HB 130-STATE EMPLOYEES: FLEXIBLE TIME CREDIT  4:39:49 PM CHAIR CARRICK announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 130 "An Act relating to flexible time credit for classified employees in the executive branch who are not eligible for overtime compensation." REPRESENTATIVE ANDY JOSEPHSON, Alaska State Legislature, as prime sponsor of HB 130, presented an overview of the bill. He called HB 130 a simple bill with a fiscal note of zero dollars. He shared a story about a classified employee that took a promotion and was then ineligible for overtime pay. He is a geologist with the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities. He became ineligible for overtime pay but got compensatory time. He gets compensatory time only after working 45 hours on his 37.5-hour work week, which creates a "donut hole" of non-payment. He feels that the employee needs the full compensatory time. REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked, "How is it beneficial to the employee?" She followed up with a question about supplemental requests for the Department of Corrections. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON replied that the Department of Corrections' officers are allowed time and a half or double time. This employee, after working 45 hours, would qualify for compensatory time. There is a gap of time between 37.5 and 45 hours where he is working for free. 4:46:40 PM KEN ALPER, Staff, Representative Andy Josephson, Alaska State Legislature, offered a PowerPoint presentation [hard copy included in the committee file], on behalf of Representative Josephson, prime sponsor of HB 130. He started by explaining that only some public employees are overtime eligible and usually it is around Range 20 when they hit the exempt status. On slide 3, "What happens for non-eligible employees," he defined compensatory time also referred to as flexible time credit or comp time. This time is not earned on an hour-to-hour basis. He continued with slide 4, "What happens to non-eligible employees?" There is a difference between the Alaska State Employees Association (ASEA) and the Alaska Public Employees Association (APEA). He gave examples of the donut hole of non- payment with both units. These rules set a minimum standard with the labor contracts. Slide 5 outlines what happens when employees are promoted. He gave the details from the example of the constituent shared earlier by Representative Josephson. On slide 6, "What does HB 130 do?," he noted that the bill adds a new section to the state's personnel statutes that classified employees must accrue flexible time credit for each hour or fraction of an hour more than the standard work week. This change is written as a minimum requirement for state union contracts after the effective date of the bill. There is no actual cost to the bill. On slide 7, "How many employees are impacted?," he stated there were overtime costs which are impacted by letters of agreement. Broadly about 4,000 people would be impacted by this legislation. 4:53:59 PM IAN MINNOCK gave invited testimony in support of HB 130. He clarified that he works for DOT&PF but speaks on his own behalf. He is a certified geologist which gives him professional overtime exemption. He took a pay cut with a promotion. He explained that he worked 935 hours in the field with 318 hours of mandatory overtime; of these 57.5 hours were not compensated. He is an outlier in the state. The supervisor union fixed this in their last contract. There is a lack of transparency about this donut hole of nonpayment. This bill looks for the 1:1 ratio of work time to time accrued. REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND asked whether the credit for one full hour is for each hour worked. MR. ALPER replied that the bill as written would be each hour or fraction of an hour. REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND asked how this extra time worked is managed and approved. If left unmanaged, then employees could bank extra hours. MR. ALPER replied that the bill doesn't modify the existing system. There are personnel rules for banking and tracking of hours. REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE asked why this isn't being resolved in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). MR. ALPER replied that the unions are unable to get this through CBA. He added that by providing a minimum standard to what the state must offer, the bill sponsor is attempting to "help that process along." REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE said, "Not willing to do that; get a new negotiator." 5:01:05 PM CHAIR CARRICK announced that HB 130 was held over.