NAPE member Doug Graham is a Behavioral Health Practitioner II at the Omaha Correctional Center. In November 2021, Doug’s classification received a 20% increase to its pay line as a result of NAPE’s historic midterm negotiations victory that included the largest pay raise for all NAPE-covered employees in the last 15 years. As a dedicated state employee, Doug frequently works overtime at the Department of Corrections and chooses to take his overtime as comp time.
In December of 2021, the Department of Corrections decided to pay cash to Doug for his unused comp time. While the agency has the right to do this, they erroneously chose to pay him at his rate of pay from August 2021. The contract is clear that comp time must be paid out at the employee’s current hourly rate. The decision to pay Doug at his former rate of pay caused him to lose out on the benefit of the 20% raise. When Doug found out about management’s action, he contacted NAPE right away.
Our field services team promptly filed a grievance on behalf of Doug. After a hearing, the hearing officer agreed with NAPE and ordered the Department of Corrections to pay Doug at his current rate of pay for his unused comp time. By reaching out as soon as he found out about the issue, Doug was able to get this incorrect decision overturned through the grievance process. NAPE is dedicated to ensuring employees receive the compensation they deserve. If you believe your pay is incorrect, we highly encourage you to contact us right away so we can look into your situation.