The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) contains provisions for “Overtime”, “Holiday Work” and “Compensation for Working Overtime on a Holiday.”  The “Overtime” provision states that 8-hour employees shall be paid overtime at the rate of 1½ when the employee works more than 40 hours during the week when overtime is required and 12-hour employees shall be paid overtime at the rate of 1½ when the employee works more than 80 hours during the two-week pay period when overtime is required.  The “Holiday Work” provision states that an employee who is scheduled, and in fact works, on several listed holidays shall be paid at the current overtime rate in addition to the other usual treatment of holidays as contained elsewhere in the CBA. The “Compensation for Working Overtime on a Holiday” provision states that a member who works more than 8 or 12 hours (whichever is applicable based on the employee’s shift length) on a holiday shall be paid for the hours actually worked in excess of 8 or 12 hours at the rate of 2½ times the member’s straight time hourly rate.

The Police Department issued a directive stating that “from this point forward when you work overtime on a holiday you will be compensated exactly as the contract states.” The Union filed a class grievance alleging that the directive was a unilateral change that violated contract language and past practice and asked the Employer to rescind the directive.

The Union argued that the language of the CBA supports the interpretation that all hours worked by an employee on a holiday be paid at the rate of 2½ times the member’s straight time hourly rate and that a longstanding practice supported this interpretation. This includes employees who are not scheduled but are called in to work on a holiday.

The Employer argued that the contract language was clear and unambiguous and that a past practice, even if proven, could not overcome the clear language of the CBA. Employees who are scheduled on a holiday are entitled to the overtime rate of 1½ for all hours worked, but employees who are called in on a holiday are not automatically entitled to overtime for all hours worked. Employees should only receive 2½ times their regular hourly rate for hours worked in excess of 8 or 12 (whichever is applicable) on a holiday. The Employer also argued that inconsistent methods of paying holiday overtime did not constitute a past practice.

The Arbitrator held that the clear and unambiguous contract language did not establish that all employees who work on the listed holidays were automatically entitled to the “special premium rate” of 2½ for all hours worked. Employees scheduled to work on a holiday are entitled to the overtime rate of 1½ for their first 8 or 12 hours worked as a “holiday rate” even if they have not reached the overtime threshold (40 hours in a week or 80 hours in a pay period). All employees, scheduled or not, who work on a holiday are entitled to receive 2½ times their hourly rate for all hours worked in excess of 8 or 12 hours. Even if the language was ambiguous, there was not a clear, consistently followed, and mutually accepted practice of paying unscheduled employees the 2½ times premium for all hours worked on a holiday because there was only a single instance of this occurring.

Grievance denied. The Employer did not violate the CBA’s holiday pay provisions.

Employer: City of Beachwood                                                     Date: July 2023