September 30, 2004

Ronald E. Ray, Superintendent
Jackson County Schools
P.O. Box 770
Ripley, WV 25271

Dear Superintendent Ray:

I am in receipt of your request for a Superintendent's Interpretation regarding West Virginia Code 18A-4-8(e). Specifically, you ask:

"[I]f a regular bus operator works an extra-duty trip which lasts from 6:00 p.m. on Friday but does not end until 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, is the bus operator entitled to be paid for one-half day of work for the time worked on Saturday? Similarly, if the trip began at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday and did not end until 4:00 a.m. on Sunday, is the bus operator entitled to be paid for two days?"

West Virginia Code 18A-4-8(e) states:

"If an employee whose regular work week is scheduled from Monday through Friday agrees to perform any work assignments on a Saturday or Sunday, the employee shall be paid for at least one-half day of work for each day he or she reports for work, and if the employee works more than three and one-half hours on any Saturday or Sunday, he or she shall be paid for at least a full day of work for each day."

In each scenario you present, the driver reports to work on a given day, but the shift he or she works continues into the next calendar day. The driver does not report to work on two separate days. I believe that, in both scenarios you present, the driver is entitled to be paid only for the actual hours worked. Thus, in the first scenario, the driver is entitled to be paid for a total of six and one-half hours of work - six hours of work on Friday and one-half hour of work on Saturday. This will ensure that the driver receives at least one full day of pay for the shift beginning on Friday. In the second scenario, the driver would be entitled to be paid for a total of eight hours of work - four hours of work on Saturday and four hours of work on Sunday. This will ensure that the driver receives at least a full day of pay for the shift beginning on Saturday.

If the driver were required to report to work for two hours on Saturday and then return to work on Sunday for an additional two hour shift, the driver would be entitled to be paid for at least one-half of a day's wages for each day worked. Likewise, if the driver were required to report to work for a four hour shift on Saturday and then return for a separate four hour shift on Sunday, he would be entitled to be paid a full day's wages for Saturday and a full day's wages for Sunday. However, when one continuous work shift merely extends into the next calendar day, I do not believe that the provisions of 18A-4-8(e) apply.

The rate of pay for each hour worked pursuant to an extra-duty contract is the minimum hourly rate as defined by West Virginia Code 18A-4-8a. Further, for each actual hour worked beyond forty hours within the county's set work week, the driver is entitled to be paid at the overtime rate.
Hoping that I have been of service, I am

Sincerely,

/s/

David Stewart
State Superintendent of Schools