Quoted from the 2024–2026 CBA and the District Policy Manual. Wording is verbatim; the plain-English notes are summaries, not contract language. If the two ever disagree, the contract wins.
Start here
These two decide who an open shift actually goes to. The rest is background.
Mandatory shifts
When a shift can be made mandatory
“In the event that NCEMS is unable to fill an open shift, NCEMS shall make the shift mandatory. The shift shall be mandatory after offering the shift to all available full and part time employees and when the on-duty Battalion Chief is already being utilized to cover another 24-hour vacancy or is not available due to vacation, sick leave or other District business.”
“If the mandatory shift is for the next working day, the vacancy shall be filled with the off-going Paramedic having the least amount of seniority. If the off-going Paramedic with the least seniority will exceed the maximum allowed continuous hours worked, the second off-going Paramedic will be assigned to the mandatory shift.”
“If the mandatory shift to be filled is an immediate need (i.e. middle of workday), the shift will be filled by beginning at the top of the overtime list and requiring personnel to return to work.”
“NCEMS reserves the right to utilize Part Time Casual employees and Chief Officers to fill open shifts.”
In practice: both conditions must be true before anything is mandatory — everyone available was offered it, and the BC cannot cover. Then it is least-senior off-going for tomorrow, or top of the list for right now.
Union contract, Article 15.6
Who an open shift goes to first
Part time before full time
“In the event that an employee requests vacation off on a date when another employee is already off for a 10th shift the open shift will be made available to Part Time employees and then Full Time employees if no part time employee is available. The vacation request will be denied if no Part Time or Full Time employee takes the shift.”
In practice: for this particular case the order is part time first, then full time — and if nobody takes it, the vacation is denied rather than the shift running short. Note this is District policy about vacation coverage; the contract’s mandatory-shift order is a separate thing and applies when a shift cannot be filled at all.
District policy 1047.4(h)
Everything else
Maximum hours in a row
The hours ceiling the mandatory-shift rule refers to
“Employees shall not work more than 48 hours in any 56-hour work period. In any consecutive 56-hour work period an employee must have no less than 8 hours of consecutive off-duty time.”
“…if an employee is fatigued to the point of being unsafe, as determined by the supervisor, said employee may be relieved of duty earlier than the 48 hours.”
“The Chief or designee may waive the restrictions in this Article in extreme circumstances necessitating that all available personnel be called to duty. At the on-duty officer’s discretion, if the employee will be working past 48 hours due to emergency circumstances, that employee may be assigned to the third call ambulance.”
In practice: when the mandatory-shift rule says “maximum allowed continuous hours worked,” this is it. Coming off a 24 and picking up another 24 puts someone at 48 — the ceiling, with only the 8-hour rest margin left. Going past it needs the Chief’s waiver.
Union contract, Article 24.1 and 24.2
If someone gets skipped
What is owed if someone is passed over
“The parties agree that the remedy for skipped overtime opportunities shall be make-up overtime work granted within a reasonable amount of time to the person or persons skipped.”
In practice: “skipped” here means the employer failed to offer someone their turn — not that the medic declined. This is why the app records Unavailable rather than “skip” when someone was already committed, and why a silent phone logs as No response rather than a refusal.
Union contract, Article 15.7
How seniority is counted
How seniority is worked out
“A seniority list shall be maintained for all full-time employees computed as of the first day of full time employment accumulating to the day of permanent separation from NCEMS. An employee’s length of service shall not be reduced by time lost due to sick or injury leave or authorized leave of absence.”
“In the event two or more employees begin employment on the same day, placement on the seniority list is determined by their cumulative test scores.”
In practice: the ranks in Admin → Personnel are set by hand from the official list — the app does not calculate them. #1 is the most senior, so a mandatory shift falls on the highest number among the off-going crew.
Union contract, Article 7.1 and 7.3
Overtime and call back pay
Pay rates
Overtime is authorized work beyond 40 hours in a workweek, paid at time and one-half. Vacation and sick leave count as hours worked only for determining pay.
Call back is a minimum of one hour or actual time worked, whichever is greater, paid at double time. It applies to third or fourth call aid calls where the employee could reasonably beat duty personnel to the scene, and to specific recall.
