FLSA: the salary test issue a challenge
State and local governments may have to pay certain middle-management personnel overtime if they do not meet the exemption test as management employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), according to the International Association of Fire Chiefs (On Scene, Dec. 15, 1995). The salary-test issue applies predominantly to the battalion chief and assistant chief ranks but may also affect some captains.
The issue arose out of the 1990 Shepherd Case, a class action lawsuit brought by more than 500 employees, including battalion chiefs and 12 other employee classifications, of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The action, settled for about $1 million, was brought under a Department of Labor ruling that states jurisdictions could lose their FLSA 7(k) exemption if they dock “exempt” administrative employees time off, as a disciplinary measure, in increments of less than a five-day work period.
In addition to the settlement, changes made in the 96-hour workweeks of the battalion chiefs also involve additional costs. Some of the personnel classifications received nothing in the settlement, which initially had been estimated to represent potential damages of $30 million.
For more information, contact Doug Brown at the IAFC at (703) 273-9815.
