Flsa 12 hour shifts for 911 dispatchers

However, the act provides a partial exemption from overtime requirements for qualifying fire protection and law enforcement employees. It depends on a few different things like your payroll cycle, overtime hours, etc. With 12hour shifts, this will require half the work weeks to be 36 hours three 12hour shifts and half to be 48 hours four 12hour shifts. Most 12 hour shift schedules for 247 coverage use 4 crews. I am employed in a government job as a 911 telecommunicator. Staffing for each shift is one supervisor and two dispatchers.

Job title paramedic detroit casino 911 12 hour shift location detroit,mi position is based out of detroit,mi department ems field flsa status nonexempt general summary sterling heights 12 hour als unit basic emt. After the employee works the maximum flsa hours for the period, you must pay. Anyone available that can help field some questions regarding public safety telecommunicators 911 dispatchers and the flsa. I was just wondering if there are any 911 dispatchers out there that could give me an idea of what type of hours they normally work. Their schedule is spelled out in the labor agreement and we cannot deviate from the set workweek or schedule. Overview of the flsa rules for firefighters county. You only need 2 squads, because with 12hour shifts, its only day and night shift. Under the more common 40hour workweek, the dispatchers should receive 20 hours of overtime. Learn about special issues in applying the flsa to police and fire employees such as the option. We are scheduled to work five 8 hour shifts per week. I work 12 hour shifts which add up to a total of 2184 hours per year. Online dispatcher shift scheduling software snap schedule. From public employers guide to flsa employee classification, thompson publishing group.

Position involves responsible security, treatment, and communications work in the county sheriffs. On the 12 hour shifts, exhaustion led to more people taking sick. Dear name this is in response to your letter requesting an opinion concerning payment of overtime compensation under the fair labor standards act flsa to civilian public safety dispatchers employed by your client the city. Employees in public safety, emergency response or seasonal activities may. Because calculating overtime and overtime pay laws can be complex. Top 3 12hour shift schedule examples for your department. Dispatchers may work a regular 8 hour shift, but many work 12 hour or longer shifts, and overtime is common. Off two days, three 12 hour shifts, off 2 days, two 12 hour shifts off 3 days. I work in a small police department and we love working 12 hour shifts and having 3 days off. For more information on louisianas minimum wage laws, visit our louisiana minimum wage laws page, which includes topics such as minimum wage, tip minimum wage, tip sharing and pooling, and subminimum wages related topic covered on other pages include. It originally started 20 years ago with 1 dispathcer working 24 hours. I work for a small department that relies heavily on overtime to fill shifts to meet minimum staffing levels. Theres a bill that would classify 911 dispatchers as.

Shift scheduling software for ems, 911, and dispatch services. I heard there is a limit to how many consecutive hours a firefighter can work. The pay also doesnt match a professional who typically works beyond their scheduled 8 to 12 hour shift. Changes to that schedule being implemented by emergency services director wes hill will see. An employers failure to pay dispatchers overtime when overtime is due and required is a violation of the fair labor standards act flsa and can result in a lawsuit similar to the one against camden city. The dispatchers work an average of 42 hours per week. On october 1, 1996 kittcoms esds changed to a 12 hour shift schedule. Erie countys 911 dispatchers seek extension of 12hour shifts. Some police officers and fire protection employees have 28day work periods. Then 4 years ago dispatch was changed to 12 hour shifts. Flsa requirements for public safety employees oracle docs. Because emergencies can happen at any time, dispatchers are often required to work some shifts on evenings, weekends, and holidays.

This template runs 8weeks and requires 2 templates per squad. Most dispatchers work 8 to 12 hour shifts, but some agencies require even longer ones. Home wage and hour exemptions ohio judge finds dispatchers to be exempt administrative employees. All dispatchers are expected to work 12 hour shifts, at times with only one colleague on duty. Cases upholding the exempt status of dispatchers pursuant to the administrative exemption of the flsa generally have focused on whether the position requires the. Dear name this is in response to your request for an opinion regarding the fair labor standards act flsa exemptions for fire protection and law enforcement activities. The flsa overtime requirements for public safety employees are different from those of other employees, because a specified number of work hours is needed within the flsa work period before the flsa rate can be applied to overtime pay.

