FLSA

Mastagni, Holstedt, Amick, Miller, Johnsen & Uhrhammer is a recognized leader in Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) litigation on behalf of public and private sector employees. Should you have questions regarding your employer's compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, please contact one of our FLSA attorneys.

Introduction

For many years, Mastagni, Holstedt, Amick, Miller, Johnsen & Uhrhammer has represented public safety and private sector employees in litigation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a federal statute codified in 1938 to establish standards for minimum wages, equal pay, and overtime. Our FLSA team of litigators and support staff has been successful in many recent cases in obtaining back pay, liquidated damages, costs, and other remedies, for police officers, deputy sheriffs, and firefighters throughout northern California. We have litigation ongoing in several jurisdictions, involving FLSA issues such as equine pay, K-9 pay, miscalculation of overtime, and the "7(k) exemption."

Fair Labor Standards Act at a Glance

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal statute codified in 1938 to establish standards for minimum wages, equal pay, and overtime. Since the 1980s, the FLSA has had specific provisions relating to law enforcement and fire suppression employees. For public safety employees, the most important provisions of the FLSA are those pertaining to the payment of overtime wages.

An employer must pay an employee "straight time" for all hours worked up to forty hours in a work week. Generally, an employee must receive overtime at a rate of one and one-half times the "regular rate of pay" for hours worked after forty hours in a workweek. 29 U.S.C. § 207(a).

For most public safety employees, the "regular rate of pay" on which overtime is calculated will be higher than the employee's base rate of pay because the "regular rate" must include all remuneration (with certain exceptions) paid to or on behalf of the employee. Regulations imposed by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), which administers the FLSA, require the "regular rate of pay" include all specialty pay and incentives, including longevity pay, POST incentives, education incentives, shift differentials, specialty assignment pay (e.g., bomb squad, FTO pay, detective pay, dive pay), hazardous duty pay, bilingual pay, cash-out in lieu of holiday pay and pay for working out of class. "Regular rate of pay" even may include health and insurance plans where the employee is allowed to cash out the employer's contribution to the plan.

Many law enforcement employers use the "7(k) exemption" in the statute, which allows the employer to pay overtime only after the employee works a specified number of hours in a one- to four-week period. 29 U.S.C. § 207(k). The DOL regulations specify the maximum number of work hours an employer may require for a particular period before paying overtime.

Violations of the FLSA usually entitle the prevailing employee to two years of back pay and liquidated damages, or damages (define liquidated damages). In addition, proving an employer willfully or recklessly violated the FLSA, entitles the employees to a third year of back pay and liquidated damages. The employer also may be held liable for additional damages for any retaliation against an employee who brings an FLSA lawsuit.