Watchdog: Los Angeles Firefighters Post High OT Pay

Overtime pay hit another peak last year at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, while some city firefighters continued to receive high overtime payouts, according to data released by an independent watchdog group.

Transparent California, which makes requests for payroll data from a variety of public agencies throughout the state, on Tuesday posted their latest batch of overtime pay information from LADWP and Los Angeles Fire Department employees.

Among the standout figures highlighted by the group was a $306,206 overtime amount that boosted a single firefighter’s pay to $432,615 in 2018.

The firefighter, Donn Thompson, regularly tops the list for individual employee compensation in the fire department. His overtime pay has come in at three times his regular pay since 2013, and he has been among the most highly compensated employee in the department since 1993, according to Transparent California.

A spokesperson for the fire department said Tuesday that they did not have a comment at this time regarding the payroll information released by the watchdog group.

The data released by Transparent California also showed that the LADWP paid out a total of $250 million in overtime to its employees in 2018, and that 306 of the employees were paid $100,000 or more in overtime.

Ricardo Frias, a principal security officer whose regular pay was $25,133, received the top overtime payout amount of $313,865. Meanwhile, the top earners, in terms of total compensation, at the LADWP were an electric distribution mechanic who got $452,659, and two senior load dispatchers who received $443,610 and $432,727.

The watchdog group noted that the LADWP’s total overtime pay was an 84% increase from the total paid out in 2013, or five years ago. There was also a nearly 1,000% increase in the number of people who were paid $100,000 or more in over time, since 2013, according to the watchdog group.

Transparent California also noted that an independent study found that LADWP was paying out $488 per customer through payroll expenses, which exceeds the $282 per customer median rate for large utility companies nationally.

LADWP representatives issued a statement Tuesday responding to the Transparent California data.

They said that Frias, the security officer, worked more than 4,000 hours in 2018, “due to significant staff vacancies that were present in the security services unit.” That unit is tasked with keeping watch over LADWP’s water and electrical infrastructure on a 24 hour, 365-day-a-year basis, the officials added.

Hiring and recruitment are “underway,” according to LADWP officials. This year the utility has hired 19 additional officers and anticipate 11 more joining their staff in the next few months, their statement said.

LADWP officials pointed to a low unemployment rate and an aging workforce for any difficulties that have had in filling positions, including for key jobs.

Officials also noted that the 306 employees who received more than $100,000 in overtime pay last year account for 2% of the utility’s 12,000 employees last year.

Senior load dispatcher positions have been “historically understaffed,” and are difficult to keep filled because of the job’s “highly stressful nature,” and other factors that make the work demanding, LADWP officials said. The job is also “highly specialized and require many years of experience and apprenticeship.”

Changes were made to the job requirements for the senior load dispatcher position in recent years, and tests for applicants are now offered on a continuous basis in order to attract more candidates, officials said.

The overtime hours were necessarily because the position was still understaffed, they said.

Qualified electric trouble dispatchers are also in short supply and high demand, according to LADWP officials, and do the job of dispatching crews to respond to power outages. It takes 18 month or more to train for the job, LADWP officials said.

Officials added that they are competing with other employers who offer “promises of guaranteed overtime and hiring bonuses as well as annual performance bonuses.”

The LADWP does not offer bonus pay, while the overtime is “earned with time and labor,” the statement said.

The payroll data obtained by Transparent California can be found here.

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