[Guest]

Are there any departments that have recently filed for or won the FLSA ruling regarding overtime. I am a Union president and have attempted to file. Attorneys state we are on a 28 day work cycle and that prohibits us. We are 4 on and 2 off schedule. Any advice appreciated.

 

[Ranger2]

Hmmm... I find it hard to believe that this was the response back.. but then again.. in the grand old Commonwealth nothing surprises me. Since you an officer does work 40 hours in a week.. they are eligible for OT. This is under the guise of the FLSA. However, union contracts may take precendt over this because of other stips such as details pay and whatever else. The 28 day cycle is bogus and it is a mere techicality, I would pursue it.

 

[scungie]

try Newton, they get it, dont know the aspects of it

 

[Guest]

In order for you to figure out, you have to first define your word period, ie. 28 days, but also how many hours in that defined work period? Once you find out how many hours are in the work week, then you can figure out if any FLSA premium pay is required. However, by contract almost all officers are paid OT even though they have not worked more than 40 hours, but rather worked any shift outside their normally scheduled shift. OT hourly rate is generally a lot lower than FLSA premium pay rate, because FLSA counts all stipends, ie. EMT, shift diff, educational incentive, longevity, etc.

Shift coverage OT and town details count towards FLSA hourly calculations, private details DO NOT. It is important to note that all calculations are for actual hours WORKED, so vacation, sick, comp., do not count towards calculation hours in the defined work period.

The FLSA calculations are complicated but not impossible to understand, but if you are eligible for FLSA premium pay in a pay particular period, you probably will have a different FLSA pay rate from one time to the next because of contractual OT credits. For example, when you work one OT shift and even though you did not work more than 40 hours in that week because of 4 x 2 schedule, you still receive OT rate. Those hours of OT are credited towards your employer.

In other words, if your FLSA rate was $65.00/hr in one pay period and you worked enough shift OT and Town details to cross the eligibility threshold another pay period, your rate could increase or decrease based on how many actual shifts worked in that period.

This is just a very brief overview of how it is calculated, probably raises more questions than answers but worth challenging because the pay rate is significantly increased after all the incentives are added in. The law firm of Sandulli and Grace in Boston, is well versed in this area and recently won a big case for BPD. They are working on the actual dollar reward for all the officers involved in the recent lawsuit.

Posted Tue Nov 23, 17:27:

One more note on FLSA payments, you can bargain to have all OT payments reflect FLSA premium pay. I know there are a few Cities and Towns that have that provision in their contract.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for responding. I know that I was told that because of our contract, we can challenge the FLSA. The 28 day cycle was inacted back in 1986, but our new contract which states we have a 40 hour work week supercedes that. No matter how I read the information, it is very confusing. I appreciate your responses in helping to clarify this.

 

[bosco109]

FLSA

It does not matter however many hours your contract says whether its 40hrs or 37.5 hrs. In a 28 day cycle the FLSA rate kicks in when you go over 171 hours worked. And like previously stated that includes hours worked regular time, overtime, and town details. 171 hours for police, 212 hours for fire is the threshold. You can go on the US Dept of Labor website and research it. The Dept of Labor came into my town where I work and looked into it 10 years ago and the town was in violation and retro checks were cut. Your contract cannot trump FLSA law.

 

[Guest]

You are correct, your contract does not trump FLSA. However, your contract does define the work period and that it what is used in calculating whether you are entitled to FLSA premium pay in that work period. You can also bargain to have all shift OT, town details, calculated using FLSA premium pay.