Jim Wells County Commissioners Court on Oct. 10 voted to adopt a section 7(k) work period under the Fair Labor Standards Act, allowing the sheriff’s office to use a 14‑day pay period for detention officers and to set overtime eligibility at 86 hours in that period.

Sheriff Joseph Guy Baker told the court the 14‑day schedule is intended to match the jail’s 12‑hour rotating shifts, reduce unplanned overtime, and improve scheduling predictability and employee morale. “I respectfully request that the commissioner’s court approve and adopt the 207(k) work period for all of our detention officers,” Baker said during the presentation.

The change will let the sheriff’s office compute overtime within a 14‑day cycle instead of weekly, aligning pay calculations with extended shift patterns the department said are common because of mandatory training, transports and emergency responses. Captain Marcus Ramirez, the jail administrator, explained how the schedule would affect pay: “In this scenario, they’re getting paid for 84 hours. Their overtime does not go into effect until the 86‑hour mark.” Ramirez also said the schedule typically results in employees working 14 days per month (seven workdays in each pay period) rather than 20 days per month under a traditional 40‑hour weekly schedule.

The sheriff’s office told the court it is proposing 12‑hour rotating shifts under a Pitman (2‑2‑3) style schedule so staff get more consecutive days off, including at least some weekends. Sheriff Baker said the effective start date would be the first payroll cycle after formal approval. The office will monitor the schedule and conduct quarterly reviews of hours and overtime to ensure compliance with FLSA rules.

Commissioners asked about recruitment and retention effects and whether the schedule would reduce overtime pay opportunities for staff. Sheriff Baker and Captain Ramirez said staff favor the schedule because paychecks will reflect more straight‑time hours per pay period and because the schedule reduces extended consecutive work days — a point Ramirez cited as a morale benefit. Ramirez said the jail currently has 21 budgeted positions and reported seven actual openings when accounting for deputies temporarily assigned to the jail.

The court adopted a resolution authorizing Sheriff Guy Baker to implement the 7(k) schedule for qualifying jail staff. The motion passed on a voice vote.

What the resolution does and does not do: it authorizes the sheriff to compute overtime using a 14‑day work period and to implement the schedule for detention officers only; deputies who participate in certain state and federal grant programs must remain on a 40‑hour workweek for grant certification and therefore were not included in the sheriff’s request.

The court did not adopt a wage change beyond the scheduling and overtime computation method; deputies and other staff will continue to be paid according to existing pay policies except for the overtime threshold adjustment under the adopted 7(k) work period.

The sheriff’s office said it will return to the court with any required administrative materials and will monitor implementation for compliance.