Open Forum

Our recent approach for staff working after hours or at weekend events has been to allow hourly workers to leave the office early before 5:00 PM or take a complete weekday off, ensuring they work no more than 40 hours per week. We have also granted vacation days to both salaried and hourly staff for the week after the event, but those days must be taken the following week.

Additionally, we have a robust volunteer staff that supplements our event staffing needs. There are only a couple of events per year that require all departments to support a special event.  I don't know if this is the best solution, but it is a solution to avoid overtime and burnout.

When I first entered the industry in the 1990s, hourly staff were required to work their regular 40 hours and then were compensated for overtime. Salaried staff received no comp time or overtime. Staff counted on their overtime pay each year. Salaried employees often left for positions that had more consistent hours.

Jason Aikens

Curator of Collections

Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

Thanks Jason! 

Most institutions I've worked with pay hourly staff their standard rate unless it triggers overtime, in which case it’s 1.5x. We don’t usually offer a special "event" premium, but we do provide a meal if the shift exceeds 6 hours. For the gap time, staff are generally clocked out, but we try to schedule the gap to be at least two hours so it’s worth them leaving and coming back. For salaried staff, it’s usually just "other duties as assigned," though some places offer informal comp time the following week to prevent burnout.