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Hi all,
Colorado is in the process of reviewing some of our policies and the question of compensation has come up. As it stands, there are two of us that switch off being on call for AMBER alerts every other week. We do not receive any kind of compensation for this on call responsibility. We are wondering if this is common for other states? And if not, how other states handle this issue? Do you have a slightly higher salary than your counterparts… do you receive over time…do you receive on call pay? Please feel free to email me directly at [email protected] if anyone would like to discuss this further.
Thank you for any insight you all can provide!
The Houston Regional Amber Alert System is run by Texas Center for the Missing, a nonprofit organization, so I’m not sure if this will be helpful, but I am on-call 24/7 and do not receive any additional compensation for that. I usually try to take some comp time equal to the time an Amber Alert is active if it’s nights or weekends (or vacation time).
At one point we rotated being on-call between three of us (one week on, two weeks off) and were compensated for it according to our contract (15 minutes compensation for every hour on-call up to a maximum of 4 hours straight time in one calendar day). My position was moved and they promptly ended the on call pay, but still require me to be available after hours with no additional compensation. I do flex my time if I end up responding to a missing person situation after hours, but I am not as diligent about being available as I was when I knew I was on call for my one week period.
Jillian I responded to you in an email.
Texas Region #2 Coordinator: This is a voluntary position on my part, in addition to my regular investigative case load. I am on call 24/7 and do not receive any compensation or compensatory time. Maybe so in a perfect world, but then if it was a perfect world there would be no need for the position.
John
Alaska handles this through the Alaska State Trooper dispatch and the Alaska State Emergency Operations Center as additional duties to those already paid for their other emergency communications duties.
Virginia State Police provides no additional compensation. I am on call 24/7/365. As an exempt employee I do not receive any type of compensation for the on-call status. If I do respond to an activation, I will try to adjust my schedule for the week.
Amarillo, Texas Region 2 Amber Alert Coordinator. I am on call 24-7 and the only compensation I receive would be overtime pay if I am called after hours. The 7 Detectives in my unit rotate on call as part of their regular assignment and if I need time off the person on call would handle it.
It has been my experience in TN that usually the on call person is not compensated for being on call . Some agencies will start your clock if a physical response occurs . Many agencies try to either use senior/exempt staff or allow for comp time or flexibility in normal shift . However it still only occurs if an actual response is warranted . Not too many folks get on call pay that I am aware of , Particularly in Southern U.S.
As the Nebraska Coordinator I’m on call 24-7, and adjust my schedule if I can for calls which occur after hours. We have 6 other verification officers who are eligible for OT, but they are not compensated for any on call time, only should they be called upon to activate an alert when they are not already working.
The North Dakota Highway Patrol handles our Amber Alerts for the state, I am not positive of their compensation but believe that upper administration handles this so there would be no O/T for handling after hours and weekend alerts, etc. good luck.
North Dakota recently went to a call schedule with on call pay. We have four on a rotation with a week call at a time. We have a new Governor that established a “zero Fail” policy when it comes to Alerts.
Maryland has two coordinators one week on one off, no on call pay but when notified by State police 24hr Duty officer for request we get 4 hours OT for call out
Good Morning Jillian and Everyone,
In Ohio, The Ohio State Highway Patrol handles our AMBER Alerts and Blue Alerts for the State. We have integrated our Amber Alert approval process into a 24/7 operation we call the Hub. In this location we have our main dispatch center, a Watch Desk (staffed by a uniformed command officer) and our Intelligence Unit. All aspects of the Hub are 24/7 and take an active role into pre-identified roles of the any alert. The Watch Desk Commander is the main contact to the entering agency one an alert is received at the Dispatch center. They will also approve the activation of the alert if it meets criteria, and also spool up and other resources at the Hub to facilitate the alert. The Intelligence Unit upon notification and will start accessing and supplying any information available to the alerting agency and Watch Desk Commander. This can be information gained from phone pings, open source, LE databases, APR systems or any other available systems. The Dispatch Center will activate the Emergency Alert System (EAS) is initiated in the indicated regions. The Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway (Ohio Specific Program) Application, which automatically sends out email to media outlets. The 1-877-AMBEROH telephone line is activated. A statewide administrative message teletype is sent out to all law enforcement agencies. Sends a Statewide MCT message to all OSHP troopers, and Statewide and/or regional law enforcement radio broadcast. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) initiates secondary notifications including Wireless Emergency Alert and Facebook and Ohio Department of Transportation Highway Signs are activated if available in the affected regions by the Watch Desk Commander as well.
