Council limits comp time for exempt employees to 40 hours and clarifies time-recording practice

BROOKSHIRE, Texas ' The City Council on Sept. 4 addressed accumulated compensatory time and overtime practices for exempt and nonexempt employees, directing that exempt employees may bank up to 40 hours of comp time and should not be on automatic time cards; supervisors must authorize comp time or overtime beyond policy.

Staff described recurring issues where exempt employees, though salaried, had accumulated comp time far in excess of the personnel-policy limit (staff cited instances beyond 200 hours). The personnel policy in the packet states exempt employees should only accumulate up to 40 hours of comp time. Council and staff agreed exempt employees should record their hours (vacation, sick, meeting attendance) but not use a punch-in system that automatically accrues comp time; nonexempt (hourly) employees remain eligible for overtime under federal and state law and must have overtime authorized by a supervisor.

A council motion limited exempt employees' banked comp time to no more than 40 hours and required recording practices consistent with the personnel policy. The motion passed on a voice vote.

Ending: The human resources and department heads will implement recording procedures to align timekeeping with the personnel policy and supervisors will manage approvals for comp time and overtime.