The VCU Police Department (VCUPD) permits all personnel to work approved overtime, off-duty overtime assignments, and secondary employment that does not represent a conflict of interest, does not violate any rules, regulations or procedures, and does not impair the employee’s job performance.  

All off-duty overtime assignments will be coordinated and/or maintained by the designated Off- Duty Employment Coordinator (ODEC). Working off-duty overtime and/or secondary employment is a privilege that can be revoked at any time by the Chief of Police. Personnel who do not abide by these policies and procedures may have the privilege of working off-duty overtime or secondary employment revoked, in addition to any other sanctioned disciplinary process. The purpose of this policy is to set forth guidelines to govern all overtime and secondary employment by VCUPD personnel.

Accountability Statement

All employees are expected to fully comply with the guidelines and timelines set forth in this written directive.  Failure to comply will result in appropriate corrective action. Responsibility rests with the division supervisor to ensure that any policy violations are investigated and appropriate training, counseling and/or disciplinary action is initiated. 

Definitions

1. SECONDARY EMPLOYMENT – The provision of a service, whether or not in exchange for a fee or other consideration, which is outside the normal job for which an individual is employed by VCUPD. NOTE: Secondary employment that requires the use of law enforcement powers is prohibited.
2. OVERTIME – Time that is worked in addition to an individual’s scheduled work hours (i.e. court requirements, etc.). NOTE: Sworn officers are required to utilize law enforcement powers during overtime work.
3. OFF-DUTY OVERTIME ASSIGNMENT - Time worked in addition to an individual’s scheduled work hours for extra income that is not based on the needs of an employee’s regular shift (event control, etc.). NOTE: Sworn officers are required to utilize law enforcement powers during off-duty overtime work.

Responsibilities

1. Employees are herein advised that elective overtime assignments and secondary employment is a privilege granted to personnel. The department may prohibit employees from working in an overtime and/or secondary capacity, particularly if such employment is deemed detrimental to the department.
2. Employees must ensure their ability to successfully perform their regular work duties and that the quality of their work is not adversely affected by any overtime or secondary employment. 
3. Personnel performing overtime work are subject to all VCUPD policies and procedures, applicable university-wide policies, and any other applicable Commonwealth of Virginia regulations.
4. Permission for an employee to engage in off-duty overtime and/or secondary employment may be revoked if it is determined that the employment is not in the best interest of the department.

General Elective Overtime and Secondary Work Hour Restrictions

1. Employees may not engage in overtime or secondary employment of more than 16 hours in any consecutive 24-hour period.
2. No officer will work any combination of jobs that will cause them to drive a vehicle over 13 hours in any consecutive 24-hour period.
3. Prior to reporting to their regular department assignment, personnel must have at least 8 hours of rest within the preceding 16-hour period.
4. No personnel shall work any combination of on-duty, overtime or secondary employment totaling more than seventy-six (76) hours within a 7-day period without prior approval from the employee’s supervisor. For the purposes of calculating the 7-day total, the 7-day period begins at 0000 hours on Sunday and ends at midnight on Saturday. The VCUPD Personnel Coordinator/ Timekeeper shall ensure that employees do not exceed these work hour restrictions.
5. Personnel may not work a combined total of more than 144 hours of overtime or secondary employment in any consecutive four-week period. This includes any hours worked while on vacation, compensatory, or other leave. The only exceptions are for work performed due to a primary job-related emergency, court overtime, or with prior approval from the employee’s supervisor. VCUPD’s Personnel Coordinator/ Timekeeper shall ensure that employees do not exceed these restrictions.

