FLSA Coverage

• The Fair Labor Standards Act is a federal law that requires employees who work more than 40 hours in one week to be paid an overtime rate of one-and-a-half times their normal rate for the additional hours. While most law enforcement officials are covered by the FLSA and are therefore entitled to overtime pay, there are a few exceptions. Elected officials such as sheriffs are exempt, as are managers and administrators who are on salary and receive at least $455 a week.
  
  

Hours and Responsibilities

• Caring for your police dog, even at home, counts toward your hours worked.police dog image by Earl Robbins from Fotolia.com
  
  When tallying your hours and calculating overtime pay, it is important to know which of your responsibilities count toward your hours. When police officers are on call, they are not required to be compensated, as long as they are not required to stay at the police department during their on-call shifts. If it is your responsibility to care for or maintain animals or equipment while you are not on duty, you must be compensated for this unless it is an infrequent practice that requires only a negligible amount of time. If you are in the canine unit, for example, time spent feeding and walking your police dog each day is time you must be compensated for.
  
  

Exceptions

• Due to the unique working conditions and scheduling requirements of police officers, the FLSA grants an exception to law enforcement agencies regarding overtime pay. This exception, section 7k, allows employees to work more than 40 hours a week without receiving overtime pay as long as they do not work more than 171 hours in a four-week period. This gives law enforcement agencies some flexibility in scheduling without requiring them to provide overtime pay.