York Coaches No Longer Eligible for Overtime Pay

By Amber Lester Kennedy Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Two unrelated decisions forced the York County School Board to vote on a new payment plan for coaches on Friday.

The county’s coaches, who are nonexempt employees usually paid on an hourly basis, will no longer be eligible for extra compensation for postseason play. At the board’s special meeting Friday, board member Page Minter lamented that they were forced to make decisions “due to unfunded mandates.”

The board unanimously approved a plan to raise all supplements for high school coaches and sponsors by 6.2 percent. The division won’t incur any additional costs to do so, because they’ll be using the money previously set aside for overtime pay, said Carl James, chief of operations for York County schools.

The two separate decisions that influenced coaches’ pay were made by the Fourth Circuit Court and the Virginia High School League. In the case of Purdham v. Fairfax County School Board, three judges with the Fourth Circuit Court ruled on March 10 that James Purdham, a golf coach for Hayfield Secondary School, was not acting as an employee, but as a volunteer. As such, they ruled that he was not owed overtime wages. The case was complicated by the fact that Purdham is employed in the school division as a safety and security assistant.

For a brief period in 2004, the Fairfax School Board decided to pay nonexempt employees overtime wages based on how many hours they devoted to coaching activities. As a result, Purdham received retroactive payments for unpaid overtime for the 2003-2005 golf seasons. At the same time, the board decided nonexempt employees, like Purdham, could no longer serve as coaches, but before they could enact that decision, the Department of Labor instead recommended they allow nonexempt employees to coach, but as paid volunteers. The board then informed Purdham by letter that he would no longer be eligible for overtime wages.

In York County, coaches do not have to be part- or full-time employees within the division. In the past, they were paid a supplement, plus overtime wages if their team progressed past regular-season play. The Fairfax County court decision, however, prevents volunteer coaches from being paid more than a “nominal fee,” which is defined as “not a substitute for compensation and must not be tied to productivity.”

The court decision came at a time when, for the first time, coaches will be allowed to conduct practices year-round. On March 10, the same day as the court decision, the Virginia High School League Executive Committee approved changes to the out-of-season practice rule to now allow coaches to hold practices throughout the year, excluding designated “dead periods.” In addition, coaches cannot permit contact, such as tackling, during out-of-season practices.

James told the school board the Bay Rivers District opted to limit the out-of-season practices to 12. He added that the division’s athletic directors were making sure coaches understood they would not be expected to have out-of-season practices if they didn’t want to, and also to respect the needs of students who play fall and spring sports. If the coaches do decide their teams should get more practice, they won’t receive any extra pay.

Board members advised staff to explore other ways they can recognize the coaches since post-season pay is no longer an option. They instructed staff to see if the division could perhaps cover the costs of a mandatory VHSL Coaching Education class or provide coaches’ passes to all VHSL games. Because coaching contracts begin with the start of the fiscal year on July 1, the board had to approve the changes on Friday, but is planning to revisit the issue for fiscal year 2013.