Vail 911 dispatchers to get back pay
Vail, CO Colorado
VAIL, Colorado ” As a result of a federal audit, 33 current and former Vail, Colorado 9-1-1 employees will receive a total of almost $30,000 in back pay from the town.
A recent audit by the U.S. Department of Labor showed that the hourly dispatchers at the Public Safety Communication Center and employees of the Police Records Division were arriving a few minutes early for their scheduled shifts in order to clock in and be ready to go.
The minutes were adding up and sometimes resulting in unpaid overtime, said Krista Miller, human resources manager for the town of Vail.
“What happened is that we have these highly committed employees who really care that 911 calls are being answered,” Miller said. “So people came a few minutes before their scheduled shifts.”
That was adding up to about seven extra minutes per person per shift, she said.
As a result of the audit information, the town will be adjusting dispatcher schedules, either compensating for the overtime or moving shift schedules back a few minutes to accomodate shift changes.
The town will also reimburse employees for the small increments of time worked that was identified in the audit.
The town will pay a total of $29,374.64 in back pay over a two-year period to 19 employees and 14 former employees within the police department.
The money for the back pay will be requested from the Vail Town Council in the next supplemental budget, which will be considered by council in April.
The audit started in December 2008 and was conducted by a field representative from the Denver office of the U.S. Department of Labor.