Skip to main content

Shift Selection & Schedule

Policy Number:
2.1
Responsible Office:
University Police
Approved Date:
8/29/2022
Approved By:
Tony Decker
Ammendment Details:
Effective 8/27/2012
Revised 3/1/2016, 7/20/2016 8/26/2019, 4/20/2020, 8/10/2020, 8/17/2021, 9/1/2022

Policy Properties

  • Scope: All Employees
  • Chapter: 2 Personnel Services
  • Distribution: Policy Manual
  • Reference: 2.4.7 Secondary Employment

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Police Department, in keeping with the demands of the community for professional police service, has established a schedule that best suits the needs of the community.

Policy

Serving the community is a fundamental goal of the department. It is the responsibility of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Police Department to provide sworn staff coverage as well as provide a plan for employees to utilize benefit time.

Definitions

  1. Seniority: Is accumulated by the day, starting on date of hire and for each day serving as a full-time State of Wisconsin employee with a similar job subfamily and job title. Any breaks in service of full-time employment status will be subtracted out from the total of combined service.
  2. Scheduled Benefit Day Off: Usage of accrued benefit time allowing off-duty status during the hours submitted.
  3. Priority Benefit Time: Benefit time use/dates that are requested for the following year and done at department assigned times, the during the current calendar year. Requested benefit time may not exceed accrued benefit time.
  4. Non-Priority Benefit Time: First come, first served requests for benefit time usage, which may not exceed accrued benefit time and are subject to management approval.
  5. Off Day: Any scheduled 24-hour period where no work is scheduled for an employee. Generally, Off Day(s) are directly connected to additional off days creating a 48 to 72 hour rest cycle.
  6. Work Pay Period: A regularly reoccurring two-week period of time generally running from Sunday at 0000hrs to the Saturday at 23:59:59 that is 14 days later.
  7. Scheduled Week: Consisting of the first minute that an officer is on duty after days off to the last minute that an officer is on duty before days off.
  8. Scheduled Overtime: Any overtime work which the Employer (UW-Green Bay Police) knew would be necessary forty-eight (48) hours or more in advance of the work.
  9. Unscheduled Overtime: Any overtime work for which the need is known less than forty-eight (48) hours in advance of the work.
  10. Business Day: Any day Monday - Friday from 0745-1630, excluding University designated or federal holidays.
  11. Military Leave: All written or verbal orders issued by military authority to include, but not limited to, inactive duty training (drills), annual training, voluntary or involuntary active duty in support of a war, national emergency, or certain operational missions, or additional training requirements determined and certified in writing by the Service Secretary and considered to be necessary for professional development or for completion of skill training or retraining.
  12. Permanent Employee: An employee that is not within their probationary period.

Procedure

A. Work Schedule

  1. Management reserves the right to change schedules as needed, based on department needs and employee performance.
  2. Permanent employees will have the opportunity to bid to a shift based upon seniority within their specific job family and function.
    1. The department work schedule will be implemented on the first day of the first pay period following January 1 of each calendar year.

B. Work Shifts

  1. Schedule Changes
    1. In so far as possible a minimum of 5 calendar days' notice shall be provided to the police officer(s) affected by the work shift change.
  2. Employees previously scheduled off days shall not be changed to accommodate a work shift change.
    1. When a required or non-adjustable training day is scheduled for an employee's scheduled off day; the off day can be moved to accommodate attendance at the training. As much as possible, the off day should be moved so that it is attached to another off day creating or extending a rest cycle.
    2. If a training day is scheduled and the training combined with the travel time does not equal a full work day, an officer can request to change their schedule to make up the missed hours. The change will take place during the same pay period, and will not result in overtime.
  3. With supervisory approval, employees may voluntarily "swap" their work shifts if such a "swap" is within the same pay period that does not result in overtime.
    1. Employees are prohibited from coercing any other employee to swap shifts, and employees who feel they're being unduly coerced or pressured should report it to their supervisor.
  4. When a long-térm vacancy exists, an employees or combination of employees can be temporarily moved to that position until the vacancy is filled.

