Signed into law November 4, 1985, new legislation postponed the application of FLSA\u27 s overtime and recordkeeping requirements until April 15, 1986, and precluded liability for any violations of those requirements occurring before that date

Ellis, Richard M.

English

University of Tennessee, Knoxville: Trace

University of Tennessee, Knoxville Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange MTAS Publications: Technical Bulletins Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) 11-7-1985 Technical Bulletins: FLSA: New Legislation Lessens Impact Richard M. Ellis Municipal Technical Advisory Service Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_mtastech  Part of the Public Administration Commons The MTAS publications provided on this website are archival documents intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered as authoritative. The content contained in these publications may be outdated, and the laws referenced therein may have changed or may not be applicable to your city or circumstances. For current information, please visit the MTAS website at: mtas.tennessee.edu. Recommended Citation Ellis, Richard M., "Technical Bulletins: FLSA: New Legislation Lessens Impact" (1985). MTAS Publications: Technical Bulletins. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_mtastech/210 This Bulletin is brought to you for free and open access by the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) at Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in MTAS Publications: Technical Bulletins by an authorized administrator of Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact trace@utk.edu. ' I t: l . ·-. . ,' . TECHl\JICAL B'ULI.]ilTIJf MUNICIPAL TECHNICAL ADVISORY SERVICE THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE IN COOPERATION WITH THE. TENNESSEE MUNICIPAL LEAGUE U.T. No. El4-1050-00-004-86 Novemb.er 7, 1985 FLSA: NEW LEGISLATION LESSENS IMPACT By Richard Ellis, Municipal Management Consultant ,.·;-•,;\--. ', C�ngress. has ·passed legislation which moderates the FLSA' s impact on local governments; Signed into law Nov. 4, the legislation postpones until April 15, 1986, the application of FLSA' s overtime and recordkeeping requirements and precludes liability for any violations of those requirements occurring before that date. However, these provisions apply only to those employees who were not consid�ted to be covered by the FLSA undei?·'�the DOL 1 s enforcement policy for local .government employees in effect prior to the .:Garcia decision. Th .is·· policy stated that employees of the following were not covered/. by FLSA regulations: schools, hospitals, police and fire departments, sanitation depart" men ts, public health agencies, parks .and recreation departments, libraries, I a.nd museums, These ar" c;on.�idered to be traditiona.l local government functions. I This new legislation will not affect the original effective date (April 15; 1985) for those city einployees not . considered to be traditional. MTAS is attempting .to get a more comprehensive listing of governmental functions considered to be traditional and non-traditional. The new legislation 1 exempts employees of local legislative bodies from the overtime provisions of FLSA unless they are covered by civil servic.e laws. The changes that will affect local governments are presented below: Compensatory Time The new law allows the use of compensatory time in lieu of cash overtime payments. However, the employer must give 1.5 hours of comp time for each -2-overtime hour worked, and there. will b e. a cap (480 hours for public sa fety and seasonal personnel, 240 hours· for all others) on the amount of comp time accruable. The use of c;:omp time under these· rules would. be permissable for any city which has. a practice of: ut:l,1.izi.ng' ··comp time as ·of ·April 15, 1986. For new employees hired after April .15, 1986, the city woufd be required to reach an .·.< ,•• "understanding" with the employee regarding comp · time. This understanding would be an implied agre�in.ent: if· the city has a policy of p roviding comp time in lieu of over'tinie,,.}\hd .the e mployee• is provided· notice· of this policy prior to hiring,, ari tinclei:;sta,�ding e'Kists and requir�s no' formal written agree­ment. If the cit.y has' a ,,?sffiecti.ve b'argaining · agreemei:u:·. which a llows. the·.• use of c;:omp time, it wiH' r ei1wtn in fo:ice except that c�mp time would have to b"' at the.rate' of time�and-a-!)alf. Volunteers '.!:he new law provides �hilt any person currently considered to be a voluntee r  by the city will maintain t)l;it status until April lS, 1986, eilen if the volunteer receives payment (nominal fees, expenses, or· .reasonable' benefits) · for his or her services which, under curJ:"ent DOL regulations, might · c ompr'omise his or her volunteer status. '.!:he new law ·requires that. DOL issue new re&ulations by March 15, 19861 �tating what plyn/e'nts tar\ be made. to" voluhteers without compromising volunteer st1:1,tus. The effective date of. th�se new regulations will be April 15, 1986. Joint Employment Special detail work ,by public safety employees on an optional basis is de.fined as separate empfoY,ment under the new law, even if the city requii:-es that the second employer hi.,re its public safety employee s  for p articular work or is in any other way involved. In other words, the city cari require and/or ' ' approve the use ·of public safety personnel by a second employer, collect the ' ' • • , , • • • -3-compensation from the second employer, and then pay the public safety employee directly at whatever rate is agreed upon. tied to the employee's regular rate of pay. Compensation does not have to be Another question regarding joint employment has been addressed by the new law. In cases where full-time city employees occasionally work part-time in a different capacity from their primary employment in the employing jurisdic­tion, the two jobs shall not be considered as one for purposes o f  determining overtime liability. For example, if you have a police officer who works part-time in the recreation department, the two jobs may be considered s eparately. In contrast to existing regulations, the new law provides that time spent performing volunteer work for a neighboring jurisdiction under a mutual aid agreement does not count as work time for which the employer-city must pay minimum wage and overtime. Shift Trading by Public Safety Employees Under the old law, shift trading among police and fire employees was permis­sable only if the employer kept records of time traded. The new law will allow voluntary shift trading without the maintenance of such records. Effective Date/Retroactivity As mentioned above, under the new law the FLSA will not apply to traditional employees of local government until April 15, 1986, except that actual payment of overtime due subsequent to April 15, 1986, may be delayed until August 1, 1986, April without being 14, 1986, for subject to penalty. All FLSA overtime pay or minimum wages functions is eliminated. liability existing as of for traditional government As MTAS receives additional information and interpretations of this new law, it will be passed on to you as soon as possible. If you have questions regarding compliance with FLSA, please call your MTAS Municipal Consultant, the MTAS office in Knoxville at (615)974-5301, or the FLSA hotline at 1-800-233-3572. Municipal Technical Advisory Service 891 20th Street The University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN 37996-4400 • • Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Knoxville, Tenn. Permit No. 870 ' 

Technical Bulletins: FLSA: New Legislation Lessens Impact

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Technical Bulletins: FLSA: New Legislation Lessens Impact

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University of Tennessee, Knoxville: Trace