Article I, Section 1.A.3 (on page 3 of the OCMA MOU) provides:
“Work Week – Administrative Management employees are not governed by the customary eighty (80) hour work period and may be expected to work more than eighty (80) hours in a given work period or allowed to work less than eighty (80) hours pursuant to the specific dictates of the assignment. The Agency/Department Head shall regulate said work periods based on the needs of the County with due regard to maintaining reasonable and equitable work periods for all employees.”
This language has remained unchanged in the MOU for some time despite efforts by the County, particularly in the most recent negotiations, to alter the language (the exact same language appears in Subsection 1.A. in OCMA’s very first MOU). This MOU language specifically recognizes and signifies that Administrative Managers are not hourly employees who are expected to work exactly 40 hours during each work week but rather because they are exempt employees the expectations are different. The MOU reflects that it is understood there will be times when it is necessary for a particular manager to work more than 40 hours to complete their job duties in a given work week and that this is not unusual. Conversely, as the highlighted language clearly states, at other times Administrative Managers may work less than 40 hours because the job duties do not demand that the manager work 40 hours in a given work week. The salary you earn is based on your completion of your assigned job tasks and duties, not the hours that you were present in the workplace. Because Administrative Managers are not hourly employees you do not punch a time clock, you do not earn overtime, and it is also not appropriate that when a manager needs to leave an hour early to attend a doctor’s appointment or some other issue causes them to be absent for a short period of time from the workplace that they be compelled to utilize leave time under such circumstances.
If an Administrative Manager’s agency or department head is ordering them to utilize leave time under such circumstances, OCMA would like to know about the problem so that OCMA can address the issue and attempt to resolve any such concerns.
