City Employee Poll Worker (CEP) Program Frequently

2015 CITY OF LOS ANGELES MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS
City Employee Poll Worker (CEP) Program Frequently Asked Questions
ELECTION DATES: March 3 and May 19, 2015
ELIGIBILITY
1.
If a City employee wants to work on Election Day as a poll worker or as an inspector, can they use their
sick time, RDO, furlough day, or vacation time?
No. All City employees who want to serve as poll workers must apply through the CEP Program and
cannot claim a personal day such as sick time, RDO, furlough, or vacation.
2.
Can a fire fighter or police officer work their 12 or 24 hour day and on their off day work as a CEP?
No. To participate in the CEP Program, the employee must be regularly scheduled to work on Tuesday
(no RDO, Sick, VC, Furlough, etc.).
3.
Can an employee from any one of the elected offices (e.g., 15 Council Districts or the Mayor’s Office)
work as a poll worker on Election Day? If so, will they be paid overtime in excess of their regular work
schedule?
No. Typically, an exempt employee from an elected official’s office cannot work as a CEP. However,
some civil service status employees (non-exempt positions) may work as CEPs with the Election Division’s
approval and may be eligible to overtime pay, subject to their MOU provisions.
4.
If a City employee makes $80,000 or $90,000 annually and is not salaried, will that employee be
permitted to work for overtime pay on Election Day?
Yes. Full-time City employees who are not salaried may be eligible to overtime pay, subject to their MOU
provisions.
5.
Can employees from proprietary departments (i.e., Department of Water and Power, Los Angeles
World Airports, and Harbor) participate as CEPs?
No. Generally, proprietary departments are not eligible to participate as CEPs due to source of funding
restrictions. Exceptions are made on a per department basis.
6.
Can salaried employees participate in the CEP Program?
Yes. However, salaried employees are unlikely to be compensated overtime; this is subject to MOU
provisions.
7.
Can a Department Coordinator or Payroll Supervisor work as a CEP?
Yes. Please do!
PAYROLL
8.
Will employees receive their normal bonuses or other MOU benefits while working as CEPs?
No. CEPs will not be paid bonuses or MOU benefits, as these work hours are outside of the scope of the
bonus/MOU agreements. [Note: The payment given to City employees who work on Election Day is
called Election Premium Pay (EPP) which does not include bonuses as explained above.]
9.
Where and when do the CEPs turn in their time cards?
CEPs complete their CEP Time Cards at the close of Election Day. Time cards must be signed by the
polling place inspector (where the CEP was placed). The CEP Time Card is placed in the CEP Time Card
Envelope which is then placed in the Green-Striped Bag. CEPs keep the pink copy of the time card for
their record.
10. Who is supposed to sign a CEP inspector’s time card?
CEPs who function as inspectors on Election Day have their CEP Time Cards signed by the depot chief
when the supplies are dropped off at the collection depot. The CEP Time Card is placed in the CEP Time
Card Envelope which is then placed in the Green-Striped Bag. The Green-Striped Bag is turned in at the
collection depot. CEP inspectors keep the pink copy of the time card for their record.
11. Do the employees’ department’s process the CEP Time Cards and pay the CEPs directly?
No. The employee’s department processes only the CEP’s regularly scheduled work hours in accordance
to the department’s payroll system. The Office of the City Clerk - Election Division will process the CEP
Time Cards. CEPs input only their regularly scheduled hours in their department’s payroll system. They
are paid their regularly scheduled work hours through their own department and the Election Division
will send checks directly to CEPs for all hours worked beyond their regularly scheduled hours.
WORK SCHEDULE CONFLICT
12. Can a City employee work their regular shift that starts on Monday and ends in the early hours of
Election Day, and still participate as a CEP?
