Federal, State and Local Government Employees

While the FLSA requires overtime pay for Federal, State and local government employees some special rules and exceptions apply.   However, a majority of federal employees are entitled to overtime pay and minimum wage. 

Typical Problems

• Many government agencies have withheld overtime pay wrongfully from federal employees.  
• Employees are often misclassified as being exempt from overtime pay provisions.
• The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regulates federal pay requirements according to the Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations.  These  pay grades are usually not in accordance with the FLSA regulations and can actually be non-exempt.  Many classifications of jobs that label federal employees as exempt could be non-exempt because their job duties do not make them exempt from receiving overtime pay. 

Rules

• in addition to the special rules the general rules of the FLSA also apply
  1. pay at least minimum wage
  2. pay overtime for all hours of 40 per week
  3. follow child labor regulations
  4. meet record-keeping requirements
• Compensatory or “comp” time may be substituted for the overtime pay if the employee agrees.  Comp time is limited to 480 hours per year for police, fire fighters, EMS and seasonal workers; all other workers up to 240 hours per year.
• State wage laws may not allow some of the exceptions from overtime pay found under the FLSA.  Your employer is required to follow the law, State and Federal. Federal overtime law may be more likely to require overtime pay.

Exceptions:

• Part-Time Work.  Employees who without employer insistence occasionally work part-time for the same public agency in a different position
• Job-Sharing.  Employees at their option, and with the approval of the agency, who substitute for one another during scheduled work hours in the same job may forfeit overtime pay
• Hospital and Residential Care Facility Employees.  Hospital or residential care establishments may adopt with agreement or understanding with employees a fixed work period of 14 consecutive days and pay overtime after 8 hours in a day or 80 in the work period, whichever is greater.  See [(fixed work periods)] and hospital and residential care
• Charter Activities.  Mass transit employees who spend time in charter work may have that time excluded from regular pay rate
• Municiple Pool, Rec Center & Park Employees.  Minimum wage and overtime may not be required for employees working in separate seasonal amusement or recreational establishments such as swimming pools, parks, etc. See [(seasonal recreation workers)]
• Other exemptions discussed under the headings of police/firefighter, executive/professional and seasonal/recreation workers may also apply

Definitions:

• State and local government employees are people who work for public agencies
• The FLSA defines "Public Agency" as the Government of the United States; the government of a State or any local or county government 
• The definition also includes any agency of the United States, of a State, of any local or county government or of any interstate governmental agency, for example the FBI
• The definition does not include employees of private companies performing public functions, such as private security companies