Give specific and detailed answers to the questions asked. Under fair labor standards act flsa regulations, workers are employed in an administrative capacity and exempt from the flsa minimum wage and overtime requirements if they are compensated on. This topic provides an overview of flsa requirements for public safety employees and discusses. Flsa allows for longer work periods than the traditional 40 hour work week for public safety employees, often referred to as the 7k exemption or the tour of duty rules. We employ civilian public safety dispatchers who handle dispatching for both the police and fire departments. If they work all their assigned shifts, the dispatchers are paid 80 hours of straight time and four hours of. Overtime compensation for police chief under flsa mtas. As noted in the first edition of this series, which focused on the executive exemption see the executive exemption. In light of other case law, a recent proemployer decision from the eleventh circuit court of appeals, holding that a salaried dispatcher for a crane rental.
In addition, as i read the citys present personnel policy, he is not entitled to accumulate overtime. The lawsuit claimed the dispatchers and technicians were entitled to standard overtime pay and not the special overtime rules provided for firefighters in the fair labor standards act flsa. New regulations under the federal fair labor standards act flsa that go into effect dec. The importance of adopting the section 7k overtime. Ohio judge finds dispatchers to be exempt administrative. 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. Eleventh circuit finds crane dispatcher to be exempt. Nov 30, 2009 although, in a realworld sense, these important employees are part of the management team, under the flsa exemption regulations, they must meet certain criteria. Fair labor standards act for police and fire employees. Subpart cfire protection and law enforcement employees of public. If they work all their assigned shifts, the dispatchers are paid 80 hours of straight time and four hours of overtime every two weeks. 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 fair labor standards act flsa automatically qualifies certain types of workers who meet overtime pay requirements to receive overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a single week or daily overtime limits set by arkansas overtime laws. The plaintiff had alleged that his job did not require the exercise of independent judgment, which is the hallmark of the administrative exemption.
Law enforcement and fire protection employees under the fair. Scheduled work hours, actual work hours, public safety. Mtas was asked whether e911 dispatchers qualify for the 207k exemption for the. Home wage and hour exemptions eleventh circuit finds crane dispatcher to be exempt administrative employee. Rather, the employee must be paid a salary and perform certain kinds of duties. Administrative employee exemption flsa employment law.
Payment obligations under flsa for waiting time and oncall time by bruno w. 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. You may check boxes in more than one exemption category. It applies in every state, but it doesnt prohibit the states from making laws that are more generous to employees or that regulate the rare cases in which federal law does not apply.
A police union failed to show that a township violated the fair labor standards act by failing to pay proper overtime, pay compensation for muster time. The professional duties of police sergeants did not make them management, and did not make them qualify for the bona fide executive exemption of the overtime pay provisions of the fair labor standards act. The supreme court has held that the words to suffer or permit to work, as used in the fair labor standards act flsa to define employ, do not make all persons employees who, without any express or implied compensation agreement, work for their own advantage on the premises of another. The fair labor standards act flsa is a federal law which establishes minimum wage, overtime pay eligibility, recordkeeping, and child labor standards affecting fulltime and parttime workers in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments. Please note that an employee must meet the salary basis test to be exempt under the flsa. The fair labor standards act flsa exempts from its minimum wage and overtime standards employees who qualify as administrative employees. Employees who spend more than 50 percent of their time performing. The law covers minimum wage, overtime pay, hours worked, record keeping, and youth employment standards for employees both in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments.
Guidance on applying flsa overtime provisions to law. 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. Mar 24, 2014 ohio judge finds dispatchers to be exempt administrative employees by noel p. If properly set up, these may increase the flsa overtime thresholds beyond the normal 40 hour week, which means that officers in such departments are not entitled to flsa overtime until they have exceeded the 7 k thresholds.
For an employee to qualify for the administrative employee exemption, the following criteria must be met. Under the flsa, federal, state, and local government employees receive manybut not allof the protections private sector. The 207k exemption generally permits a government to work fire fighters 53 hours, police officers 43 hours, during a seven day work period before. We are scheduled to work five 8hour shifts per week. Understanding how the federal labor law impacts police departments is critical for police schedulers.
