The parties recognize that shift differentials are a convention used in personnel and labor relations to compensate employees performing -- except for the time of day -- otherwise reasonably similar duties during non-traditional working hours.

Employees shall be paid a shift differential of five percent above their straight time hourly rates for all hours worked in a day if their regular schedule for that day provides that the employee is scheduled to begin work at or after 1:20 p.m. but before 5:00 a.m., excluding any time spent in pre-shift meetings, or if 50% or more of the regularly scheduled shift falls between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., excluding any time spent in pre-shift meetings.

While on sick leave, sick time, annual, holiday, union leave, or administrative leave no employee shall earn shift differential.

Shift premium shall be based on overtime rates for overtime hours worked on an afternoon or night shift. If, under this Agreement, an employee elects to receive compensation for such overtime shift hours in the form of compensatory time in lieu of cash payment, the employee shall be paid for the shift premium subsequent to the paycheck covering the pay period in which the overtime shift hours were worked.

The value of shift premium shall not be included in determining the value of fringe benefits which are based on pay rate; all such fringe benefits will be based on the straight‑time pay rate.