FIRE RESCUE PAYROLL

Horry County Fire Rescue provides service utilizing a 3 shift cycle of employees. The work schedule is 24
hours on-duty and 48 hours off-duty (24/48).

Under the Fair Labor Standard Act, when a shift employee exceeds 212 hours in a 28-day pay cycle, they
are paid overtime at a rate of time and a half. When an employee works extra time and does not work
more than 212 hours in the pay cycle, the extra time is paid at the straight rate of pay for the employee.
Vacation or sick leave is paid at the straight rate of pay regardless of whether it occurs during a pay cycle
in which the employee exceeds 212 hours. That is, vacation or sick leave time is not considered in the 212
hours for overtime purposes; the employee must physically work 212 hours before they would be entitled
to overtime pay.

Using the 24/48 schedule, employees are scheduled to work either 9 or 10 shifts in the 28-day pay cycle.
This requires them to work either a scheduled time of 216 hours or 240 hours in the pay cycle. Two shifts
will be scheduled for 216 hours and the third shift will work an additional 24 hour shift, for 240 total hours.

This rotation results in total annual hours scheduled of 2,904 (2,756 regular and 148 overtime) or 2,928
(2,756 regular and 172 overtime).

Horry County Fire and Rescue’s budget provides funding for salaries which include benefits and scheduled
overtime for employees. Vacation and sick time are benefits that compensate employees for time away
from their normal schedule and are budgeted as a component of regular salary, not in addition to regular
salary.

Employees are paid for hours that are worked, including extra shifts, on a two week basis. Employees
are allowed to utilize their accrued vacation leave to cover their shift if approved by their supervisor 72
hours prior to leave. Likewise, they are allowed to use their accrued sick leave only for sickness and
bereavement leave per guidelines.

HOW ARE WE PAID

All employees are paid on a two-week work period. Overtime is calculated on a 28-day pay cycle. Two
shifts will work a schedule of 96 hours (four 24-hour days) for one of the two-week periods and 120 hours
(five 24-hour days) for the other two-week period. The third shift will work 120 hours in the first two-week
period (five 24-hour days) and 120 hours in the second two-week period (five 24 hours days).

Example: Normal Work Schedule with no vacation or sick hours:

Shift A Shift B Shift C
Work Period Total Reg OT Total Reg OT Total Reg OT
Period 1 120 120 120 120 96 96
Period 2 120 92 28 96 92 4 120 116 4
Pay Cycle 240 212 28 216 212 4 216 212 4

Employees are paid for their scheduled days worked, and any additional shifts that are worked. The extra
shifts will be compensated at the overtime rate if the employee has physically worked more than 212 hours
in the pay cycle.

TAKING SICK OR VACATION LEAVE

If the employee has taken a vacation or sick day during the pay cycle, the vacation or sick day will be paid
at the straight hourly rate of pay regardless of whether it occurs during a pay cycle in which the employee
exceeds 212 hours. Should the employee physically work more than 212 hours in the 28-day pay cycle,
irrespective of vacation or sick time use, they are entitled to the overtime pay rate.

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 Example: Shift A – 24 hours vacation; Shift B – 24 hours sick; Shift C – extra shift
Shift A Shift B Shift C
Work Period Total Reg Vac OT Total Reg Sick OT Total Reg OT
Period 1 120 96 24 120 120 96 96
Period 2 120 116 4 96 72 24 144 116 28
Pay Cycle 240 212 24 4 216 192 24 240 212 28

WORKING EXTRA SHIFTS

When an employee works his/her scheduled shift days and then is called into work on other than scheduled
days, and they do not take a vacation or sick day, they are paid for each of the unscheduled work hours
as overtime (time and a half). They are paid at this rate because they have physically worked more than
212 hours in the 28-day pay period.

Example: Shift A – extra shift; Shift B – extra shift + sick day; Shift C – extra shift
Shift A Shift B Shift C
Work Period Total Reg OT Total Reg Sick OT Total Reg OT
Period 1 144 144 120 120 96 96
Period 2 120 68 52 120 92 24 4 144 116 28
Pay Cycle 264 212 52 240 212 24 4 240 212 28

CHECKS AND BALANCES

With the concern of the potential of misuse of annual leave, these checks and balances are in place
currently. Modifications or additional checks and balances may occur if misuse is identified.

• When annual leave is utilized, the employee places a request in to the scheduling coordinator
requesting the time off. Only seven (7) slots of annual leave per shift are allowed.
• The scheduling coordinator approves the leave and assigns the additional time to cover the slot if
needed. If there are additional personnel above minimum staffing on duty, they are utilized first to
cover the slot.
• Company officers are the time keepers for their crews. The company officer reviews the
employee’s time to ensure the time is accurate and that there is nothing out of the ordinary.
• Then the time goes to the payroll administrative assistant and Finance Manager. The time is
reviewed again to ensure accuracy and to check for any inconsistencies.
• A week before the end of the 28-day cycle, the scheduling coordinator and the payroll
administrative assistant correlate the scheduling software with the time clock to ensure the
department stays under the overtime ceiling. This is done by manually going through every
employee to ensure that no employee has exceeded the overtime threshold, and that for the 28-
day cycle there are no inconsistencies.
• To promote safety and employee wellness, the maximum overtime permitted currently is one
hundred hours in a 28-day cycle. The mandatory day is on a 7 shift cycle, which means most
employees have one mandatory day a month and some may have two as needed.
• Extra hours will be fairly distributed among all shift employees with the requisite training or
certification to fill an open shift.
• Vacation scheduling will be fairly distributed among all shift employees with the requisite training
or certification to fill an open shift

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EXTRA TIME
Extra Work time is necessary in the Horry County Fire Rescue Department for several reasons. Employees
currently are limited to a maximum of 100 hours overtime in a 28-day cycle.

• Departmental Position Vacancies/Training/Precept/Workers Compensation injuries/FMLA/Sick

Time coverage - Vacancies in the schedule for unfilled positions, employees in training, attending
conferences as well as employees working on their precept packet causes additional holes in
station coverage. These slots are filled with Extra Time.
• Vacation - Scheduling allows for a maximum number of slots to be used daily for vacation requests.
These vacation shifts must be covered by extra time. A daily correspondence is sent to shift
employees requesting voluntary coverage of open shifts.
• Special Events - Special Event coverage is on a voluntary extra time coverage basis. These events
include Coastal Carolina University sponsored events, sporting events, festivals, rodeos and
requested community coverage. (For example, the CCU Games will require 2 ALS units and 10
employees for coverage.) Although many of these events are billed events or reimbursable through
ATAX, they still require the extra work time even though not a full 24 hour shift. These special
event hours contribute to the 100 maximum overtime threshold.
• Mandatory Shifts – in the event open shifts are not filled by eligible volunteers, then shifts will be
filled based on the Mandatory Rotation.