LOS ANGELES COUNTY
DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH
  Policy 603.06 Standby and Call Back
 
  PROCEDURES
REPORTING AND DOCUMENTING STANDBY AND CALL BACK ON TIMECARDS
  1. Standby
     
    1. Completing the Timecard In the “Reason Code” column for the day in which standby was provided, the total number of hours on standby service is to be written in after the initials “SB”; e.g., 8 hours standby would be shown as “SB 8”
       
  2. Call Back
     
    1. Documenting Non-PMRT Call BackFor call back hours actually worked, employees are to have completed the Request for Overtime or Time Off (ROTO) or MH 312 form, documenting the date, hours worked, and reason for the call back. The completed ROTO must then be verified by the supervisor prior to approval of the request form. The ROTO then becomes the documentation for the call back.
       
    2. Documenting PMRT Call Back For employees assigned to PMRTs, any claimed call back is to be entered on the PMRT Log (see Attachment I). The Request for Time Off or Overtime is to be completed by the employee and the claimed overtime verified by the supervisor signing the PMRT log.
       
    3. Documenting After-Hours Physician Consultation For physicians performing after hours consultation, a log (see Attachment II) of consultation activities, showing date, time, case/client name, nature and outcome of consultation, and name of the on-staff individual must be maintained and signed by the physician and supervisor. Since the after-hours standby service includes call back pay, a Request for Time Off or Overtime need not be completed.Deputy Directors assigning physicians to after hours consultation must provide to Timekeeping and Payroll Section in Personnel Bureau a schedule of the staff authorized for this standby.
       
    4. Retention of DocumentsThe Request for Time Off or Overtime, the PMRT and After Hours Physician Consultation logs, and the physician schedule for After Hours Consultation are to be retained for three years by the employee’s office for auditing purposes.
       
    5. Completing the Timecard
       
      1. In the lower right section of the timecard, below the box marked “Payroll Only”, the call back information is to be written, in ink, using this format:“Call Back Date Total Hours Reason Code”
         
      2. The date of the call back is to be entered below the “Date” column: e.g., “7-1.”
         
      3. If a second call back on the same day occurs more than four hours after the first call back, then a second entry for that day is to be entered. If two call backs occur on July 1, more than four hours apart, then “7-1” will need to be listed twice.
         
      4. For each date listed, the total hours of the call back is to be entered below “Total Hours”. For example, if only one hour of the call back is worked on 7-1, then “1” is to be entered; if 5 hours of call back are worked, then “5” is to be entered.
         
      5. “CB” is to be entered in the “Reason Code” column for each call back.
         
  3. Supervisory and Managerial Responsibility
     
    1. Before assigning Standby duty, supervisors and managers are responsible for ensuring that the assignment will be in compliance with the provisions of this policy.
       
    2. Supervisors and managers are responsible for ensuring that claimed standby and call back hours are needed and are in fact accurate.
       
    3. When call back is claimed, the supervisor, before signing the timecard, must ensure the call back has been worked as claimed.