Teachers in Baltimore are driving up costs for school departments as they file claims to recover overtime wages and leave pay upon retirement, according to The Baltimore Sun. Over the past four years, the city's school system has paid teachers $14 million in overtime and $64 million for teachers to recover unused leave time, including vacation and sick days.

While some department heads acknowledge these costs are simply a product of the system and a valid way to compensate teachers for their hard work, others wish they were seeing lower numbers and expect every dollar paid out to be carefully looked at, the source adds. In some cases, payroll records were not substantiated.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 456,800 preschool, 1.65 million kindergarten and elementary school, 641,700 middle school and 1.03 million high school teachers in the United States in 2010. If these teachers all claim back pay for overtime and leave days, schools districts may face a growing budget problem.

Even though these employees are considered exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as professional workers, it's crucial for school districts to retain accurate and detailed employee attendance records. A payroll processing system can help them keep files updated should a discrepancy arise.

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