N.C. County Found to Be Underpaying EMS Employees

Nov. 06--The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division has completed its investigation of Greene County Emergency Medical Services that began May 31.

The investigation, covering a two-year period starting June 24, 2011, revealed EMS was in violation of failing to pay statutory overtime pay or hours over 40 hours a week, as required under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The total discrepancy for 10 employees was about $3,355. The unpaid hours varied from eight to 56 hours for each employee.

An agreement was made that the employees would take compensatory, or "comp" time instead of cash payments, by Sept. 25. With comp time, an employee gets paid time off.

The investigation by Zulma Rivera Toler, of the DOL office in New Bern, came about because of a complaint about underpayment of flex time, sometimes referred to as Chinese overtime.

However, the DOL did not find violations in flex time, but in comp time pay, Interim County Manager Richard Hicks said.

"At the time, we know the staff were keeping their own comp time," he said, adding, "There shouldn't be any comp time."

Full-time EMS employees generally work 48 and 72 hours alternately each week. Comp time should pay time and a half for the hours worked over 40 in one week.

Flex time pay is based on a formula determined by dividing the annual salary by 12 months, then determining the weekly and hourly pay, the county's finance officer, Sandra Barss said.

Flex time divides that hourly pay in half and multiplies it by the number of hours worked over 40. The total is calculated for each week in the month and is added to the regular monthly salary.

The pay-per-hour for overtime using the flex time formula could be just a couple or few dollars an hour, depending on the employees' salary, Barss said.

About two years ago, EMS staff was authorized to use comp time because of a staff shortage, Hicks said.

They continued utilizing comp time, but should have been getting flex time pay, he said.

The violations were discovered where employees received their hourly wage for taking comp time instead of getting time and a half.

EMS Director Randy Skinner said payment of comp time instead of flex time pay was an oversight.

"It probably was an oversight on my part," he said, "but it has been corrected."

Employee Glenesa Smith said she wasn't aware employees were supposed to take flex time pay, nor did she know she hadn't been paid for 10 hours of comp time.

"I have no idea of knowing what hours I had," she said, "because I hadn't kept up with it."

Smith said she has since been compensated with time off.

Another EMS employee, Herman Warrick, was reimbursed with time off for 23 hours and was told there would be no more comp time.

"I don't like flex pay," he said. "I don't think anybody likes flex pay."

However, he said if the DOL says it's fair and legal, he's OK with it.

Three requirements must be met to receive flex time pay. The employee must have a guaranteed weekly salary, the hours must fluctuate week to week and the regular hourly rate used to determine the half-time overtime rate must be at least minimum wage, which is currently $7.25.

Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.

Copyright 2013 - The Free Press, Kinston, N.C.