Personnel Policies Manual

  1. It is the policy of the Navajo Nation to authorize overtime when necessary to meet essential operating needs of the Navajo Nation subject to existing funding and contract requirements.

  2. All positions will be classified as either exempt or non-exempt to determine eligibility for overtime compensation.

    1. Exempt: managerial, professional, and administrative positions. Employees assigned to exempt positions are not eligible for overtime compensation.
    2. Non-exempt: nonsupervisory or office staff positions. Employees assigned to non-exempt positions are eligible for overtime compensation.
    3. Department of Personnel Management is responsible for determining the exempt or non-exempt status of each position.

  3. The Program Manager may authorize overtime consistent with these policies. However, prior to working overtime, non-exempt employees must agree to the type of compensation preferred, cash payment, compensatory time off, or a combination of the two.

  4. The Program Manager shall notify the employee in advance that overtime is necessary and the employee is expected to work. In assigning overtime, the Program Manager will take into account employee preference for overtime assignments. To the extent feasible, overtime shall be distributed equally among full-time employees of the same classification.

    1. Cash Payment – Whenever an employee is approved to work overtime, payment for the overtime must be processed within the next pay period ending.
      1. Non-exempt employees shall be paid for overtime at the rate of one and one-half times their regular rate for hours worked which exceed forty hours of actual work in a workweek. Exception: Employees engaged in public safety activities will be paid the overtime rate for hours worked which exceed eighty hours of actual work in a pay period
      2. Non-exempt employees shall be paid at their regular rate of pay when the actual hours worked is equal to or less than 40 hours in a workweek. Employees engaged in public safety activities shall be paid at their regular rate when the actual hours worked is equal to or less than 80 hours in a pay period.
      3. A non-exempt employee shall be paid for any accrued and authorized overtime, including accrued compensatory time, by the work unit in which the overtime was worked, upon transfer, change in funding source, or termination.

    2. Compensatory Time Off

      In lieu of cash payment, an employee may be eligible to earn compensatory time subject to the following:

      1. For non-exempt employees, compensatory time shall be calculated in the same manner as cash payment in E, above.
      2. Compensatory time off shall be arranged by the employee and the supervisor. Supervisors shall properly account for Compensatory time earned and taken by employees.
      3. For non-exempt employees, compensatory time off must be taken within 90 days of the time it was earned, otherwise programs are required to compensate employees in cash payment.
      4. An employee may not accrue more than 120 hours of compensatory time, unless the employee is engaged in essential public safety activities or emergency response activities. These employees may accrue up to 240 hours of compensatory time. Any overtime hours worked in excess of these limits must be compensated in cash payment until the number of accrued hours of compensatory time falls below the limit.

  6. All authorized and earned overtime and compensatory time must be recorded on the official time sheet. Only hours reported on the time sheet will be accepted and approved for cash payment or compensatory time off.