Sheriff\'s Organization Sheriff\'s Department Organization the Rewards

Sheriff's Organization

Sheriff's Department Organization

The rewards system in a sheriff's department is organized in much the same way as in other business organizations. While a sheriff's department is distinctly different from your traditional corporate business, as it is a government entity, many of its rewards and benefits are the same as in any other job. There are also a few important differences.

For full-time employees of a sheriff's department, these people can expect a wide range of benefits, from the typical health and life insurance coverage offered at most jobs, to paid time off, vacation days, personal days, family leave, and more. There won't be stock options or a 401K, since this is a government job and not a private sector job. However, sheriff's office employees may participate in a government employee's pension fund and may invest in a 403B (which is similar to a 401K, but it is for government and non-profit employees). For those employees who are working on the streets and dealing with criminals, there may also be hazard and bonus pay for working late shifts or in dangerous areas of the county.

Unlike most traditional jobs, a sheriff's office may also offer limited benefits to part-time employees, as well. This depends on what the county's budget allows for in any given fiscal year. However, many government employees find that they are eligible for limited benefits at a part-time employment status. These benefits can include all of the same benefits that full-time employees receive, only in smaller amounts (or in the case of health and life insurance, with higher premiums). This is one of the perks of working for a government entity for part-time employees. Most of the part-timers would be on their own when it comes to benefits in other jobs, and the presence of benefits for part-time employees in most sheriff's offices is an incentive for people looking for part-time work to apply there.

Office employees get these benefits, too, whether they are full or part-time with the sheriff's office. They don't qualify for hazard pay, however, though they may qualify for bonus pay if they volunteer to work late shifts. Hourly employees at a sheriff's office are also eligible for overtime pay, though salaried employees are not (in most cases, though there are exceptions to this in different areas of the country and in different sheriff's offices). Most of the office workers are usually hourly employees, though some with high ranking jobs may be salaried. Most law enforcement officers are salaried employees, as is the sheriff him or herself.

As with most jobs, sheriff's office employees are eligible for worker's compensation benefits should they get injured on the job and become unable to work for a period of time. This is a federal law, and all employers must provide worker's compensation coverage for their employees, even with government employers. Sheriff's office employees are also eligible for disability pay, both short- and long-term, depending on their needs. This is also a benefit that most traditional employers offer, and one that is especially helpful in an environment where injury is more common than in most other jobs, such as a sheriff's office. Usually, short-term disability is paid directly from the payroll department of the county, and the employee is covered for up to three months. For long-term disability, this pay is distributed through the county's insurance company and is typically good for anywhere from six months to a year. Again, there are exceptions and differences around the country, but these are the norms.

Finally, employees who have to leave the sheriff's office for one reason or another and are covered under the office's health insurance plan are eligible for 18 months of COBRA insurance coverage. This is the same health insurance with the same benefits that they received through the sheriff's office, but the former employee is responsible for paying the premiums him or herself. This coverage is meant to help the employee maintain coverage until new employment or new insurance can be obtained. Some sheriff's offices (though not all of them) have a rider on their COBRA coverage that allows the former employee to convert the COBRA plan to a regular health insurance plan with the same company after the COBRA period ends. It is up to the former employee to find out if their sheriff's office has this rider. If it doesn't, the employee will have to find new health insurance at the end of the COBRA coverage period, usually with a different company (Ulrich 2005).

Now, when it comes to rewards, the sheriff's office is quite different from other organizations, at least where their law enforcement officers are concerned. Rewards in the sheriff's office with law enforcement officers are made as commendations. Sometimes, these commendations are simply notations on an employee's record. Other times, they are certificates suitable for framing, and may be awarded at a ceremony. In rare instances, the rewards may even be medals, awarded in ceremonies to which the public and media are invited. Usually, when these types of rewards are given, it is for some particular act of bravery on the part of the law enforcement officer….in other words, going above and beyond the call of duty in a selfless, often dramatic and exceptionally brave way. These rewards frequently also result in promotions and pay raises, unless, of course, the officer was injured in the line of performing his brave duty and can no longer work. Still, the rewards bring recognition and community support for an injured officer, and that can often result in financial compensation from the community, help for the officer's family, and donations of all kinds to help out while the officer recovers or rehabilitates (Watson 1994).

Aside from commendations, officers who have been with the sheriff's office for a long time, or who have achieved certain milestones, or who have shown outstanding work as law enforcement officers, can often be rewarded with promotions. These promotions usually include an increase in the officer's rank, as well as an increase in pay. With the high turnover rate of law enforcement officers at the sheriff's office, it does not typically take much to reach this kind of reward with the department. Those who stick with it can often be rewarded for simply sticking with it.

For non-law enforcement employees of the sheriff's office, raises in pay are the most usual reward, and are made either on a regular basis for everyone in the office, or for reaching a certain length of employment with the sheriff's office, or, rarely, for outstanding work that goes above and beyond what is expected of that employee. These raises are awarded on the same basis that raises are usually awarded to corporate employees or to other non-government employees. There is often an annual review of the employee's performance that will determine if a pay raise will be awarded that year, and if so, how much of a raise it will be.