Blog Post
Recently, several Clark County security members approached me with a question about how holiday pay works under our contract. I explained that when you work on a holiday, you’re supposed to receive time and a half for the hours you work, plus an equal number of hours added to your holiday bank. That’s what our contract guarantees.
But as we talked further, it became clear that something wasn’t right. Some officers had received time and a half but didn’t get any hours in their holiday bank. Others had received holiday bank hours but not the premium pay. Then there was a third situation where some employees, who had the holiday off, were mistakenly credited with extra hours on top of their regular pay—which actually constitutes an overpayment under our contract.
Instead of filing a formal grievance right away, I reached out directly to the analyst in charge of payroll for the security staff. I explained what I believed was happening, and after looking into it, she confirmed there actually had been an error in how people were being paid. Usually, when a department processes payroll, everyone is paid using the same method. But in this case, different employees were being paid in three completely different ways, and it had gone unnoticed for some time.
We worked with HR and finance to correct the issue. So far, about half of the affected employees have received the correct pay, and the rest are still being processed manually. Payroll has to review each case individually, which takes time, but I’m confident everyone will be made whole.
Because of this issue, the payroll department is also planning a training session for the department to ensure everyone understands how holiday pay should be handled moving forward. I’ll be attending that training as well, to make sure your interests are represented and that nothing gets missed.
As your Chief Steward, I want to remind you that contract violations related to payroll don’t have a statute of limitations. If something seems off in your paycheck don’t hesitate to speak up. We’ll look into it and make sure it’s made right!
In solidarity,
Rick Prieto
Chief Steward, Clark County
SEIU Local 1107