C. Attending or Conducting Training

  1. When an employee is scheduled to attend or conduct training, the training and travel time shall not result in overtime without management approval.
    1. At the discretion of management, a schedule change will be done within the same pay period to flex an employee's work hours as to not exceed eighty (40) hours a week or (80) hours within a pay period.
    2. If training ends early, allowing for a shortage of hours for the week (40) or pay period (80).
      1. An employee can schedule change their hours to add the missing hours to another shift within the same week not resulting in overtime for the pay period.
      2. An employee may use benefit time to equal the 80 hours for the pay period.
  2. An employee will remain in pay status for the lunch meal break while participating in a scheduled training.
  3. Employee will be in paid status for travel time to and from training, only if they're utilizing a university owned vehicle. Employees using alternate means of transportation will follow university established rules for travel and reimbursement.
    1. Employee's many use a personally owned vehicle and be in paid status leaving from any location only for the actual or equivalent time as if they were traveling from and returning to UW-Green Bay proper.

D. Overtime

  1. Whenever a scheduled overtime work assignment(s) is required, management or their designee will email the assignment(s) so that it may be selected in the following way:
    1. Non-chargeback work assignment preference will be given to LTEs and then if not filled will be given to FTEs based on department seniority.
    2. If all FTEs and LTEs employee decline an opportunity for a scheduled overtime work assignment, a supervisor or their designee shall assign such overtime based on scheduled work days and reverse seniority. If there is a partial shift that needs to be covered it shall be divided between the officers who are already scheduled to work the day of the assignment.
  2. Whenever an unscheduled overtime work assignment is required, management or their designee will extend the work schedules of currently scheduled and on-duty personnel as an immediate means of ensuring operational consistency except when required by operational need.
    1. In so far as possible, it will be offered by seniority first to the employee(s) currently scheduled and on-duty, if denied;
    2. The least senior employee currently scheduled and on-duty will be extended or have hours shifted. If the assigned officer does not desire to work all the hours, then;
    3. The employer may, at its discretion, try a "call in" of employee to fill the shift.
  3. No work assignment shall not be made or accepted that require an officer to work more than sixteen (16) hours in a twenty-four (24) hour period.

E. Priority Benefit Scheduling

  • Round 1, with an available selection period between Jan 1 and Apr 30
    • To be completed after work week (shifts) are fully selected
  • Round 2, with an available selection period between May 1 and Aug 31
    • To be completed the first two weeks in March
  • Round 3, with an available selection period between Sept 1 and Dec 31
    • To be completed the first two weeks in July 1. 
  • Employee(s) shall pick benefit days by seniority using the benefit calendar provided by management. Initially, only one employee will be given off per day during this selection time regardless of the benefit time being used.
    • Each employee may choose as many individual days of benefit time as they have accrued as annual benefit time (NOT to include vacation carry over).
    • The scheduling supervisor or their designee will approve or deny the requests within one week of the completion of 1st round picks c. Once approved, a benefit day will not be cancelled unless all other coverage options have been exhausted.
    • Employees may cancel individual benefit days with a minimum of 45 days' notice. Cancelation requests less than 45 days in advance will be considered by management.
    • Off days that are in conjunction with an approved benefit day will not be cancelled by management unless all other coverage options have been exhausted.
  • After each round of priority benefit days have been approved, Employees may request to use any remaining benefit time for that selection period on a first come first serve basis.
  • All supervisors shall coordinate benefit time with the chief and scheduling supervisor. Supervisors shall coordinate planned benefit time use so a police supervisor is always available. If a supervisor is counted a patrol coverage, any benefit time use may not create excessive overtime or cause significant shift adjustments to subordinates' officers.
  • Each permanent patrol officer, not on modified work status, is required to be scheduled to work a minimum of 20 weekends (sequential Saturday and Sunday) each year. After each priority benefits requests are approved officers may request weekends through the non-priority benefit process.

F. Shift coverage of priority benefit time 

  1. Priority benefit time will be covered in the following way:
    1. By schedule changes of officer's schedule to work
    2. If not possible, the shift will be posted as vacant for filling.
    3. When covering shifts by OT, management reserves the right to cover only the vacant hours / or operational needs, with a three hour minimum.

