Fortunately, in my case the EMPLOYEE_ID column has a NOT NULL constraint, so I would not need to add the constant value 1 to the index definition to make certain that all rows in the table are included in the index. If the EMPLOYEE_ID column could contain NULL values, the index definition that you suggested is a perfect solution (sorry, I should have mentioned the NOT NULL constraint on that column).

I know that I had read Richard Foote’s article in the past, but I had completely forgotten about the possibility of adding a constant to the index definition.

you can the index tips from the above url.

CREATE INDEX IND_LT_EMPLOYEE_HW ON LABOR_TICKET(EMPLOYEE_ID,HOURS_WORKED,1);

This index force the null values of HOURS_WORKED integrate into the index, and so you will not need to use the index hint .