Following a jury verdict in favor of two medical coders that they were not exempt from the overtime provisions of the flsa under the administrative and professional exemptions, the d. While the white collar overtime exemptions administrative, executive and professional set forth in the flsa are used by all public agencies, there is also a partial exemption in section 207k which is essential for public agencies with police and fire departments for employees engaged in fire protection or law enforcement activities. Payment obligations under flsa for waiting time and on. When an exemption applies, the position is said to be exempt and the employee is not entitled to overtime pay even at 60 or 80 hours worked in a.
The fair labor standards act flsa is a federal law that sets minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment rules for most private and public sector jobs. The dispatchers work an average of 42 hours per week. Another flsa class action on exempt status of dispatchers. 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. Maximum nonovertime hours under 7k exemption public safety. Section b20 of the flsa provides an overtime exemption to law enforcement or fire protection employees of a public agency that employs less than five employees during the workweek in law enforcement or fire protection activities. 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. Civilian police department employees such as public safety dispatchers do not qualify for the fair labor standards acts flsa partial overtime.
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. Mar 09, 2015 posts about administrative exemption written by andrew frisch. Place an x in each box that applies to this position. Katz and shirley shu the fair labor standards act flsa, the federal law that governs the payment of wages to employees, is enforced by the u. Under the more common 40hour workweek, the dispatchers should receive 20 hours of overtime. The second defense is that the dispatchers are exempt under the administrative exemption. Qualifying firefighters are allowed to work up to 53 hours per week, or up. All employees that hold positions determined to be covered under the mandatory.
The flsa allows a partial exemption for firefighters and lawenforcement personnel, which is known as the 207k exemption. Jan 15, 2001 from public employers guide to flsa employee classification, thompson publishing group. Drivers, drivers helpers, loaders and mechanics are exempt from the overtime pay provisions of the flsa if employed by a motor carrier, and if the employees. Non exempt communications dispatcher definition under general supervision, receives police and emergency calls and dispatches police units following prescribed procedures. Section b20 of the flsa provides an overtime exemption to law enforcement or fire protection employees of a public agency that employs less than five. The fair labor standards act flsa is best known as the law determining the exempt or nonexempt status of jobs and overtime requirements. These exemptions can be met for employees who work in certain executive. Primary duty flsa exemptions employment law handbook. 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.
Department of labor dol ruled in an opinion letter recently made available. Performs a variety of general administrative support duties and performs related work as. What you need to know the fair labor standards act is a federal law. The trucking company provided considerable evidence of the employees job duties. Selected opinions among those issued this fall discuss issues involving flsa coverage, the professional exemption and the administrative exemption. Flsa overtime eligibility and exemption compensation. The federal labor standards act flsa sets basic minimum wage and overtime standards that cities and counties must comply with when paying personnel. Thus, arson investigators must generally be paid overtime pay after they work over 40 or 43 hours in a week depending if they are law enforcement employees, and not after 53 hours in a week, like firefighters. The flsas administrative exemption from overtime pay. 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. As a general rule, employees who perform police and firefighter work will be considered nonexempt under the fair labor standards act flsa, and must receive overtime or compensatory time off unless they fall under the small policefire department exemption discussed below. Department of labors flsa regulations define this element of the administrative exemption as meaning to perform work directly related to assisting with the running or servicing of the business, as distinguished, for example, from working on a manufacturing production line or selling a product in a retail or service establishment. Appendix 1 exemption of executive, administrative, professional, and computer employees under flsa statewide overtime policy example 2. Fair labor standards act flsa exemptions fair labor.
Firefighters meeting this definition may be required to work 53 per week, 106 in a twoweek period, or 212 hours in a 28day period before overtime is required. Recent exemption cases of interest overtime law blog. Computer manufacture or repair is excluded non exempt work. Circuit upheld a federal district courts denial of employer motions for judgment as a matter of law, or in the alternative, a new trial. In previous blog posts, i discussed the executive and administrative exemptions to the fair labor standards act rule that an employee is entitled to overtime pay after working 40 hours in a week. In any event, the time to analyze the dispatcher exemption issue is now, before the threat of a lawsuit looms. Dispatchers regularly exercise discretion and independent judgment, and are exempt under the bona fide administrative exception of the flsa. 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. With the exception of a few states, dispatchers are entitled to overtime if they work more than 40 hours in a sevenday workweek. This settlement is not an exception to that general rule. Factors considered in determining if an employees exempt duties are his or her principal duties include. At that time, congress enacted the 207k exemption usually referred to as 7k exemption to allow firefighters who commonly worked an average of 4856 hours a week and police officers many of whom worked 4548 hour schedules to continue working those.