Overtime Procedures and Regulations

1. The ODEC shall post all overtime assignments via the online VCUPD Overtime (OT) System. Overtime assignments are equally available to all eligible sworn officers.  
2. In order to ensure equity and fairness, off-duty overtime is granted depending on which officer has the lowest number of overtime hours within the previous 15-day period and the upcoming 15-day period.
3. Prior to signing up for overtime, department personnel requesting adjustments to their assigned schedules to allow for overtime shall first obtain permission from their immediate supervisor. Approval of such requests will be based on staffing needs.
4. Some overtime events necessitate a mandatory presence of supervision. It is the responsibility of the assigned supervisor to handle and coordinate any and all issues pertaining to such overtime assignment. The overtime supervisor shall coordinate activities with the on-duty supervisor, as necessary.
5. Shift supervisors shall ensure that all personnel report to scheduled off-duty overtime on time and ready for duty, at the correct location, unless directed to report to read-off. The ODEC will provide weekly rosters of all off-duty overtime assignments to patrol supervisors and dispatch.
6. For off-duty overtime assignments, up to 15 minutes of paid overtime will be granted prior to the start of the overtime assignment when set up is required (i.e. barriers, cones, vehicles, etc). Up to 15 minutes of paid overtime will be granted at the end of the assignment when breakdown is required. 
7. There is a three-hour minimum for all off-duty sworn assignments. In the event an overtime assignment is canceled, personnel may be eligible to receive compensation for their minimum three-hour commitment
   1. Personnel will be granted approval for three hours if the overtime assignment is not scheduled in adjacency to the end of regularly scheduled shifts:
      1.  if there is a break (at least 30 minutes) between the end of a normal shift and the anticipated start of the event
      2.  if the canceled event is scheduled to occur on a regular day off and personnel have already traveled to headquarters for the off-duty event.
   2. If the canceled event is scheduled to occur immediately after the end of a regularly scheduled shift, personnel will not be granted three hours of overtime.
8. Only brief, authorized breaks shall be taken, with approved relief, on the premises of the off-duty overtime assignment, unless otherwise specified by the supervisor.
9. Personnel who twice fail to report (or provide alternatives) for their off-duty overtime assignments will be subject to the disciplinary process.
10. Sworn personnel in field training are prohibited from working overtime assignments, unless otherwise directed by their chain-of-command.
11. For court overtime assignments, a minimum of one (1) hour will be granted.
12. All uniformed sworn officers must comply with the uniform and grooming/personal appearance procedures while on an off-duty overtime assignment.
13. Employees who are on injury leave, leave without pay, military leave, light-duty, or have had their police powers suspended are prohibited from engaging in off-duty overtime.
14. Whenever an employee utilizes sick leave (i.e. illness, not including doctor or dental appointments), they are prohibited from working any overtime assignment for a 24-hour period (example: an officer working a 2100 - 0700 shift calls in sick, that officer is then prohibited from working any overtime until 2100 hours the next day).
15. Any employee who misses an off-duty overtime assignment due to illness must contact the on-duty supervisor no less than two (2) hours before the start of the off-duty overtime assignment. The on-duty supervisor may coordinate with the ODEC to attempt to fill the assignment, but the Patrol Division is ultimately responsible for ensuring adequate coverage. 
16. Any employee may be required to discontinue off-duty overtime if such activity or enterprise interferes with the employee’s job performance, attendance, promptness, ability to work overtime, or ability to work emergency hours. 
17. Employees who have been issued formal discipline are prohibited from volunteering to work off-duty overtime for a period of six (6) months, unless otherwise directed by the Chief of Police. This excludes patrol shift coverage to meet minimum staffing needs and any other mandatory staffing assignments.
18. Employees who have been issued a Notice of Needs Improvement are prohibited from volunteering to work off-duty overtime until their performance has improved.
19. Employees who receive a “Needs Improvement” or “Below” rating on their performance evaluation are prohibited from working off-duty overtime until they have been reevaluated with at least a “Developing” rating.  
20. Employees who are prohibited from volunteering for off-duty overtime are still subject to the mandatory overtime drafts.
21. Majors and/or Captains shall advise the ODEC of the status of all employees who are not permitted to work off-duty overtime assignments for any reason.

Overtime Drafting Procedures

1. Every effort will be made to fill off-duty overtime assignments with volunteers, and officers are encouraged to volunteer early and often. If off-duty overtime assignments remain unfilled within (7) seven days of the event, a draft will be implemented.
2. A bi-weekly list is generated from the OT system by the ODEC, which includes all off-duty hours worked within the previous 15-day period and the upcoming 15-day period. 
   1. The list of officers with the lowest off-duty hours worked will be posted in SmartForce.
3. Upon the need for a draft, the ODEC will notify the department Majors and Captain who will consult the posted draft list.
   1. Officers shall be drafted in the order posted, until all draft positions have been selected.
   2. Officers’ schedules, regular days off, shift time, and time of assignment will be taken into careful consideration when drafting.
   3. The Major and/or Captain shall notify the selected officers of their draft either in-person or via telephone. Notification to drafted officers will be made as soon as possible, to ensure that officers are able to make personal and professional adjustments, as needed.
   4. Once a draft has been selected, it shall not be modified or substituted without the approval of the drafting Major or Captain. If an officer is unable to fulfill the drafted assignment, they must contact the drafting Major or Captain for resolution.
4. For instances requiring large staffing levels (i.e. high school graduations, basketball tournaments, and other special events), officers will be subject to the draft regardless of their placement on the draft list.

