Clarification on Court Pay Practices

Dear OCEA Member,

First of all, let me say that OCEA hopes that each and every one of you are safe and healthy. Life, including work life, will resume to normal at some point in time. By closing nearly every aspect of Court operations and sending nearly all staff home with full pay, the Court has led the way in this instance, protecting their workforce from greater exposure to this virus.

Last week, as the Court was scaling back their court operation and determining which “essential operations” would remain in place, it was unclear which telecommuting work activities were deemed “essential” and “non-essential” by Court management. The Court has asked us to send a clarifying communication.

The following clarification was provided by the Court:

• Those employees who are required to complete non-essential functions via telework will post regular hours (RH) on their timesheets and will not post SOT for hours worked.
• Those employees who are required and directed to complete essential functions (i.e. tasks that directly support the Operations of the Court) either onsite or via telework will be compensated with straight over time (SOT) at the rate of thirty (30) minutes for every hour worked in addition to regular hours.

Should you have questions regarding which tasks are deemed essential or non-essential, please inquire up the chain of command.

In Solidarity,

Charles Barfield
OCEA General Manager

Publication Date: April 8, 2020