On-call stand-by is $5.00/hour even if no hours are worked, until activated — then call back rates apply. Responders must be able to reach Station 51 within 30 minutes of activation.
Union contract, Article 15.1 to 15.5
Approving and recording overtime
Approving and recording overtime
“Overtime may be available due to unforeseen personnel absences, emergency incidents or constant staffing requirements. The Chief or the authorized designee should develop a plan for the fair distribution of the workload.”
“Any instance of work that requires overtime payment shall be approved in advance by a supervisor. If circumstances do not permit prior approval, then approval shall be sought as soon as practicable during the overtime shift and in no case later than the end of shift in which the overtime is worked.”
“Members classified as non-exempt by the Fair Labor Standards Act are not authorized to volunteer work time to the Agency.” A member may request compensatory time instead of payment, up to the hours District rules allow.
Time is rounded up to the nearest quarter hour: 1–15 min = .25, 16–30 = .50, 31–45 = .75, 46–60 = 1 hour. Where two members on the same incident claim different amounts, the approving supervisor may require each to explain the variation.
In practice: the app records who was offered what and who accepted — it is not a timesheet. The member still has to submit the payment request, and it still needs supervisor approval no later than the end of that shift.
District policy 1012
Shift trades
Trades, and what happens when one falls through
Trades must be submitted via Aladtec and approved by the on-duty Battalion Chief (or another Chief Officer if unavailable) before they take place. In unusual or emergency circumstances a BC may approve verbally, by email or by text, noting it on the schedule. Cancellations must reach the BC no later than 12:00 the day before the traded shift.
Minimum trade duration is one hour. Trades that create additional cost to NCEMS will not be approved. Once agreed, a trader cannot take vacation, comp time or sick leave, or make further trades, during that period.
“An employee who cannot work a trade because of illness or injury may use sick leave. If NCEMS needs to fill the position on overtime, the employee will be charged two (2) times that amount from his or her sick leave bank.”
In practice: this is what the contract is pointing at when it says trades follow District policy. The last line is the one that matters here — when a failed trade turns into an open shift on this list, the person who could not work it is charged double sick leave.
District policy 1055
Emergency recall and call back
What counts as a call back
Call Back: “A return to the worksite upon request after having left the site at the completion of an assigned shift; or a request to return more than two (2) hours before the beginning of the next shift.”
Emergency recall exists for a large-scale or protracted emergency, natural disaster or other unusual situation that depletes on-duty resources. On recall, members should secure their home and family, travel as safely as possible to their normal work assignment, and shall not leave a duty assignment until properly relieved.
In practice: this is the definition behind the double-time call back rate in the contract. Recall is a different thing from a mandatory shift — recall is a resource emergency, a mandatory shift is an unfilled vacancy.
District policy 1009.9 and 1010
Rest periods and on-call limits
First-out and recall vehicle limits
Rest after a 48-hour assignment: “A member must have 12 contiguous hours of rest after a 48 hour assignment to a first out asset before they may be re-assigned to a first out asset.”
Recall vehicle limits: “The total time a member is assigned to a first out and recall vehicle shall not exceed 72 contiguous hours, once the 72 hour mark is met the member must have a minimum 12 hour rest period. No member shall be scheduled for longer than 96 contiguous hours of recall assignment.”
Careful — there are three different hour limits and they are not interchangeable. The contract's 48 hours in any 56 is the one the mandatory-shift rule points at. The 12 hours rest after a 48-hour assignment governs going back on first out. The 72 and 96 hour limits govern recall vehicle assignment. Check which one actually applies before relying on it.
District policy 1051.2 and 1051.3
Length of service
Seniority in District policy
Seniority for vacation requests is based on the number of months of service shown on the official Agency payroll. Length of service for new employees runs from the date of hire; identical hire dates are separated by employment examination score, or failing that the date the application was filed.
District policy 1047.6 and 1000.3.1
Sources: NCEMS collective bargaining agreement 2024–2026, and the North Country EMS / Clark Fire 13 Policy Manual. Full documents govern. Nothing here is legal advice — if a call is close, check with the Chief.
