San Francisco Administrative Code 18.13.1, “Maximum Permissible Overtime” Ordinance

The Maximum Permissible Overtime Ordinance has been in effect since 1988. This ordinance was never enforced by the Sheriff’s Department, the Police Department, the Fire Department, (and other City Departments) due to staffing shortages and the public safety and emergency services we provide.  Many Mayors and Board of Supervisors from previous years also ignored the ordinance because overtime cost less than hiring additional staff.  

This year, the Mayor is forecasting a budget deficit --they are still five million dollars in the hole.  The media continues to attack employees who earn overtime, without taking into consideration the serious staffing shortages that jeopardize public safety.  As a result, Supervisor Jake McGoldrick and Mayor Newsom have a new proposal to amend the ordinance and apply it to all Departments, including Police and Fire. They propose to increase the permissible overtime hours a year from 336 hours to 624 hours.

During the Labor and Management meeting between the Department and the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs Association, Assistant Sheriff Mariani told us that because our Department has minimum staffing and the involuntarily hold over (drafting), the  Department is going to request exceptions to the proposed Ordinance. Those areas include, but are not limited to, the ESU training, involuntarily draft, Extended Work Week, requests for assistance from the Police Department; and staffing shortages. We are asking Deputies to let us know if there are any other areas that you believe should be included in the exception list to the proposed Ordinance.

On July 30, 2008, the Budget and Finance Committee, Chaired by Supervisor McGoldrick, approved the Ordinance and it has been sent to the full Board of Supervisors for approval.

How will our Deputies be impacted in the Ordinance passes the full Board of Supervisors?  If the Board approves the Ordinance, the Department will be asking the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor’s office to grant the exceptions immediately.  We assume that the department will then announce what areas would be considered the “exceptions”. And last, the Department may request a Meet and Confer session regarding their proposed exception list.