Washington, DC
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Fair Labor Standards Act Decision
Under section 204(f) of title 29, United States Code
Command
Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia
Kimberly A. Steide, DPA
Principal Deputy Associate Director
Agency Compliance and Evaluation
Merit System Accountability and Compliance
04/18/2025
Date
As provided in section 551.708 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), this decision is binding on all administrative, certifying, payroll, disbursing, and accounting officials of agencies for which the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) administers the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).The agency should identify all similarly situated current and, to the extent possible, former employees, and ensure that they are treated in a manner consistent with this decision and inform them in writing of their right to file an FLSA claim with the agency or OPM. There is no right of further administrative appeal. This decision is subject to discretionary review only under conditions and time limits specified in 5 CFR 551.708 (address provided in section 551.710). The claimant has the right to bring action in the appropriate Federal court if dissatisfied with the decision.
The agency is to compute the claimant’s overtime pay in accordance with instructions in this decision, then pay the claimant any amount owed him. If the claimant believes the agency incorrectly computed the amount owed to him, he may file a new FLSA claim with this office. The servicing human resources office must submit a compliance report containing a Standard Form 50 showing the personnel action taken. Compliance action on this decision must be completed within 60 days of the date of this decision as provided for in 5 CFR 551.708(c)(1). The report must be submitted to OPM, Merit System Accountability and Compliance, Agency Compliance and Evaluation, Washington DC, office.
On September 15, 2022, OPM received a FLSA claim from the claimant, who is currently employed as an Equipment Specialist (SNSR LAR), NH-1670-03, with the U.S. Army Communications Electronics Command (CECOM) at Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia. The claimant states the agency determined in February 2021 that it had erroneously identified the Equipment Specialist (SNSR LAR), NH-1670-03 (position description (PD) number 562555) he occupied at that time as FLSA exempt rather than nonexempt. He further explains that “FLSA payment was executed in August 2022 with only the caveat that the payment was made employing the statute of limitations from the pay audit [he] requested in February 2022.” The claimant asserts he is entitled to overtime from previous years, stating in relevant part:
…I made my agency aware in a written request (email) that I requested a pay audit on 10 September 2020, but the agency did not take any actions to answer my inquiry at the time.
The claimant requests back pay for two years prior to the September 10, 2020, date he states he filed a claim with his agency.
In reaching our FLSA decision, we have carefully considered all information furnished by the claimant and agency, including the agency administrative report which we received in November 2024. We have accepted and decided this claim under section 4(f) of the FLSA of 1938, as amended, codified at section 204(f) of title 29, United States Code (U.S.C.).
Analysis
Section 551.702 of 5 CFR provides that all FLSA claims filed after June 30, 1994, are subject to a two-year statute of limitations (three years for willful violations). The FLSA does not merely establish administrative guidelines; it specifically prescribes the time within which a claim must be received in order to be considered on its merits. OPM does not have any authority to disregard the provisions of the FLSA, make exceptions to its provisions, or waive the limitations it imposes. A claimant must submit a written claim to either the employing agency or to OPM in order to preserve the claim period. The date the agency or OPM receives the claim is the date that determines the period of possible back pay entitlement. See 5 CFR 551.702(c).
The claimant requests compensation for overtime he asserts performing from September 10, 2018, to September 10, 2020. He asserts requesting a “pay audit” from his agency by email on September 10, 2020. The record includes a September 2020, email exchange between officials of the Logistics Assistance Branch (“Branch”). The initial September 10, 2020, email from the Program Analyst to the Chief of the Branch states:
I received this ticket from [claimant], whom explained to me that his FLSA status was changed to Non-Exempt two pay periods ago. This means that his overtime will be paid at the time-and-a-half rate if he performs any overtime in the future. He is unsure why this happened, as I am also. I know you were working with the group that was researching all of our LARs FLSA statuses, so I am checking to see with you if this is a result of their findings and now they are going back and changing the status of those who need changing or what.
The record includes a September 30, 2020, email showing the claimant’s ticket as resolved with the action taken described as follows: “[claimant] was now showing up in the system as Exempt and also received an e-mail from [claimant] stating that he had a new SF-50 in his e-OPF stating that his FLSA had been changed to Exempt…” The record includes no evidence showing the claimant’s response to the findings, e.g., presenting disagreement with the FLSA exemption status of his position or requesting to file a claim with his agency.
In an April 14, 2021, email from the claimant to agency officials, he explains:
I have been trying to get clarification for the FLSA status changed that took effect since February 2021. [Civilian Personnel Advisory Center (CPAC)] formally changed my position to non-exempt on February 14, 2021. My concern is if the position was initially codified by CPAC as FLSA exempt but it is in fact an FLSA non-exempted position, then there is the possibility of arrears? The position was previously codified as FLSA exempted for the past 10 years. The only answer I am receiving when submitting formal inquiries is that [CPAC] is working on it. When can we expect an answer from CPAC on this issue?
Because the claimant’s email includes only email addresses and does not show responses from recipients, it is unclear whether he directed the email to the appropriate office to whom he would file a FLSA claim with his agency.
However, the record includes a January 18, 2022, email (Subject: “FLSA Pay Audit POC”) from the claimant to the Program Analyst for CECOM/ILSC/MRD, stating:
I would like to have my pay audited. I joined CECOM 6 December 2010 and have been exempt from FLSA until February 2021. Please advise what do you need from me to conduct this audit.
In response, the claimant received a January 21, 2022, email stating he would be added to a list of positions seemingly slated for purposes of reviewing their FLSA determinations. We thus find the claim was preserved effective January 18, 2022, when his agency received his claim, and the claim period commences on January 18, 2020.
Part of the claim is time barred
The regulations governing the filing of an administrative claim (5 CFR 551.702(c)) state in pertinent part: “If a claim for back pay (emphasis added) is established, the claimant will be entitled to pay for a period of up to 2 years (3 years for a willful violation) back from the date the claim was received.”
The claimant requests compensation for overtime he asserts performing from September 10, 2018, to September 10, 2020. The record shows he preserved his claim with his agency on January 18, 2022. Because the claimant does not assert the agency willfully violated the FLSA (nor do we find the agency’s actions meet the willful violation criteria in 5 CFR 551.104), he would have been eligible for back pay two years prior to that date, i.e., January 18, 2020.
The agency must reconstruct the claimant’s pay records for the period of the claim, including the difference between the FLSA overtime rate and any overtime pay already paid, and compute back pay for FLSA overtime pay owed and any interest on the back pay as required under 5 CFR 550.805 and 550.806 respectively. If the claimant believes the agency incorrectly computes the amount owed, he may file a new FLSA claim with this office. However, part of the claim period at issue in this decision (from September 10, 2018, to January 17, 2020) is time barred and must be denied.