Flsa comp time may not be an option for all fire departments. Overview of the flsa rules for firefighters overview the federal labor standards act flsa sets basic minimum wage and overtime standards that. The flsa requires that all covered nonexempt employees be paid. Comp time is a system where the employee receives paid time off from work in a later work week instead of overtime pay. Offduty care and feeding of the dog when such activities are seen as necessary and. Compensatory time off is paid time off the job which is earned and accrued by an employee in lieu of immediate cash payment for employment in excess of the statutory hours for which overtime compensation is required by section 7 of the flsa. What does the flsa say about police officers and overtime. Texas labor laws for overtime flsa texas lore law firm. Currently our staffing level is at a critical level. Police employers may pay some flsa overtime with comp. In cases of termination, comp time must be cashed out at the current rate earned or the average rate earned during the last three years of employment, whichever is higher. Home wage and hour exemptions ohio judge finds dispatchers to be exempt administrative employees. Flsa comp time is one of many topics covered in depth at all of the upcoming fair labor standards act flsa for fire departments seminars.
Current and former dispatchers and aeromedical technicians paramedics assigned to air ambulance helicopters employed by police and fire departments. Under this method, flsa rules on hours of work and overtime thresholds were modified so that 1 any time qualifying as an hour of work under title 5 would be considered to also be an hour of work under flsa and 2 the 8hour daily overtime threshold could be applied to flsa nonexempt employees in applying the flsa overtime pay rules. The flsa requires that all covered nonexempt employees be paid overtime pay at no less than time and onehalf their regular rates of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek. I have noted that most transportation employers consider these employees exempt because their job functions are critical to business operations. The flsa overtime requirements for public safety employees are different from those of other employees, because a specified number of work hours is needed within the flsa work period before the flsa rate can be applied to overtime pay. Since 1986, when the us supreme court ruled that overtime pay be paid to government workers, municipalities have been trying to find alternatives to paying out overtime wages or to avoid. The only employees that should not receive overtime pay are those that are exempt. Oct 19, 2019 appellants, police officers employed by appellee city of mesa city, challenged the district courts entry of summary judgment in favor of the city. It is our opinion that the public safety dispatchers are entitled to overtime for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek. Scheduled work hours, actual work hours, public safety. Employees engaged in police and fire protection work may accrue up to 480 hours of compensatory time. Some police officers and fire protection employees have 28day work periods.
Cases upholding the exempt status of dispatchers pursuant to the administrative exemption of the flsa generally have focused on whether the position requires the. Most people receive overtime pay when working more than 40 hours a week. Police and fire employees have to be considered separately, e. The 207k exemption allows employers to compute overtime for law enforcement and firefighters on the basis of extended work schedule usually 28 days. Fair labor standards act for police and fire employees. Overtime rules for police and law enforcement employees. Under this method, flsa rules on hours of work and overtime thresholds were modified so that 1 any time qualifying as an hour of work under title 5 would be considered to also be an hour of work under flsa and 2 the 8hour daily overtime threshold could be applied to flsanonexempt employees in applying the flsa overtime pay rules.
Under the flsa, this practice is illegal for all nongovernmental employers. In other words, i book the holiday time to take later. The information provided below is intended to be a general broad summary. Time spent performing the following duties may be considered compensable under the fair labor standards act if they are determined to be in the employers benefit. Department of labor dol ruled in an opinion letter recently made available. For those reasons, the e911 dispatchers would not qualify either as law enforcement or fire fighting employees within the meaning of the 207k exemption, and are entitled to overtime compensation for all hours worked over 40 during the week, except, of course, those dispatchers who might be exempt from the fair labor standards act because. The dispatchers claimed they received their hourly rate for the first 40 hours they worked, but never received overtime or proper compensation for hours beyond 40.