Learn about special issues in applying the flsa to police and fire. Because calculating overtime and overtime pay laws. The flsas administrative exemption from overtime pay, part 2. As i understand those facts, the e911 dispatchers are not police officers or fire fighters. If your work involves manual labor such as construction worker, factory attendant, cashier, etc you. Overtime rules for police and law enforcement employees. This defense hinges on whether the employees duties involve the exercise of discretion and independent. 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 and tracking of vehicles. Fair labor standards division fair labor standards division. This is a rare victory for employers on a difficult employee classification. A shipping clerk is normally permitted to decide the method of packing and the mode of shipment of small orders, and a bookkeeper may decide whether he will post first to one ledger rather than another. The flsa requires that all covered nonexempt employees be paid. In 1974 the flsa was amended to apply to state and local governments for the first time.
Police employers may establish alternative work periods for police officers. Jun 09, 2010 in light of other case law, a recent proemployer decision from the eleventh circuit court of appeals, holding that a salaried dispatcher for a crane rental company qualified as an exempt administrative employee, adds credence to a question often asked by legal and human resources professionals. Jun 09, 2010 under the fair labor standards act, however, that is not the test. The flsas overtime pay provisions for law enforcement and. The fair labor standards act flsa requires that most workers receive a minimum overtime pay of 1. Overtime pay entitlement for public safety employees under. New flsa regulations require reevaluation of overtime exemptions.
Continuing a split with virtually every other circuit, another court within the third circuit has held that a pharmaceutical representative, performing typical duties is administratively exempt under the flsa and pmwa, which requires exercise of discetion and independent judgment, but not that. Origins of the 7k firefighter overtime exemption fire. We are required to be in the dispatch center and ready to work by the start of our assigned shift. 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. Ray anthony intl llc, the eleventh circuit held that a crane dispatcher was not entitled to overtime compensation because he was an administrative employee. Overtime pay entitlement for public safety employees under the fair labor standards act flsa, part 2, 2016 10 aele mo. Eleventh circuit finds crane dispatcher to be exempt administrative employee by noel p. Flsa overtime eligibility and exemption flsa requirements. Section b 20 of the flsa provides an overtime exemption to law enforcement or fire protection employees of a public agency that employs less than five. Although the court noted that dispatchers generally qualify under the exemption, it was not satisfied that the plaintiffdispatchers actual duties made them subject to the exemption. Most of these are managementexecutive level employees. The fair labor standards act is administered by the wage and hour. Civilian police department employees such as public safety dispatchers do not qualify for the fair labor standards act s flsa partial overtime exemption for police and firefighters set forth in 29 u. Administrative exemption examples under the fair labor.
The fair labor standards act flsa can be found under title 29 of the united states code, with the portions relating specifically to public employees in subtitle b, chapter v, subchapter a, part 553. If they do not meet the criteria, both work duties and salary minimums, they are nonexempt and overtime eligible, notwithstanding their importance to the transportation operations. The defendant visualex contended that the plaintiff was exempt under either the creative professional exemption, the administrative exemption, or the socalled combination exemption whereby an employer can utilize elements of multiple whitecollar exemptions to render an employee exempt. Read the criteria for each exemption category executive, administrative, computer, learned professional, or creative professional. The 9position decision number is made up of f for flsa, the 4digit occupational series of the claimants position, the claimants grade, and the decision number for that particular series and grade. Under the fair labor standards act, however, that is not the test. Dispatcher determined to be exempt under the administrative exception under cali. Receive, evaluate, and act upon emergency and nonemergency telephone and radio calls. Section b20 of the flsa provides an overtime exemption to law enforcement or fire protection.
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