Dispatch shifts firehouse forums firefighting discussion. If they work all their assigned shifts, the dispatchers are paid 80 hours of straight time and four hours of. All the days you work are consecutive and you do 3 days a week and every other sunday. With 12 hour shifts, this will require half the work weeks to be 36 hours three 12 hour shifts and half to be 48 hours four 12 hour shifts. Further, union and flsa rules may place restrictions on work hours, overtime compensation, and the types of shift rotation that can be implemented. Under the flsa, employers generally are required to pay their employees a minimum wage for each hour worked, as well as timeandonehalf overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a week. Union and flsa rules place restrictions on work hours, consecutive work days, overtime compensation, as well as the types of work schedules. Firefighters, overtime and the fair labor standards act. Unicoi county 911 director patsy ledford previously said unicoi county sheriff kent harris made the decision to place the dispatchers on 12 hour shifts in july 2010 in effort to save the county.

Reducing the hours of work to 40 or less a week will result in gaps in the coverage and will require additional personnel to fill the gaps. I know that alexandria city fire dispatchers work 12 s. Police dispatchers and 911 operators use computeraided dispatch programs to help keep track of calls and assign case numbers. County 911 dispatchers raise concerns about scheduling changes. County 911 dispatchers forced to work five 12 hour shifts plus overtime. Beaver countys 911 dispatchers have filed a grievance and are preparing to take the county to arbitration over changes to their work schedules that are slated to be implemented next month. Scheduled work hours, actual work hours, public safety. This results in an 84 hour work schedule for every twoweek work period. My agency has 12 hour shifts and i can predict my days in and off for the whole year.

For those reasons, the e 911 dispatchers would not qualify either as law enforcement or fire fighting employees within the meaning of the 207k exemption, and are entitled to overtime compensation for all hours worked over 40 during the week, except, of course, those dispatchers who might be exempt from the fair labor standards act because. If you have 12 dispatchers, and want a minimum of 2 on 3 8 hour shifts, that means four on each shift where you normally have 3 on and 1 on a day off each day. The number 48 has been used and rumor has it that it is an flsa issue. We are required to be in the dispatch center and ready to work by the start of our assigned shift. You ask whether the city would violate the flsa by complying with the agreement strictly and paying overtime only in excess of 48 hours in any one week, but not when the dispatchers work more than 40 but less than 49 hours in a week.

Ohio judge finds dispatchers to be exempt administrative. When you divide the 168 hours in a week 7 daysweek 24 hours day 168 hours week by the 4 crews, you get a average of 42 hours week. What appears below is not monitored by the issuing agency dol, and no guarantee is made that the information is accurate. The countys emergency services operators currently work 10 hour shifts. The poam stands poised to assist any of its local units in presenting its administration a proposal on 12 hour shifts. Dispatch managers must also consider timeoff requests, labor rules, and worker availability when developing schedules for their dispatchers. The dispatchers work 60 hours per week in 12 hour shifts. The pitman fixed shift schedule uses 4 teams crews and 2 twelve hour shifts to provide 247 coverage. Curt varone explains why no law affects fire department operations or costs to local government more than the fair labor. Erie countys 911 dispatchers seek extension of 12hour shifts wbfo. Covered under collective bargaining agreement between pipestone county and l. Some occupations require an employee to be on the employers premises and available to work even though there are periods of time when actual work is not being performed. They are provided here as a convenience to the reader.