G. Shift coverage non-priority benefit time

  1. After the Priority Benefit picks are done for each round, Employees may request to use any remaining benefit time for the round, on a first come first serve basis based on date of submission and with the approval of a supervisor or their designee.
    1. Non-Priority Benefit Time requests will be approved and/or denied no less than 30 Days prior to the beginning of the requested Benefit Time.
      1. Non-Priority Benefit requests will be shown on the schedule by highlighting the day requested to show the order of request.
      2. The exception to this are Non Priority Benefit Time requests that are received by supervision less than 30 days prior to the Benefit Day(s) requested.

H. Scheduling

  1. It is not a guarantee to get the benefit day approved even if no other person has a benefit day requested.
    1. Approval is dependent of operational needs of the department
    2. Will be approved if there is adequate shift coverage which will not result in the payment of overtime and / or does not hamper the departments need to service the community.
    3. Employees are strongly encouraged to consult the University events calendar and consider known events to assist in their benefit choice decisions.
  2. Officers are permitted to negotiate shift "swaps" with other officers only if the swap maintains the same coverage as if the swap did not occur, and only with supervisory approval.
    1. All swaps must be equivalent, with each officer working the same as the other. Hours may not be banked or otherwise "saved" officially or unofficially.
    2. Officers are prohibited from making any swaps that would cause more than 40 hours in any week to be worked, without supervisor approval.

I. Cancellation of benefit time

  1. If an employee's schedule has been changed to cover benefit time either by shift extension or by schedule change, their schedules may be changed back to their original shift and no overtime will be paid.

Covering long term shift vacancy (resignation, FMLA, Active Military Duty etc.)

  1. Long term vacancies will be coved in the following order
    1. Existing employee overlap coverage modification
    2. If not, then by schedule changes to employee working
    3. If not, then by FTE availability
    4. If not, adjusting supervisor if able
    5. If not, then by shift extensions
    6. If not, then by off day forcing

K. Compensatory Time

  1. FLSA nonexempt employees and exempt employees in law enforcement will be allowed to accumulate up to 80 hours of compensatory time.
  2. Comp time accrues at one and one half times for each hour worked over 80 in a pay period.
  3. The scheduling supervisor, or their designee, will have discretion to approve scheduled use of compensatory time.
    1. Employees may be allowed to take accrued comp time off within a reasonable period after the leave is requested if the use does not unduly disrupt the operations of the department.
    2. The use of accrued comp time may not result in additional overtime for other employees to cover the comp time hours.
  4. UW System employees must use accrued comp time no later than four months after the end of the calendar year in which the comp time was earned. Any comp time unused by April 30 of the following calendar year will be converted to cash payment and included in the earnings for the pay period that includes May 1.

L. Military Service

  1. Annual Training
    1. Full time employees are eligible to take leave for qualifying military service.
    2. An employee granted unpaid military leave for three (3) or less consecutive days may, with supervisor approval, cover all or a portion of the leave in the following way:
      1. Voluntary schedule change to assist with departmental needs and fill a shift vacancy if available
      2. Voluntary schedule change shifts with another employee (when the exchange is mutually agreed upon within the same pay period)
        1. Schedule changes will not result in the payment of overtime.
      3. Use benefit time to cover time away (excludes the use of sick leave)
      4. Or take the time off as leave without pay
    3. Permanent employees of the state who are members of the reserve component of the National Guard, the state defense force or any other reserve or inactive component of the military, will be referred to Human Resources for determination of benefits.
  2. Scheduling of Annual Military Training
    1. An employee will provide, as soon as possible,
      1. The name and contact information for their military commander and the military unit.
      2. The address and general report time for their monthly drill.
      3. When available the employee will provide the annual leave schedule for the following year (weekend drill and annual training), before shift picks are made.
    2. Scheduling time off for weekend drill
      1. If scheduled to work the employee will be scheduled off for the days of drill and eight (8) hours plus travel time to or from the drill report location. This time can be covered as stated above.
      2. If an officer wants additional time off, it should either be requested during priority benefit selection or will be treated as non-priority benefit requests and will follow those approve/denied processes.
    3. Any changes to drill dates needs to be relayed to scheduling supervisor within 48 hours of finding out or a minimum of 45 days prior to the scheduled leave.