Captain Kenneth J. Kocab
Executive Officer – Office of Logistics and Security Services
Statewide Dispatch Management, Fleet Operations, Communications and Support Services
Ohio State Highway Patrol
A Division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety
1970 West Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio 43223(614) 753-6822 Mobile
(614) 644-2421 Direct line
(614) 752-6602 FaxIn New Mexico, the Amber Alert Coordinator is on call 24/7 and as an exempt employee she does not receive any type of compensation for the on-call status. When she responds to an activation, she can flex her time if she wanted.
My day job is being the Criminal Investigation Division Commander for the State Police, and the AMBER Coordinator is an additional duty assignment. I am considered an “exempt” employee and I am not compensated for anything that happens after my duty day.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol administers the Amber Alert System in Missouri. I am the Amber Coordinator as part of my job as Troop Commander of the central Missouri region. I am on call 24/7 and as a Captain, I am an exempt employee not eligible for compensatory time.
Hi Jillian. Utah CART coordinators are not required to be on call. If we have a CART activation we’ll respond (if available to) and we will receive overtime pay.
Georgia has a 24 hour Communication Center.
I serve as the Amber Alert Coordinator.
No Special Pay for being on call.
Overtime is available if extended hours on an Alert.In Arizona, the state Department of Public Safety manages the AMBER Alert activations and I am not sure what their pay structure is, but I would imagine they have someone in their duty office working 24/7 so it is most likely covered by shift work on normal time at their normal rate of pay. The individual agencies such as Glendale PD where I work, we do have on-call investigators that would be able to respond to a child abduction after hours that could require an AMBER Alert, but I am not sure if that was also what you were referring to. For investigators they receive $40/day for being on-call outside of their duty hours and $60/day for being on-call on their regular days off. That is outside of any overtime they earn for a call-out response. This also is not exclusive or due to AMBER Alerts.
I do not get any special pay or on-call pay. If we have an AMBER Alert and I am off duty, I will be paid overtime for the hours I spend at the center working on the alert.
Wyoming-I do not get any special pay or on-call pay. If we have an AMBER Alert and I am off duty, I will be paid overtime for the hours I spend at the center working on the alert.
Idaho has the initial calls go through our 24-hour Dispatch center.
AMBER Alert activations are managed by the Vermont Intelligence Center and we are compensated for the time spent during the activation, but we are no compensated during our on-call status.
Good day. In TN we have a total of 4 supervisors (Special Agents) and 16 Analysts sub divided into 4 on-call teams that rotate weekly responsibilities for response to AMBER Alerts or other crises on a Wednesday to Wednesday schedule. Only 1 Analyst and Special Agent is specifically assigned to AMBER Alerts / Missing Children, but all other Analysts / Agents are cross trained. No cash overtime, but comp time is provided for hours worked beyond the weekly allotment in event of a AMBER Alert / crises response. Weeks with scheduled State/Federal Holidays are on a separate rotation to ensure and deconflict amongst the teams from holiday to holiday and year to year.
Hi Jillian. In Pennsylvania, we have 8 Troopers who are AMBER designees and take turns being on call for Amber Alerts, one primary and one secondary at a time. They get the calls and make the decisions, but the Amber Alert Coordinator and myself, are the actual ones who put out the alerts. The coordinator and myself are also on call (24/7) for our Missing Endangered Person Alert(MEPA) and we switch off each month. None of us get on-call compensation but our designees get overtime for the Amber Alert calls and we get overtime if we issue a MEPA or put out an AMBER Alert.
Teddi Hesser
Analyst PSP
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