 

and there is nothing in writing. 

19

Prison Employee – 2008 Attachment 1 

Corrections Officer (Correction Officers CBA, Base pay at Step 11 = $46,723) 

Actual Employee Wages (includes overtime) $ 130,764.56 

Less: 

Retro Pay 13,287.56 

No Sick Stipend 500.00 

Adjusted Employee Wages (includes overtime) $ 116,977.00 

Current Employee Wages, Benefits and Overtime: 

Hours Wages Benefits Total 

Regular Wages 2,104 51,116.33 18,876.03 69,992.36 

Overtime Wages 1,953 __65,860.67 __6,507.10 __72,367.77 

Totals 4,057 $ 116,977.00 $ 25,383.13 $ 142,360.13 

Calculated Benefits on Regular Wages: 

Insurances & Retirement 13,105.00 

Social Security and Medicare taxes 3,910.40 

Workers Compensation Insurance 

__1,860.63 

Total Benefits on Regular Wages $ 18,876.03 

Calculated Benefits on Overtime Wages: 



_2,397.33 

Total Benefits on Overtime Wages $ 6,507.10 

Cost of New Hire: 

New Hire Wages – 2008 pay scale, PR 1, Step 1 29,349.00 

Benefits 

_16,419.00 

Total New Hire Wages and Benefits $ 45,768.00 

Current Employee with Overtime vs. Current Employee plus New Hire 

Current Employee Wages, Benefits and Overtime 

Current Employee Regular Wages and Benefits 69,992.36 

New Hire Wages and Benefits 45,768.00 

Total Cost for Current Employee and New Hire 

_142,360.13 

_115,760.36 

SAVINGS WITH HIRING NEW EMPLOYEE $ 26,599.77 

20

Gracedale Employee – 2008 Attachment 2 

Nurse 1 (Steelworkers CBA, Base pay at Step 10 = $62,035) 

Actual Employee Wages (includes overtime) $ 125,936.80 

Less: 

Seminar Pay 1,073.70 

Adjusted Employee Wages (includes overtime) $ 124,863.10 

Current Employee Wages, Benefits and Overtime: 

Hours Wages Benefits Total 

Regular Wages 2,080 74,439.02 22,399.88 96,838.90 

Overtime Wages 933 __50,424.08 __4,885.50 __55,309.58 

Totals 3,013 $ 124,863.10 $ 27,285.38 $ 152,148.48 

Calculated Benefits on Regular Wages: 

Insurances & Retirement 13,095.00 



__3,610.29 

Total Benefits on Regular Wages $ 22,399.88 

Calculated Benefits on Overtime Wages: 



_2,445.57 

Total Benefits on Overtime Wages $ 4,885.50 

Cost of New Hire: 

New Hire Wages – 2008 pay scale, Step 1 47,636.00 

Benefits 

_19,050.00 

Total New Hire Wages and Benefits $ 66,686.00 

Current Employee(s) with Overtime vs. Current Employee(s) plus New Hire 

1 Employee and 2 Employees and 

1 New Hire 

1 New Hire 

Current Employee Wages, Benefits & Overtime 152,148.48 304,296.96 

Current Employee Regular Wages & Benefits 96,838.90 193,677.80 

New Hire Wages and Benefits 66,686.00 66,686.00 

Total Cost for Current Employee(s) & New Hire 163,524.90 260,363.80 

(ADDITIONAL COST) or SAVINGS WITH 

HIRING NEW EMPLOYEE ($ 11,376.42) $ 43,933.16 

21

OVERTIME AND COMPENSATORY TIME

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