Mar 24, 2018 flsa comp time is one of many topics covered in depth at all of the upcoming fair labor standards act flsa for fire departments seminars. From public employers guide to flsa employee classification, thompson publishing group. Jan 15, 2001 from public employers guide to flsa employee classification, thompson publishing group. During an average week i am pulling four 16 hour shifts. Flsa to law enforcement and fire protection personnel of state and local governments. Civilian police department employees such as public safety dispatchers do not qualify for the fair labor standards acts flsa partial overtime exemption for police and firefighters set forth in 29 u. Failure to comply with flsa despite lawsuit after lawsuit after lawsuit, there are still departments in this country today that continue to blatantly break the law by either refusing to compensate handlers for offduty care of their police dogs or they do not compensate fairly. Chamberlain, kaufman and jones is a law firm with a nationwide reputation in helping employees receive the wages they are due for all hours worked, specializing in overtime law specifically collection of unpaid overtime pay due under the federal fair labor standards act flsa. The question under the fair labor standards act under the fair labor standards act flsa the police chief is an exempt.
While the work of dispatchers is a key part of the work of firefighters, police officers and rescue personnel, they are not treated the same way under the law. When an employee asks to use comp time, the employer must approve the request unless doing so would significantly disrupt the employers activities. Mandatory overtime as a 911 dispatcher end your sleep. Federal law requires that comp time be cashed out at the rate earned by the employee at the time the employee receives the payment. Comp time allows public employers to provide paid timeoff in lieu of the cash. Employees who are employed as dispatchers who provide emergency communications to police officers, firefighters, public safety personnel and who direct equipment to fire, crime and accident scenes, generally must be paid overtime when they work over 40 hours in work week. Ohio judge finds dispatchers to be exempt administrative.
In 1966, the act was amended to include school, hospital, nursing home and local transit employees. Tripp on march 24, 2014 cases upholding the exempt status of dispatchers pursuant to the administrative exemption of the flsa generally have focused on whether the position requires the performance of decisionmaking duties and analysis beyond mere communication. Initially, the flsa applied only to private employers. In general, gap hours are extra hours worked outside of the regular work schedule that do not result in the employee working more than 40. In addition, as i read the citys present personnel policy, he is not entitled to accumulate overtime. According to texas overtime laws, employers are required to pay their employees overtime pay for hours worked over forty hours a week. Police officer time card police dispatchers time card manual time card specified departments only officeclerical personnel assigned to a school campus, police officers, and police dispatchers will work an eight hour day with 30 minutes designated as onduty lunch. Most law enforcement officers dont get too concerned with the nuts and bolts of the fair labor standards act flsa, preferring to rely on the provisions of their labor contract.
An employers failure to pay dispatchers overtime when overtime is due and required is a violation of the fair labor standards act flsa and can result in a lawsuit similar to the one against camden city. Their work periods vary from seven to 28 days, depending on the work period. Overtime compensation for police chief under flsa mtas. Appellants, police officers employed by appellee city of mesa city, challenged the district courts entry of summary judgment in favor of the city.
You must pay overtime to law enforcement employees for hours that exceed 171 in a 28day period. I have noted that most transportation employers consider these employees exempt because their job functions are critical to. Among other things, the regulations governing the use of compensatory time off comp time impose limitations on the accrual of comp time, conditions regarding the use of accumulated comp time, and requirements for pay outs of unused comp time. Look here for a post i wrote about the fluctuating workweek method, which can. Is the police chief entitled to either overtime pay or compensatory overtime for his hours worked in excess of 40 per week. The fair labor standards act of 1938 flsa is the federal law that regulates the wages and hours worked by employees engaged in interstate commerce.
It has been alleged that a number of fire departments are illegally denying overtime pay to. Under the flsa, state and local employees can accrue up to 240 hours of comp time, although police and fire protection personnel are allowed more see below. Guidance on applying flsa overtime provisions to law. A federal judge has ruled that a dispatcher, who was suing as the named plaintiff in a flsa collective action seeking overtime, was not able to prove that he was similarly situated to other employees and this the judge refused to grant even the conditional certification necessary to keep the case going. Section b20 of the flsa provides an overtime exemption to law enforcement or fire protection. As i understand those facts, the e911 dispatchers are not police officers or fire fighters.
