The regulations governing payment of overtime for employees fall in two broad categories with the career salaried included employees forming one group while the career salaried excluded employees forming the other group. Regulations governing the payment of overtime for these two groups are varying even though states have formulated their own regulations. Issues of compensation are becoming complex despite clear law guidelines thus this paper seeks to evaluate the eligibility of the departmental directors to overtime compensation. As an assistant in the human resources department, this paper aims at providing the needed analysis of the situation where the departmental directors have written an inter-office memorandum with a threat to initiate a lawsuit for compensation since they have not been paid for overtime despite their work requiring them to work overtime.
Why compensation for overtime should be made
The directors who form exempt employees are entitled to payment of compensation for the hours worked overtime in accordance with the Florida employment laws. It can be argued that the directors have invested a considerable amount of time in their work thus necessitating compensation for the time they have worked overtime. The Florida administrative code provides that exempt employees who work overtime due to the nature of their work ought to be compensated for hours worked overtime ( Coye, 2017) . As such, the departmental directors are eligible for the compensation for extra hours worked at a half rate. Furthermore, the federal government provides that employees are supposed to work for a maximum of forty hours in a week. However, the departmental directors' duties are requiring them to work for more than the maximum hours provided by both state and federal governments and as such, they qualify for compensation for hours worked overtime.
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Administrative codes addressing the issue
As noted earlier, there are federal and state laws that govern the administration of compensation for overtime in corporate organizations as well as in the public service. More specifically, in Florida, there are administrative codes that provide a framework upon which the dynamics of employee compensation is founded ( Bullock, 2016) . First, the legal framework for the administration of employee compensation is entrenched in the Fair Labor Standards Act which is largely based on the need to protect employees from unfair work practices. More specifically, the “Florida administrative code 60-L-34.0044" explicitly explains the foundation of employee compensation ( Bullock, 2016) .
Within the code, it is provided that an employer has the privilege of making compensation to an employee for overtime worked by offering leave for an employee. Subsequently, provided the leave is not in contradiction of the policies governing the agency. Furthermore, it is required that before an employee is allowed to use other forms of approved leaves the employee should fully exploit the leave credits acquired through overtime. However, such leaves as sick leave and administrative leave may be taken without necessarily utilizing the overtime credits. On the other hand, an agency can offer monetary compensation at a one-and-half rate without an employee taking leave.
Actions to comply
Agencies work within the legal environment which requires strict compliance with the provided laws to ensure that instances of litigation do not occur ( Coye, 2017) . To begin with, it is paramount for the agency to make sure it has workers’ compensation insurance. Having compensation insurance for workers will make it easy for the agency to provide compensation for employees thus avoiding litigation and potential penalties. Furthermore, according to Coye (2017) , the agency needs to have knowledge regarding employee compensation and their coverage requirements in such a way to have full information of what the law requires about employee compensation. The human resource department needs to keep abreast with existing as well as emerging laws specific to states to ensure that the exempt and nonexempt employees are adequately compensated.
Furthermore, it is significant for the agency to provide a provision for an employee who is required by the nature of their work to perform duties exceeding the provided maximum hours per week to earn regular compensatory leave credits. Such credits may be based on an “hour-for-hour” basis as long as the employee does not have more than two hundred and forty hours accruing in overtime ( Dubreuil, 2016) . Furthermore, the agency should make efforts to have the employees utilize their regular compensatory leave credits.
Remedying the situation to avoid litigation
Noting that the claims made by the directors are valid, it is critical for the agency to make remedies to ensure that there is no litigation. First, it is critical for the departmental directors to be granted their compensation for overtime worked. As indicated, the directors are required by the federal and state laws to work for a maximum of forty hours in a week such that their efforts made towards the service delivery in the agency resulting to overtime work need to be rewarded. Such compensatory arrangements may be monetary noting that the working conditions of the directors may not allow for frequent leaves to cover for overtime hours worked. Additionally, the agency can draft a plan which will see the directors paid in lump sum for the overtime worked at regular intervals.
References
Bullock, J. S. (2016). Florida Employment Law Manual: HR Compliance Library .
Coye, W. (2017). A Guide to Florida Workers' Compensation: Sharing the Secrets, Learning the Lies .
Dubreuil, J. J. (2016). Dubreuil's Florida Workers' Compensation Handbook .
