Lolo: Overtime relating to measles work will be paid

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — During Monday’s cabinet meeting, Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga emphasized to all ASG departments and agencies whose employees are part of the response team for the measles outbreak to keep sufficient records for these workers, especially their overtime.

“During the Christmas and New Years holiday, we do not expect overtime. The only overtime expected is from the response to the measles,” he said. “We know the agencies involved and the overtime, and we’re keeping track of them.”

“All your overtime, make sure it’s properly justified before submission for review and payment,” he told cabinet members, adding that a process is in place to pay overtime relating to the measles response with the ASG Treasurer already having set up a separate account for this purpose.

(Samoa News notes that neither the governor, or the ASG Treasurer has made public the funding source for this special account, as it’s not part of the FY 2020 budget, approved by the Fono and signed into law two months ago.)

Lolo said this process includes doctors and nurses from LBJ Medical Center, and asked LBJ chief executive officer Faumuina John Faumuinato to follow the same process in submitting overtime of LBJ medical staff.

As the government heads towards the end of the year, Lolo reminds directors of existing regulations pertaining to unused leave time. “Encourage employees to take their leave at this time because if it’s not used up or taken by the end of the year, it will be removed from the system,” he said.