Overtime pay???

[Patriot]

I erred in some of my original posts on this thread.  Let's update....

1.  EMS folks ARE collecting overtime.

2.  Even though salaried, they ARE entitled to overtime according to federal law.

3.  As I understand it, they are counting 'on call' hours toward the overtime calculations.

4.  This poses some problems, as the federal law says time on call, if not at the workplace, is NOT 'at work time.'

5.  Some of our EMS folks spend some (maybe a lot of) 'on call' time at home, which should not count toward their 40 hrs/week and/or overtime.  

6.  The federal wage & labor law, by the way, is different, in some respects for law enforcement personnel.

If you're feeling like studying: http://www.dol.gov/whd/flsa/

Here are some updated wage figures as provided by the County Clerk's office.  I'll let you figure out who the employees are.  It appears one is getting shorted while another is doing very nicely in the actual pay department.  Mr. Mitchell is also requesting some substantial increases for himself and his staff for 2012... and I mean SUBSTANTIAL.

ELK COUNTY EMS WAGES            
            
                Base Salary   2010 Actual Pay     10 Month Base (2011)   10 Month Actual Pay
Employee 1   $43,164    $43,595                        $35,977                   $38,181
Employee 2   $34,092    $32,947                        $28,411                   $27,675
Employee 3   $29,196    $29,938                        $24,355                   $24,811
Employee 4   $24,420    $25,208                        $20,358                   $20,953

When figuring the employee compensation package, don't forget to add the taxpayer provided costs of health insurance.
We pay over $500/month for a single and somewhere way over that if the employee opts for family/dependent coverage.  There's also an employer (taxpayer) contribution to KPERS for their pension package.

Remember this too... the Butler county EMS Director has a salary of about $66,000.yr.  Don't know how much bigger their operation is, but it's likely larger than ours is.  Sedgwick county EMS Director makes about $86,000.  And they make almost as many ambulance runs in a day as we do in a year.

Now, about those $8/hr - $9/hr county employees who haven't seen a raise for 5 years.

[Wilma]

The EMS director salaries that you are quoting for other counties, does that include duties as an active Paramedic as ours does?  You are comparing paramedic salaries in Elk County to EMS directors in other counties.  How do our paramedic salaries compare?

[Patriot]

Just don't get it, do you.  The real issue(s) pass right over your head.

[Wilma]

Could you try to answer my question?  How do our paramedic salaries compare with paramedic salaries from other counties.  I am trying to get it, but you are comparing apples and oranges instead of apples and apples.

[Patriot]

Could you try to answer my question?  How do our paramedic salaries compare with paramedic salaries from other counties?

Go look it up.

No Wilma, I'm more interested in issues involving abuse of power, mismanagement, failure of fiduciary duty, apparent incompetence, conflict of interest, manipulation of funds for personal gain, violation of law and lawful regulation than I am about prevailing wage issues.  Prevailing wage issues for non-management employees are, frankly, secondary.  If you insist on focusing on such  issues ahead of those I've mentioned, try comparing the wages for a grader driver, maintenance supervisor or truck driver here vs. Sedgwick county or even Wilson county.  We're cheapskates to be sure, but that fact is secondary to the matters of why we're cheapskates.

[Wilma]

So are you refusing to answer my question about comparing salaries?

[jarhead]

Wilma,
You want me to shove slivers of bamboo under Patriots finger nails for "refusing" to answer your question ? Or give him the ol shock treatment---you know "red is positive---black is negative ".

[Varmit]

We are doing a lot of talking about suposssedly overpayment of salaries and what it is costing the county.  What about wasted time?  What about employees that arrive late to work, then spend half an hour visiting before starting any work?  Then there are the ones that leave five minutes before quitting time.

How do you know that they are just "visiting" and not discussing what needs to be done? What is quitting time for the county?  And exactly which county employees are you referring to?  If you're going to accuse somone of something at least have the gonads to name them!

[Janet Harrington]

Well, it is good to know that we are off Elk Konnected and back to bashing the county. I did talk to the county clerk's office today. I got some salary information, but have not put into words how to explain how the EMS salaries work. I will get that done tomorrow night.

[Wilma]

All right, I was waiting for someone to say something like that.  What I am talking about is the minutes of darkness after starting time when no one can see enough to do anything outside.  Wasted time for the road department.  I don't know what the men are doing during this time, but wouldn't it make sense for them to go back on 8 hour days so that their 8 hours would be daylight hours.  Outside work can't be done in the dark.  Same thing in the evening when it gets dark before quitting time.  Can't work after it gets dark, now can they?  Wasted time.  Not the employees fault.  Ten hour days are fine in the summer with the extra hours of daylight, but those two extra hours are wasted in the winter.

The days like today when it rains is a different story.  Nothing can be done about that, but not much work can be done either.  I would like to remind you all about the holiday some years ago when it snowed.  I can't remember which holiday it was except it was one when people go visiting or have company.  Our road guys here in Howard went out and plowed roads and I would bet they opened driveways, too, so that people could have the day they had planned.