Monroe County Updates Overtime Rules for Salaried Workers

The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners approved changes to its overtime compensation policy for salaried employees during its May 20 meeting, following a review by the Clerk of Court's office.

Commissioners will keep the existing overtime policy for hourly workers, which counts approved leave toward the 40-hour workweek. The board directed staff to revise the policy for salaried employees, limiting which positions qualify for overtime pay or compensatory time.

Under the new policy, the county will continue its general practice of not compensating salaried staff for overtime. The county administrator may approve exceptions for unusually large amounts of overtime, including disaster response, peak seasonal workloads, special events, staffing shortages, and extended facility maintenance.

The airport's construction project prompted the change, as commissioners reviewed examples of salaried overtime use across county operations.

Commissioners directed the county administrator to approve any overtime exceptions directly, rather than delegating the decision to assistant administrators or department heads. The board also ordered employee services to submit overtime reports to commissioners every six months, covering both hourly and salaried workers.

The county will investigate two airport employees named in the clerk's advisory letter to determine whether overtime was claimed incorrectly.

The revised policy will go before the county's internal committee before returning to the board for final adoption, expected in July 2026.