Flsa requirements for public safety employees oracle docs. Dispatchers must be paid overtime when work time exceeds 40 hours a week. Mar 24, 2014 ohio judge finds dispatchers to be exempt administrative employees by noel p. Overtime compensation does not have to be paid in cash or wages. Act includes dispatching of emergency vehicles and personnel, rescue work and. Regular week is 40 hours, regular day is computed at 8 hours, if i work a holiday or two in that week and do not go over 40 hours, i get straight comp time for the holidays worked. The rules governing the use of the 207k exemption sometimes called the 7k exemption can be found at 29 cfr 553.
Fair labor standards act flsa overtime the online wages. The question under the fair labor standards act under the fair labor standards act flsa the police chief is an exempt employee who is not entitled to overtime pay or compensatory overtime. Civilian police department employees such as public safety dispatchers do not qualify for the fair labor standards acts flsa partial overtime. Job prospects should be good because the stressful nature of the job results in many workers leaving. Jan 08, 2018 flsa comp time is a very popular topic which we discuss indepth at all of the flsa for fire department seminars.
Learn about special issues in applying the fair labor standards act flsa to police and fire employees such as the option to define an extended workweek, application to small departments, different ceilings on accrual of compensatory time, and rules for volunteer versus paid oncall fighters. The fair labor standards act is designed to insure that wage earners are compensated for overtime hours and provides. Flsa comp time is a very popular topic which we discuss indepth at all of the flsa for fire department seminars. Employment of police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers is projected to grow 6 percent from 2018 to 2028, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Understanding how the federal labor law impacts police departments is critical for. The flsas overtime pay provisions for law enforcement and. Payment for accrued comp time the flsa permits an employer to cash out an employees accrued. Dispatchers employees who are employed as dispatchers who provide emergency communications to police officers, firefighters, public safety personnel and who direct equipment to fire, crime and accident scenes, generally must be paid overtime when they work over 40 hours in work week. Oct 10, 20 what does the flsa say about police officers and overtime. The officers contended that the city violated the fair labor standards act flsa by failing to compensate police officers for the donning and doffing of their uniforms and accompanying gear.
The fair labor standards act has two exceptions from its overtime pay rules for nonexempt employees who work different numbers of hours from week to week. The flsa at section 207o allows government employers an alternative way to compensate nonexempt employees for hours worked in excess of 40 that it does not allow privatesector employers. The dispatchers would have to agree to receiving comp time in lieu of overtime, and there are specific rules that must be followed. Overtime pay entitlement for public safety employees under. Fire protection personnel include firefighters, paramedics, emergency medical. Elgin flsa attorney bolingbrook fair labor standards act. How does the flsas 207k exemption for law enforcement.
Jun 09, 2010 i have written a number of times about the difficulty of proving that the administrative exemption applies to dispatchers in the transportation industry. Police, fire fighters, emergency response personnel, and employees engaged in seasonal. It has been alleged that a number of fire departments are illegally denying overtime pay to their dispatchers and aeromedical technicians. Payment for accrued comp time the flsa permits an employer to cash out an employees accrued comp time at any time by paying the employee cash for the unused comp time.
With the exception of a few states, dispatchers are entitled to overtime if they work more than 40 hours in a sevenday workweek. Because police officers are generally required to work 12 or 24hours shifts several days a week, overtime pay is due at a different threshold. How does the flsas 207k exemption for law enforcement and. In georgia as in other states, only government employees may receive comp time in lieu of overtime pay. Mar 09, 2018 most law enforcement officers dont get too concerned with the nuts and bolts of the fair labor standards act flsa, preferring to rely on the provisions of their labor contract. Section 7a of the fair labor standards act flsa requires that covered, nonexempt employees must be paid overtime pay at a rate not less than one and onehalf times their regular rates of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a work week unless an employer makes a 7k election for police or fire personnel. Ohio judge finds dispatchers to be exempt administrative employees by noel p. Public employees the fair labor standards act flsa requires that overtime compensation be paid at one and onehalf time the employees regular rate of pay. The fair labor standards act flsa provides a partial overtime exemption for fire protection and law enforcement personnel employed by public agencies on a. Texas overtime laws require that overtime pay should be no less than one and onehalf times the employees regular rate of pay.
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