Q:   I work as a full-time, hourly maintenance handyman.  Lately,   I’ve been asked to work lots of overtime, doing completely unrelated stuff that I suppose falls under “other duties as assigned”.  The problem is they don’t want to pay overtime, so instead they have me take time off the following week or sometime later.  But, when I work a shorter week in order to take time off, my regular handyman duties suffer.  Work orders don’t get done, people complain.  Could I just refuse to work overtime? If not, can I demand to be paid money instead of time off?

A:  While I sympathize with your situation, I don’t recommend you to flat out refuse to work overtime or start making demands about pay.  It’s best not to start off being confrontational, I favor starting with collaboration instead.

But first, I assume you work in the public sector because in Florida, only the public sector is allowed to “pay” non-exempt workers for overtime with “time off”; and even then, only as long as the off hours are 1½ times the number of hours of overtime.   Private employers aren’t allowed such a thing.

In case you are wondering, the main purpose of this practice is to keep payroll costs level.  But there is a down side -that your example illustrates- which is that performance and morale can quickly deteriorate.

In your case, I suggest that you use the negative effects that working overtime has already had on your performance, to express concern and start a conversation with your supervisor.

For example, you could ask:

• How long is the need to work overtime expected to continue?
• Are there other ways those needs could be met? (Temps, other co-workers)
• Is there a way to delegate some of your regular duties?
• How should you prioritize your work when there isn’t sufficient time to complete tasks?  (Perhaps change the expected turnaround time of work orders).

You get the idea.

Lastly if you’d rather not work overtime, it’s perfectly okay to –diplomatically- express your preference.  Many supervisors mistakenly assume everyone loves overtime.  Once you do, at least you’ll know your supervisor is hopefully considering other options.

© Copyright Eva Del Rio

Info on comp-time for public employees
http://www.dol.gov/elaws/otcalculator.htm
<http://www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/otcalc/doc7oi1.asp>
<http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs7.htm>