STATE OF LOUISIANA

DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

January 19, 2006

General Circular No. 001646

To: Heads of State Agencies and Human Resource Directors

Subject: Proposed Amendment to Rule 21.11

Issue Date: January 19, 2006

The State Civil Service Commission will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, March 8, 2006 to consider proposed amendments to Rule 21.11. The hearing will begin at 9:00 a.m. and will be held in the Louisiana Purchase Room of the Claiborne Building, 1201 North Third Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Consideration will be given to the following:

Amend Rule 21.11   Caps, Required Payment, and Cancellation of Overtime Earned at the Hour-for-Hour Rate

(a) Compensatory leave earned hour for hour may be accrued in excess of 360 hours, but not more than a total of 360 such hours shall be carried forward from one fiscal year to the next. However, an appointing authority may request an exception to this subsection to maintain essential services necessary to preserve the life, health, or welfare of the public. This exception may ask that up to a total of 540 such hours be carried forward to the next fiscal year. Such a request is subject to approval by the Commission.  

(b) For non-exempt employees whose hour-for-hour compensatory leave balance exceeds the cap required or granted by exception under subsection (a) of this rule, payment shall be made within 90 days after the beginning of the fiscal year for the excess compensatory leave.  If payment is made, the employee’s hourly rate of pay shall be calculated in accordance with Rule 21.5(a). 

(c) For exempt employees whose hour-for-hour compensatory leave balance exceeds the cap required or granted by exception under subsection (a) of this rule, payment may be made within 90 days after the beginning of the fiscal year for the excess compensatory leave.  If payment is made, the employee’s hourly rate of pay shall be calculated in accordance with Rule 21.5(a).  Any excess leave not paid, shall be cancelled.

EXPLANATION:

This change is being proposed as the result of requests from several agencies. The change to a fiscal-year basis will allow agencies to pay any excess overtime at the beginning of a fiscal year rather than in the middle of a fiscal year. This change will provide the agency greater ability to plan and manage their budgets. In addition, in many agencies, the largest portion of overtime is earned during the November/December holiday periods. As it stands now, the calendar-year basis for calculating excess compensatory time does not give the agency any time to allow employees to use their compensatory leave before it must be paid or cancelled. Changing this to a fiscal-year basis will provide employers with sufficient time to allow employees to use their compensatory leave before it must be paid or cancelled.

Persons interested in making comments relative to these proposals may do so at the public hearing or by writing to the Director of the Department of State Civil Service at Post Office Box 94111, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70804-9111.

If any accommodations are needed, please notify the Department of State Civil Service at (225) 342-8272 prior to the meeting.

Sincerely,

s/Anne S. Soileau

Acting Director