Police Overtime Pay
Law Enforcement Jobs Are Often Misclassified As Exempt From The Overtime Laws
Arson Investigators
Arson investigators are not firefighters. Thus, arson investigators must generally be paid overtime pay after they work over 40 or 43 hours in a week (depending if they are law enforcement employees), and not after 53 hours in a week, like firefighters.
Dispatchers
Employees who are employed as dispatchers who provide emergency communications to police officers, firefighters, public safety personnel and who direct equipment to fire, crime and accident scenes, generally must be paid overtime when they work over 40 hours in work week.
Public Safety Officers
Many cities and towns employ persons as “public safety officers,” who work performing both fire protection and law enforcement activities. Such employees are often employed, for example, at local and regional airports. If an employee performs job duties of both a law enforcement and fire protection employee, they must be paid overtime based on activity during the work period that takes up the majority of his or her time. Thus, if the employee principally works as a law enforcement employee in the week, they must be paid overtime when they work more than 43 hours in a week. Likewise, if the employee principally works as fire protection employee in the week, they must be paid overtime when they work more than 53 hours in the week.
Canine (K-9) and Dog Handlers
Under the FLSA, all time that is worked is considered to be compensable and must be paid. For persons who work as a canine (K-9) or dog handlers, the time they spend at home or outside their scheduled work shift caring or working with their dogs is work time. Thus, canine (K-9) or dog handlers must be paid – often at overtime rates – for the time they spend caring for their dogs. This time might include walking, grooming, training, and feeding the dog.
Roll-Call Time, Lineups, and Other Pre-Shift and Post-Shift Work Activities
Law enforcement employees must – with some exceptions – be paid for work activities that are performed before or after their work shift when those activities are an integral and indispensable part of the principal work activities for which the person is employed. With respect to law enforcement employees, time that is spent attending lineups and roll call, cleaning guns, weapons and firearms, checking firearms in and out, inspecting and repairing equipment, attending meetings or briefings, or writing reports, are often considered to be an integral and indispensable part of the principal work activities and must be paid, often at overtime rates.