Employee Info Site

3.1.0 Work Week Defined 

The workweek commences at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday and ends at midnight on the following Saturday. Except as otherwise provided in this Part 3, the hours of work comprising fulltime City employment shall be 40 hours per week and a minimum of 1,000 hours per year for IMRF pension purposes. For Fire Department personnel, including Paid-on-Premise personnel, it shall be 204 hours averaged over a 27-day period; and for Police Department personnel, it shall be 171 hours averaged over a 28-day period. It is the personal responsibility of each employee to be at his/her work station and fully prepared to begin work at the time the established departmental shift/workday begins.


3.2.0 Work Day Defined 

The workday for each employee shall be the 24-hour period from the time that work is scheduled to begin until that time shall occur again. This definition shall be used whenever workday is referred to in these policies. A 30-minute unpaid meal break is included as part of the workday unless otherwise defined for specific positions.


3.3.0 Overtime Work 
It is the policy of the City to keep work in excess of established schedules at a minimum and to permit such work only when it is necessary to meet City operating requirements. All overtime work performed by a nonexempt employee must be approved by the employee's immediate supervisor prior to the work being performed. Unauthorized overtime work will subject the employee to discipline, including dismissal.


3.4.0 Established Hourly Rate Defined 
The established hourly rate shall be at the rate specified in Section 2, Official Pay Plan, for the position salary range held by the employee at the time the overtime compensation is earned. The rates established by the Official Pay Plan shall be the official rates for all overtime compensation.


3.5.0 Compensation for Overtime Work 
Employees shall be compensated for overtime work at the following rates:

a. Police Department – Eligible sworn police personnel covered by the collective bargaining agreement shall be compensated as determined by their agreement. Eligible non-exempt  personnel not covered in the bargaining unit shall be compensated at 1½ times their established regular rate, computed on a per-hour basis for all authorized police work in excess of the regularly scheduled 8¼-hour work day and beyond the regularly scheduled work week, and for all authorized police work when called back after normal working hours or on regularly scheduled days off, including holidays. Whenever eligible sworn police personnel not covered by the collective bargaining agreement are called back to work on a temporary basis, a minimum of two hours of overtime compensation will be paid. 

b. Fire Department – Eligible sworn fire personnel covered by the collective bargaining agreement shall be compensated as determined by their agreement. Sworn fire personnel not covered in the bargaining unit shall be compensated at 1½ times their established regular rate, computed on a per-hour basis for all authorized fire work in excess of the regularly scheduled 24-hour work day and beyond the regularly scheduled work week, and for all authorized fire work when called back after normal working hours or on regularly scheduled days off, including holidays. Whenever eligible sworn fire personnel not covered by a collective bargaining agreement are called back to work on a temporary basis for emergency calls, a minimum of two hours of overtime compensation will be paid. 

c. Public Works/Parks and Forestry Personnel – Eligible regular non-exempt fulltime and part-time employees in these areas shall be compensated at 1½ times their regular rate, computed on a per-hour basis for all authorized work in excess of the normal working day and beyond the regularly scheduled work week and for all authorized work when called back after normal working hours on regularly scheduled days off, including holidays. Fulltime and part-time employees will be compensated at 1½ times their regular rate for any authorized work in excess of 40 hours in a work week. In the event that shift changes are approved which increase the regular work day but cause the work week to remain at 40 hours, overtime will not be compensated until the hours worked extend beyond 40 hours per week. Whenever an employee in these sections, who is eligible to receive overtime, is called back to work on a temporary basis from off-duty status, a minimum of two hours of overtime compensation at 1½ times the hourly rate will be paid. During snow removal emergency shift work, employees shall be paid as determined by the snow removal policy. 

d. All Other Regular Full-Time and Part-Time Employees – Eligible regular non-exempt fulltime and part-time employees, except as noted above, shall be compensated at 1½ times their regular rate, computed on a per-hour basis for all authorized work in excess of the normal working day and beyond the regularly scheduled work week and for all authorized work when called back after normal working hours on regularly scheduled days off, including holidays. Fulltime and part-time employees will be compensated at 1½ times their regular rate for any authorized work in excess of 40 hours in a work week. In the event that shift changes are approved which increase the regular work day but cause the work week to remain at 40 hours, overtime will not be compensated until the hours worked extend beyond 40 hours per week. Whenever an employee of this category is called back to work on a temporary basis, a minimum of one hour of overtime compensation will be paid. 

e. Compensatory Time - It is the policy of The City of Lake Forest to schedule overtime work only when deemed necessary to meet City operational needs. Regular, fulltime, non-exempt employees in the following departments may elect to take compensatory time-off in lieu of overtime compensation by signing the appropriate agreement for their department or if covered by any applicable collective bargaining agreement (and any subsequent agreements signed during the duration of these policies): Community Development, CROYA, Finance, Human Resources, Office of the City Manager, Public Works, Parks and Recreation and Senior Resources. Compensatory time-off will be granted to the participating employee at a rate of 1.5 hours of compensatory time for every hour of overtime worked.

Compensatory time-off may not be taken unless the participating employee has received prior approval from his or her department head. Once a participating employee has worked overtime and received approval from his or her department head, the employee may schedule and take his or her earned compensatory time-off. A participating employee who has accrued compensatory time and has requested its use will be permitted to use that time within a reasonable period after making the request, so long as the use of that compensatory time-off does not unduly disrupt the operations of the City or the Department. Participating employees requesting compensatory time off must adhere to the same rules set forth for department vacation requests. 

No participating employee shall accumulate more hours of compensatory time during a given 12-month period as set forth in the appropriate agreement he or she signed. Once a participating employee works overtime to the extent that he or she accrues the maximum compensatory time hours, the employee will be paid overtime compensation for any further overtime hours worked. Accrued hours will not be carried forth into a new 12-month period as set forth in their agreement. Employees will be issued a check for all compensatory time not used within the defined period in which it was earned equal to the number of hours accrued. The City may at any time substitute overtime cash payments in exchange for compensatory time-off hours. 

The City reserves the right to modify this policy and the accrual, use, and payment of compensatory time-off at any time upon notice to affected employees, subject to applicable federal and state law.  

f. No Pyramiding - Hours worked shall not be counted twice for purposes of overtime pay (that is, no pyramiding). This means that any daily overtime hours, "call back" and holiday hours worked for which overtime is paid shall not be counted toward weekly overtime hours. Likewise, vacation or personal day hours shall not be counted toward daily or weekly overtime if the employee works on his or her scheduled vacation or personal day. 


3.6.0 Positions Ineligible for Overtime Compensation

The overtime compensation provisions of Section 3.5 of this Directive shall not apply to positions in the Managerial and Administrative or Executive pay plan schedules of the Official Pay Plan of The City of Lake Forest or other positions determined to be exempt by the department head, Director of Human Resources and City Manager based on the Fair Labor Standards Act and Illinois Minimum Wage Act guidelines. 

 

3.7.0 Flex Time

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Office employees may be eligible to take time off during their normal workday and make the time up at another time. This may include, but not be limited to, time off for such things as personal business, doctor/dental appointments, and school visitation. This time must be requested in writing to the department head or his/her designee at least 24 hours in advance and approval will depend on available staffing levels. The written request must include the reason for the request, the date and time needed off and when the time will be made up. No time will be granted in excess of three hours, and it must be made up within the same seven-day work period. In certain emergency situations, the department head has the discretion to waive the 24-hours advance notice requirement.