What is Compensatory Time?
Many times employees are compelled to work extra hours in a week because of project deliveries, assignments or even personal targets. At such times they might exceed the mandatory work hour requirement and even extend their working hours into weekly off time. Employers may choose to reimburse this time with compensatory or comp time off. This time off is generally given instead of paying the employee overtime benefits.
What is compensatory (“comp”) time?
An employee is expected to be at work for 40 hours per week. In case he or she works extra hours, the employer is expected to compensate his or her efforts with over time wages. However, some employers choose to give compensatory days off in lieu of the extra hours put in. This practice is not entirely legal as per the laws laid down by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It is mandatory for all private or non-government employers to reimburse extra hours with overtime wages. Then again, laws vary according to State and there is a complex procedure in place for granting comp off.
This law is in place to dissuade employers from overloading their employees rather than hiring more people.
Some things you must know about compensatory leave:
– Compensatory leave is not legal and may not be acquired, even if both, the employer and employee are willing to accommodate each other, because of strict overtime laws laid down by the FLSA. Only some public sector employees may acquire comp leaves.
– If compensatory leave is to be taken, it must be taken in the same pay period. That is, you may not take comp leave after many months of your overtime.
– Compensatory off must be administered at the rate of 1.5 times the overtime hours. That is if one has worked for 10 extra hours, he must get 15 hours of compensatory leave.
There is an ongoing debate regarding the US laws that govern comp leaves. Many are in favor of these benefits as they allow employees to enjoy the extra time off with their families. Many employees give a higher importance to this free time rather than enjoying a few extra bucks. They might also have the freedom to work extra hours to meet family commitments at a later date. However, there are two sides of the coin. Those against the motion, say that employers will not let employees choose when to take the extra time off. They might restrict such leaves depending upon the resources available. They might not grant leaves when a project is due or on the day of an important meeting!
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