Opinion ID: 6827248
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: For 33 hours of irregular overtime—

Text: $13.04 (IV2 basic rate) x 33 = $430.32 Title 5 overtime will always be more on an hourly basis for firefighters than FLSA overtime because it is calculated on the firefighter’s “basic rate” of pay. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 5504(b)(1), hourly rates are derived by dividing annual salary by 2,087 hours. This yields a basic rate of pay for Contreras of $8.69. Defendant’s practice has been to compare the Title 5 overtime for 33 hours ($430.32 in this example) with the total of FLSA overtime for both irregular and regularly scheduled hours ($413.74) and pay whichever is greater. In this example, since the Title 5 premium for 33 hours is greater than FLSA overtime for 71 hours, Contreras was paid $430.32, and he was not paid an additional $114.76 as FLSA overtime for scheduled overtime. The result of defendant’s methodology is that firefighters who work more than approximately 29 hours of irregular unscheduled overtime will always be paid Title 5 overtime for those hours and will not be paid FLSA overtime for either scheduled or unscheduled overtime. For firefighters who happen to work less than 29 hours of unscheduled overtime, the result is reversed, as is shown by the following example taken from plaintiffs’ brief. In the example, Contreras has worked a regular 144-hour pay period, plus 22 hours of unscheduled overtime. FLSA overtime calculation: a. For 38 hours of scheduled overtime— $3.02 O/2 regular rate) X 38 = $114.76 b. For 22 hours of unscheduled overtime— $9.06 (1V2 regular rate) X 22 = $199.32 Title 5 overtime calculation: a. For 22 hours of unscheduled overtime— $13.04 (IV2 basic rate) X 22 hours = $286.77 Defendant compares the Title 5 amount for 22 hours with the total for all FLSA overtime, i.e. for 60 hours, and pays the FLSA amount of $314.08 since it is greater. No Title 5 premium is therefore paid for the unscheduled overtime. Drawing once again from these two examples, it is plaintiffs’ position that the comparison should have been between Title 5 pay for unscheduled overtime and only that portion of FLSA overtime attributable to those same unscheduled hours. In the first example, the Title 5 amount of $430.32 should have been compared, according to plaintiffs, to the FLSA amount of $298.98. Since Title 5 is greater, it should have been paid, but only in place of the 33 hours of unscheduled overtime. It should not supplant FLSA pay for the 38 hours of scheduled overtime. Thus, in plaintiffs’ view, Contreras should have been paid a total of $545.08 in overtime ($114.76 as FLSA overtime and $430.32 as Title 5 overtime). In the second example, plaintiffs take the view that a proper comparison would be limited to the 22 hours of unscheduled overtime. Because the $286.77 to which he would have been entitled under Title 5 is more than the $199.32 produced in the FLSA calculation for unscheduled overtime, Contreras should get FLSA overtime for scheduled overtime, and Title 5 for 22 hours of unscheduled overtime, in a total amount of $401.53 ($114.76 as FLSA overtime and $286.77 as Title 5 overtime).