U.S. Labor Department Investigates N.C. EMS Dept.

June 05--SNOW HILL -- The U.S. Department of Labor has called for an investigation of Greene County's Emergency Medical Services.

A May 31 letter from the Wage and Hour Division and addressed to Emergency Management Director Randy Skinner states the DOL wants to determine whether the EMS department is in compliance with federal regulations.

The investigation will cover a two-year period from the last completed payroll.

A meeting is scheduled with the DOL investigator, Zulma Rivera Toler of the New Bern office, on June 24. Skinner, Interim County Manager Richard Hicks, Finance Officer Sandy Barss and possibly Sandra Harrell, accounting technician who works with payroll.

A list of records and other information -- including a list of current and former employees, position titles and duties, and original payroll and time records -- is requested to be available at the meeting.

Michael D'Aquino of the DOL's Office of Public Affairs said in an email he could only confirm an investigation was being conducted with Greene County's EMS department.

He added, "Wage Hour does not disclose the reason for our investigations, but we do conduct both (federally-)directed and complaint-based investigations."

Hicks said he believes a complaint was likely filed with the DOL.

"You may be perfectly fine," he said, "But I would suspect, they're going to find something. ... So I don't anticipate anything positive from that (meeting)."

Low salaries have been a sore but frequently mentioned subject at Board of Commissioners' meetings, mainly because employees have not received a raise in four years.

Department of Social Services Director Christy Nash told the board Monday night she has nine positions to fill, and she has lost qualified employees mainly because of low salaries.

Skinner said the only complaints he has heard are about low wages.

However, Hicks said there have been a number of complaints by employees, particularly concerning flex pay.

Flex pay is referred to as "Chinese overtime" by EMS employees in and out of the county, according to former Hookerton EMT Susan Blizzard.

Barss said certain employees qualify for flex time instead of overtime for working more than 40 hours a week.

"There is an actual formula," she said, "that is in the Fair Labor Standards Law that's how we compute their flex pay."

Full-time EMS employees generally work 48 hours and 72 hours a week, alternately. Their monthly pay is determined by dividing the annual salary by 12 months, then determining the weekly and hourly pay.

Flex pay divides that hourly pay in half and multiplies it by the number of hours worked over 40. The total is calculated for each week in the month and is added to the regular monthly salary.

The amount of hourly flex pay varies depending on the employee's annual salary, but the total pay per hour must be more than minimum wage, Barss said.

The amount for overtime pay could be as low as around $3 per hour, according to examples Barss gave.

Three requirements must be met to receive flex pay. The employee must have a guaranteed weekly salary, the hours must fluctuate week to week and the regular hourly rate used to determine the half-time overtime rate must be at least minimum wage, which is currently $7.25.

Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.

Copyright 2013 - The Free Press, Kinston, N.C.