Our NAPE/AFSCME union contracts guarantee that our members who work for the State of Nebraska, Department of Education, and Nebraska State College System have the right to flex their schedules, so long as the request is reasonable and does not interfere with our ability to provide services to the public.
We have seen an uptick in the denial of flex schedule requests, including the setting of arbitrary rules such as being limited to requesting a flex schedule two times per month, or being denied flex schedule requests when sick leave, vacation leave, or comp time is available. These arbitrary and unreasonable denials should be challenged through our grievance process.
“It’s important to know what a flex schedule is under our contract,” said NAPE/AFSCME Field Representative Suzanne Ogilvie. “A flex schedule is a request to temporarily change a work schedule, while still working the total number of hours equal to the employee’s FTE during the work week.”
For example, if an employee normally works 40 hours in a week, Monday-Friday from 8am-5pm with a one hour unpaid lunch break, they could request a flex schedule on Monday to work from 10am-5pm and “flex” the two “missed” hours by coming in early for thirty minutes the other four days of the week at 7:30am. These requests cannot be unreasonably denied. In other words, management needs a business reason to deny your request.
“A permanent schedule outside the hours of 8am-5pm, is not a flex schedule,” said NAPE/AFSCME Field Representative Erica Koppenhoefer. “Permanent work schedules can be set by management with 10 days notice. A flex schedule is a temporary change to the schedule within the same work week. It’s confusing, because some agencies call a permanent work schedule outside regular state business hours a ‘flex schedule’ but that’s not what a flex schedule is under Article 7 of our contract.”
To make a request to flex your schedule, you should give your supervisor as much advance notice as possible and make your request in writing. If your request is denied without reason, or is denied for an arbitrary reason such as exceeding a random flex time limit, contact your union representative right away for assistance.
In the event a grievance needs to be filed to enforce your rights, it’s best to get advice on how to proceed to have the best chance of success. Strict time limits apply, so reach out right away.