Legal Definitions - comp time

Comp time, short for compensatory time, refers to a system where an employee is granted paid time off from work instead of receiving monetary payment for overtime hours they have already worked.

Essentially, if an employee works extra hours beyond their standard schedule, their employer might offer them an equivalent amount of time off in the future, rather than paying them an overtime wage. This arrangement is often subject to specific labor laws and company policies, particularly regarding whether the employee is eligible for traditional overtime pay under federal or state regulations.

Here are a few examples to illustrate how compensatory time works:

• Example 1: Public Sector Employee

  Officer David works an additional 12 hours during a major city parade, exceeding his regular 40-hour work week. Instead of receiving overtime pay for these extra hours, his police department, which operates under a compensatory time policy, credits him with 12 hours of comp time. Officer David can then use these 12 hours to take a full day and a half off from work at a later date, without using his vacation or sick leave.

  This example demonstrates comp time as a direct substitute for overtime wages, allowing a public sector employee to bank extra hours worked for future time off.

• Example 2: Salaried Project Manager

  Maria, a project manager at a tech company, works late into the evenings and over a weekend to ensure a critical software launch meets its deadline. She puts in an extra 20 hours beyond her typical schedule. While salaried employees often aren't eligible for traditional overtime pay, her company has a policy that allows managers to accrue compensatory time for significant extra effort. Maria is granted 20 hours of comp time, which she uses the following month to take two long weekends, helping her recover from the intense project period.

  This illustrates how comp time can be used to acknowledge and compensate for extra hours worked by salaried employees, even when they are not legally entitled to overtime pay.

• Example 3: Healthcare Professional

  During a sudden surge in patient admissions, Nurse Emily volunteers to work two additional 8-hour shifts on her days off. The hospital, facing staffing shortages, offers her the option of either overtime pay or compensatory time. Emily chooses comp time, accruing 16 hours. She plans to save these hours to extend her annual vacation by two extra days later in the year.

  This example shows an employee choosing comp time over overtime pay, highlighting its flexibility as a benefit that can be accumulated and used for larger blocks of time off.