Comp Time Grievance Resolved

Finally, you can automatically exchange your time for cash!

A long-awaited update to Workday for Dow Jones employees will allow IAPE-represented staff to cash out comp time hours without sending a request form to HR. The new, automatic process resolves a grievance filed by the union . . . in 2020.

Overtime-exempt employees are now able to request a cash out of comp time hours using Workday self-service. At the “Time Off” tab within Workday, employees should select the “Compensatory Hours Cashout” option and enter the number of compensatory hours to cash out. Once a request is approved, comp time hours will be converted to cash and paid in the following pay period.

A step-by-step user guide is available on the IAPE website and is also posted on the Dow Jones intranet.

A 2019 contract agreement between IAPE and Dow Jones provided for automatic recording and cashing out of comp time via Workday. Upgrade delays prevented Dow Jones from implementing necessary Workday updates, prompting IAPE to file a grievance on Jul. 23, 2020. Workday was upgraded in April of 2021 to calculate comp time at a required rate of 1.5 times hours worked.

Comp time is defined in Article II of the collective agreement between IAPE and Dow Jones, and is earned when overtime-exempt employees are assigned work on scheduled days off. Additional union guides to comp time—and overtime, for overtime-eligible employees—are available at iape1096.org/overtime-comp-time.

By agreement between IAPE and Dow Jones, employees eligible to receive—and cash out—comp time include reporters, special writers, software engineers and account executives, among other job titles. Employees with questions about overtime status can contact union@iape1096.org.

Become an IAPE Steward – Join us for Steward 101!
As anyone who has been or has needed a union steward knows, volunteer stewards are the backbone of any union. Stewards are vital points of contact for unions, especially during contract negotiations when funneling bargaining information to and from the general membership plays such a key role in building support for the bargaining process and achieving contract improvements.

IAPE is always on the lookout for members willing to join the union steward ranks. If you would like to learn more about what being an IAPE steward entails, and if you have a few minutes to spare Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. EDT, please join us for our next edition of IAPE Steward 101. To register, please visit the IAPE Events page.