There has been some concern from members at the Department of Natural Resources about the calculations of paid R&R days that occur on someone’s regularly scheduled day off (covered in the WPEA GG contract, Article 20.8). The concern was that reporting an R&R day of this type could have an impact on the overtime rate for that pay period.

The bottom line is that state rules explicitly state that R&R days that occur on someone’s scheduled day off do not affect overtime rates. (WAC 357-28-265, subsection 2): 

…if [R&R] leave falls on the employee’s regularly scheduled day off, it is not considered hours worked for the calculation of the overtime rate.

For people who take an R&R day on their normal day off, your paycheck may make it look like you worked the hours for that R&R day. A DNR steward spoke with a person in finance, who explained that their process is to exclude those specific R&R hours from the total hours worked when calculating overtime. That process should lead to an accurate calculation and outcome.

It is entirely possible that this process is not being followed consistently across the agency. Please contact your steward or staff rep: if your believe your overtime rate has been incorrectly calculated, if you have been discouraged from reporting your R&R days, or if you hear of a policy or practice that contradicts the WAC cited above. 

Reporting your R&R days should not negatively affect your pay, so please do report them!

Thanks for your work, and stay safe out there.