Overtime Costs Reimbursements

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Summary: On September 4, 2004, Hurricane Frances generated high velocity winds and heavy rains in the vicinity of St. Johns County. St. Johns County Division of Emergency Management activated its Emergency Operations Center and opened three emergency shelters. The Applicant submitted a request for reimbursement of $24,221.62 in overtime costs for its exempt employees. FEMA determined that the Applicant’s overtime policy, established by County Resolution 99-47, is discretionary and does not apply uniformly to both Federal awards and non-Federal activities. The Applicant’s first appeal of the decision argued that its policy for providing overtime costs to exempt employees was adopted prior to the disaster, and was not written with the objective of obtaining federal funding. FEMA’s Regional Director denied the appeal citing OMB Circular A-87 which states that only those costs that apply uniformly to both Federal awards and other activities of the governmental unit are allowable under federal awards. In its second appeal, the Applicant asserts that it is its documented practice to compensate exempt employees whether or not an event is a federally-declared disaster. The Applicant did not provide any additional documentation to support its position as part of the second appeal.

Issues: 1. Was the Applicant’s overtime policy for exempt employees in place before the disaster?
2. Has St. Johns County provided specific documentation to demonstrate that its overtime policy was not discretionary and had been applied to non-Federal events?

Findings: 1. Yes. The policy was adopted March 23, 1999.
2. No. The Applicant has not provided any documentation demonstrating that overtime was paid in events other than those that were federally-declared disasters.