Introduction to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

3. D EFINITION OF “L AW E NFORCEMENT A CTIVITIES ”

To qualify for a 7(k) exemption, an employee involved in law enforcement activities must:

 Be a uniformed or plain clothes member of a body of officers and

subordinates who are empowered by statute or local ordinance to enforce laws to maintain public peace and order, to protect both life and property from accidental or willful injury, and to prevent and detect crimes;



Have the power of arrest; and

 Be presently undergoing or have undergone or will undergo on-the-job training and/or a course of instruction that includes physical training, self-defense, firearm proficiency, criminal and civil law principles, investigative and law enforcement techniques, community relations, medical aid and ethics. 106

The FLSA considers employees who satisfy these requirements to be engaged in law enforcement activities regardless of their rank and regardless of their status as trainee, probationary or permanent employee. 107 The 7(k) partial overtime exemption also applies to these employees, regardless of their assignment to duties incidental to the performance of their law enforcement activities. 108 Such incidental duties include equipment maintenance, lecturing, and other support activities. 109 The 7(k) partial overtime exemption is also available for non-sworn security personnel in correctional institutions, provided that they have “responsibility for controlling and maintaining custody of inmates and of safeguarding them from other inmates or for supervising such functions.” 110 The 7(k) partial overtime exemption is not available, however, for so-called “civilian” employees of law enforcement agencies or correctional institutions, such as dispatchers, maintenance workers, or janitors. 111 4. 7( K ) W ORK P ERIODS FOR F IRE P ROTECTION A CTIVITIES Employees involved in fire protection activities (as defined above) that are on a 28-day work period must be paid 1½ times their regular rate for any hours worked over 212. If the work period is designated to be an amount between 7 and 28 days, the maximum number of non-overtime hours will be a proportion of 212 equal to the number of days in the work period divided by 28. 112 For easy reference, the maximum number of non-overtime hours per day can be calculated (212/28 = 7.57). To figure the maximum regular rate (non-overtime) hours for any work period, multiply the number of days in the designated work period by 7.57 and round to the nearest whole number. 113 For example, if the designated work period is 18 days, 18 x 7.5 = 136.25, an employee must be paid time-and-a-half for any hours worked over 136 per work period.

Introduction to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ©2020 (s) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 25