No. An applicant cannot work a double shift (e.g., 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. regular work shift, then 6:00
a.m. to 9:00 p.m. as a poll worker shift). To work on Election Day would be the equivalent of working
two shifts within one day. Applicants who complete their Monday evening shift on the morning of
Election Day (e.g., 12:00 a.m. or 1:00 a.m.) or begin their shift in the late hours of Tuesday night (Election
Night), would be ineligible to work as CEPs on Election Day.
13. Can a City employee change his/her work shift prior to or during the week of the election (e.g., from
9/80 to 5/40)?
No. It is against the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Per FLSA, once an employee’s workweek is
established, it remains fixed. The established workweek cannot be changed unless the change is
intended to be permanent.
14. If a part-time worker is allotted 1,040 hours per year and wants to work as a CEP, will the hours
worked on Election Day come out of the 1,040 hours or will the Election Division pick up all the hours
worked that day?
A portion of the hours worked on Election Day will be counted toward the allotted hours. The equal
number of hours a part-time worker works as their normal shift hours will count toward the allotment.
However, the hours worked in excess of their normal shift hours will not be counted toward the
allotment.
15. When part-time employees attend CEP training, will those 2.5 hours come out of their allotted hours
for the year?
Yes, for part-time employees, the training hours are counted toward the annual allotted hours because
the employees will attend the training during their normal shift hours.
16. When part-time or full-time employees work as CEPs on Election Day, will they be paid overtime after
eight hours, even if they do not work 40 hours during the week of the election?
CEPs may be compensated at 1.5 times their regular rate, but will be subject to their MOU provisions.
17. Will part-time employees be able to work on Election Day even if Tuesday is not a scheduled work
day?
No. Exceptions to this requirement will be determined on a per department basis upon the Election
Division’s approval.
ELECTION DAY ASSIGNMENT
18. Can a CEP be placed in their home precinct?
CEPs must accept the precinct they are assigned.
19. How is CEP placement determined?
CEPs are hired with the purpose of being able to fill any vacant position on Election Day wherever the
need for trained CEPs arises; this includes being appointed to serve as inspector if other clerks are not
available or eligible to do so. Specific precinct assignments are not guaranteed (in other words, a
returning CEP cannot claim assignment to a previously assigned polling place).
20. When does a CEP know where s/he is placed to work on Election Day?
CEPs may be assigned to a precinct as early as January and as late as Election Day. Because CEPs are held
to a higher standard as they are current City employees, and are expected to help troubleshoot special
circumstances that may arise on Election Day at the polling place, the Polls and Boards Section may wait
to assign a skilled pool of CEPs in the process of identifying precincts with special attention or needs - up
to Election Day.
TRAINING
21. Can a CEP attend only one training if s/he signs up for both elections?
In order to be eligible to work on Election Day, all City employees that are approved to be CEPs must
attend CEP specific training for each election they signed up for. Election procedures and policies can
change from one election to another. Placement at a polling place is guaranteed for all CEPs that attend
CEP Training(s). CEPs who do not attend CEP training prior to the election will not be placed at a precinct
and will be released of the CEP assignment.
The sign-in roster of those employees that attend CEP Training will be forwarded to the CEPs
Department Coordinator and/or supervisor.
22. Can CEPs attend training sessions other than the CEP Training?
No. CEPs must attend CEP Trainings in order to work as CEPs.
23. When and how do CEPs sign up for CEP Training?
Upon receiving confirmation that s/he has been accepted into the CEP Program, the employee will also
receive a copy of the training schedule. Training must be attended to be placed at a polling place. The
Election Division will assign CEPs to a polling place up to Election Day. Therefore, all confirmed CEPs
should attend one of the scheduled trainings. CEPs must have their immediate supervisor’s approval to
attend a scheduled CEP training that occurs during the employee’s working hours.
In general, CEPs are part of the precinct board at the polling place whose primary goal is to ensure that voters
have the opportunity to vote and that polling places operate in accordance with election codes. As part of the
overall Election Day event, CEPs are part of the successful Election Day operations for the voters of Los
Angeles.