Commissioners Court: Overtime issue
County to look at Sheriff's Office pay
By Erica Molina Johnson / El Paso Times
County Commissioners Court will again discuss the issue of overtime pay for Sheriff's Office employees at its meeting today.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Officers Association has argued that the county improperly enacted in January 2005 an exemption in the association's contract that allows the county to deny overtime pay to employees unless they work more than 171 hours in 28 days.
That means sheriff's employees, including detectives, officers, deputies and detention officers, must work about 43 hours a week before they qualify for overtime pay. Employees and their lawyers argue that this is unfair because the exemption was only meant to be enacted during an emergency.
Today's agenda item seeks to reinstate overtime pay beginning at 160 hours worked in 28 days effective the first full pay period after the approval, if approval is granted.
"I feel it is only right that anybody and everybody, whether law enforcement officers or not, should be paid a full 40-hour work week, and it feel it's the right thing to do," said Commissioner Larry Medina, who placed the item on the agenda. "We need to start with the 40-hour work week immediately and not extend it (the problem) any longer."
Commissioner Dan Haggerty previously has been against changing the terms of the contract.
"The problem I have is the sheriff contract is up for renewal next spring, so in March, April or May next year we will sit down and renegotiate," he said. "Why don't we work it out starting then."
In a separate but related issue, Medina and County Judge Dolores Briones remain in negotiations with the association to reach an agreement on whether overtime the association argues is owed from January of last year to the present should be paid.
"We've had a few meetings negotiating the issue and I feel they are coming along fine, but we still have some work to do from both sides and some compromises to make," Medina said.
Erica Molina Johnson may be reached at emolina@elpasotimes.com; 546-6132.