Part-Time Weather Forecasters Want Premium Pay on Sundays

April 19, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The union that represents employees for the National Weather Service filed a lawsuit Wednesday requesting that part-time forecasters who work on Sundays get the same 25% bonus that full-time federal employees receive for working on that day, according to Govexec.com

The union’s suit – filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims – was on behalf of two Fairbanks, Alabama forecasters and two Spokane, Washington forecasters, who all work at stations that require around-the-clock staffing.

The forecasters got premium pay for the Sundays they worked when they were full-time employees, but that stopped when they switched to part-time schedules. The four want lost premium pay for the Sundays they worked since they started the new schedule.

The plaintiffs hinge their case on legislation approved in 1966 that entitles federal employees on the General Schedule pay system to a 25% differential when they are scheduled to work on Sunday. The law draws no lines on the eligibility between full-time and part-time employees, according to the news report.

A 1978 law made it clear that Congress wanted to promote opportunities for federal employees to pursue job-sharing or other part-time opportunities, Richard Hirn, general counsel for the union, told the news service.

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