Out-of-control overtime costs NY municipality nearly $50k
The lack of a city engineer has significantly impacted the finances of a municipality near the Ontario border in N.Y.
The termination of the former engineer was the result of conflicts between the employee and various contractors working with the city, according to local news source the Union-Sun & Journal. The engineering department accrued $47,000 in overtime charges in the first eight months since the worker was removed.
The high amount of extra pay for remaining department members highlights both the necessity of municipalities having licensed engineers - often required for work on construction projects - and of the accurate tracking and compensation of employee attendance in all public and private sector companies and organizations.
Overtime requirements are one of the foundations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, making employers pay at least one-and-one-half times the regular rate of compensation to employees who put in more than 40 hours in a given workweek with only a few exceptions. While an extra few hours per week for an employee who makes minimum wage won't necessarily make a big impact on the finances of a business, prolonged overtime pay - especially for employees who already receive a high level of compensation - can quickly become a large burden.
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