Overtime Radio Procedures

1. All officers working off-duty overtime assignments are required to mark in-service with Dispatch via radio at the beginning of each assignment.  Officers shall give their location, the type of off-duty assignment, and their expected end of tour time.
2. Officers are required to monitor the radio while working off-duty overtime assignments.    
3. At the end of the off-duty overtime assignment, officers shall mark 10-7 and advise Dispatch of any actions taken. 
4. A dispatcher shall notify a supervisor of any off-duty officers who have failed to clear their overtime assignments as scheduled. The supervisor will then contact the off-duty officer to ensure the wellbeing of the officer who was working the off-duty overtime assignment.  Any officer who continuously fails to mark off-duty is subject to the disciplinary process.   
5. Officers working any patrol off-duty overtime must communicate that to Dispatch when marking in-service (court overtime is excluded).

Overtime Documentation Requirements

1. If any non-exempt VCUPD employee works beyond their regular tour for any reason, the employee shall log-off and subsequently file a VCUPD-18 Overtime (OT) sheet to document all of the following:
   
   1. Exact date/time worked
   2. Nature of the assignment
   3. Incident number, if applicable
   4. The employee shall sign and submit the VCUPD-18 overtime sheet to the on-duty supervisor for authorization within 24 hours of the assignment completion.
2. Supervisory approval and signature is needed for any overtime to be paid. It is the responsibility of each shift supervisor to ensure that overtime officers report to their assignments on time, that they log off-duty after assignments, and that overtime hours are never abused.
3. In addition to the above requirements, overtime court hours shall be reported as follows:
   
   1. All officers are required to select one traffic court date and one criminal court date per month for court attendance under normal circumstances. Every effort should be made to avoid multiple court dates that require overtime during any given month.
   2. The representative of the court (Clerk or Commonwealth’s Attorney) must enter the officer’s end time and sign the overtime sheet. Unsigned overtime sheets will not be processed.
   3. In the event the actual time is less than the one-hour minimum, enter one (1) hour in the total column.
   4. The overtime sheets must be submitted to the shift supervisor within 24 hours of the completion of the officer’s court appearance.

Secondary Employment Procedures

1. Personnel shall complete and submit a VCUPD-13 Secondary Employment Request form through their chain-of-command for prior approval. No employee is permitted to work any secondary employment until written approval has been received from the employee’s supervisor.
2. Prior to each annual performance evaluation, personnel shall complete and re-submit a VCUPD-13 Secondary Employment Request through their chain-of-command for re-approval.
3. Regulations:
   1. Conflict of Interest – Secondary employment will not be permitted if it constitutes a conflict of interest. Examples of prohibited positions include:
      
      1. Any position requiring a police uniform and the performance of tasks associated with law enforcement powers.
      2. Any other employment in which police authority might tend to be used to collect money or merchandise for a private service
      3. Assisting in any manner with case preparation for the defense in any criminal or civil action or proceeding.
      4. Employment with a business or labor group involved in a labor dispute or strike.
   2. Status and Dignity – Secondary employment will not be permitted if it constitutes a threat to the status or dignity of the police as a professional occupation. Examples of such threats include:
      
      1. Establishments that sell pornographic items or provide entertainment or services of a sexual nature
      2. Gambling establishments that are not exempt by law.
4. During their initial training period, law enforcement apprentice officers and police recruits shall not work secondary employment in any capacity. Officers in field training shall not engage in secondary employment, in any capacity, during their field-training period.
5. Employees shall not engage in any secondary employment during on-duty hours, which includes, but is not limited to, the sale of products, consulting, etc.
6. Supervisors shall not approve leave or work hour adjustment requests for the purpose of an employee’s secondary employment if the request would negatively impact staffing levels. 

Forms

1. VCUPD-13 Secondary Off-Duty Employment Request
2. VCUPD-18 Overtime Form

Revision History

This policy supersedes the following archived policies:

11/25/2013 6-2 Overtime and Secondary Employment

04/03/2018 6-2 Overtime and Secondary Employment

04/29/2022 6-2 Overtime and Secondary Employment

05/04/2022 6-2 Overtime and Secondary Employment

09/08/2022 6-2 Overtime and Secondary Employment

This policy rescinds Admin Bulletin 18.03 Court Overtime and Off-Duty Assignments.