An overtime dispute has surfaced within the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency, a five-person group that handles the cases of inmates seeking early releases from prison.

The state Department of Administration is investigating whether the board members are owed overtime pay for the period between August and December 2012, during which they worked longer-than-usual hours in an attempt to clear a backlog of inmate requests.

The dispute arose out of a change of Arizona state law, which amended the classification of the board members from exempt to nonexempt, meaning the hours they worked in excess of 40 could potentially be compensated with overtime pay.

In an interview with The Associated Press, former Clemency Board Director Jesse Hernandez stated that his colleagues are "greedy," and "they have no overtime coming to them whatsoever."

In addition to being shorted overtime, the Board employees failed to contribute to the Arizona State Retirement System, as required by Arizona State Law, making the situation even more complicated, said Department of Administration Spokesman Alan Ecker.

Employee tracking using time and attendance software is especially important in preventing overtime disputes. When such disputes cannot be prevented, producing records can help settle issues quickly. Salaried employees should be required to keep track of hours in case the classification of their position changes in the future.

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