Minneapolis transit police are far outearning other officers in overtime pay, with five employees boosting their regular salaries by $30,000 annually and one policeman adding $50,000 to his yearly wages through premium pay, according to The Star Tribune. Overtime pay continues to be a challenge for this department. In the past three years, pay for additional time and attendance has accounted for 9 percent of the department's budget, the source adds. However, the city has been taking steps to reduce the large payouts as a way of controlling costs.

"We've been fighting overtime like crazy over the last couple of years," Sergeant William Palmer, a spokesman for the Minneapolis police, told the media outlet. "Our budget isn't what it used to be, and we need to make do the best we can and as efficiently as we can."

In Minnesota, overtime pay is calculated differently than in other states. Whereas the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guarantees employees receive time-and-a-half earnings for hours worked in excess of 40, the state only requires premium pay for employee attendance beyond 48 hours.

Employers can work to keep their payroll on target by using an advanced payroll processing system that alerts supervisors when employees are nearing, or have exceeded the number of allowable hours without going into overtime. 

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