Position is based on 12 hour shifts to cover 24 hours day. Fire protection personnel include firefighters, paramedics, emergency. Law enforcement employees have an overtime threshold under the flsa of 43 hours when a. With 12 hour shifts, if you have 4 platoons consisting of 2 day shift platoons and 2 night shift ones, you have 3 on at all times. The impact of shift length in policing on performance. Showing dispatchers appreciation for their high stress work. Civilian police department employees such as public safety dispatchers do not qualify for the fair labor standards acts flsa partial overtime exemption for police and firefighters set forth in 29 u. Former, current unicoi county 911 dispatchers file lawsuit.

One week i work 48 hours, and the following week i work 36 hours. As a 911 police dispatcher, that isnt always the case. Emergency dispatchers note long hours and stress of job. With the exception of a few states, dispatchers are entitled to overtime if they work more than 40 hours in a sevenday workweek. Emergency communications center, which also plays a key role in.

The dispatchers work 12hour rotating shifts consisting of alternating 36 and 48hour workweeks. Wage and hour division whd opinion letters fair labor standards act. Understanding how a pds shift schedule is impacted by the fair labor standards act is critical for correctly compensating employees for overtime. I suppose it depends a lot on various things, i imagine especially if they work in a more densely populated area or not.

Thus, when employers provide employees rest breaks that last 20 minutes or less, federal law requires that those breaks be paid. Department of labor dol ruled in an opinion letter recently made available. Continuing our hours worked series, we will discuss the topic sleeping time and when it should be counted as hours worked for purposes of minimum wage and overtime under the fair labor standards act flsa. Dispatcher schedule from a 411 schedule to a 412 flex schedule. The york county 911 center seems determined to use this time to, once again, put the screws to its dispatchers. The union did agree to expanding the amount of overtime to 20 hours a week per worker on a temporary basis until more dispatchers could be. Anyone available that can help field some questions regarding public safety telecommunicators 911 dispatchers and answered by a verified employment lawyer. A federal judge has ruled that a dispatcher, who was suing as the named plaintiff in a flsa collective action seeking overtime, was not able to prove that he was similarly situated to other.

Dispatchers and 911 public safety telecommunicators typically work 247 using a wide range of shift configurations, from 8 hour, 10 hour, 12 hour, fixed and rotating days and night shift, to 24 hour shift. The fair labor standards act flsa does not require employers to provide meal or breaks to employees. Police and fire employees league of minnesota cities. We employ civilian public safety dispatchers who handle dispatching for both the police and fire departments. There are certainly dozens of other internal department reports, tests, and evaluations conducted in michigan police departments that can be made available to anyone in law enforcement considering 12 hour shifts. The threat grows another flsa class action on exempt status of dispatchers. The four shifts work two twelve hour day shifts followed by twotwelve hour night shifts which are then followed by four days off. It consists of a 2week cycle where each team works 2 consecutive shifts, followed by 2 days off duty, works 3 consecutive shifts, followed by 2 days off duty, works 2 consecutive shifts. On each shift there are 2 esds, so between day and night shift there are 4 esds to a crew. Anyone available that can help field some questions regarding. At present there are two shifts, days from 0600 to 1800 and nights from 1800 to 0600 the shift hours were chosen by the dispatchers.

We do have a whole article dedicated to this 12 hour shift schedule click to view but will briefly go over it below. You only need 2 squads, because with 12 hour shifts, its only day and night shift. Since emergencies can happen at any time, dispatchers must work some weeknights, weekends, and holidays. We are scheduled to work five 8hour shifts per week. Ohio judge finds dispatchers to be exempt administrative employees by noel p. 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. Overview of the flsa rules for firefighters overview the federal labor standards act flsa sets basic minimum wage and overtime standards that. We were working 12 hour shift 3 days on 3 days off so we had rotating days off. Another flsa class action on exempt status of dispatchers. The top used schedule from all of the 12 hour rotating shift schedule templates evaluated is the pitman schedule. During the last flsa period, jane worked 224 hours 12 more than the. It requires 12 hour shifts, 2 templates, and 2 squads.