Washington, DC
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Fair Labor Standards Act Decision
Under section 204(f) of title 29, United States Code
Linda Kazinetz
Classification Appeals and FLSA Claims
Program Manager
Agency Compliance and Evaluation
Merit System Accountability and Compliance
03/14/2017
Date
As provided in section 551.708 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (
The agency is to review whether the claimant has worked overtime in accordance with instructions in the “Decision” section of this decision, and if the claimant is determined to be entitled to back pay, the agency must pay the claimant the amount owed him. If the claimant believes the agency has incorrectly computed the amount owed him, he may file a new FLSA claim with this office.
Introduction
On June 4, 2012, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) received a letter dated June 4, 2012, from the Law Offices of Bernstein & Lipsett, P.C. (B & L), the claimant’s duly appointed representative, concerning a Fair Labor Standards (FLSA) claim they had initially filed on the claimant's behalf with the General Accounting Office (GAO), now the U.S. Government Accountability Office, on September 13, 1991, and subsequently with OPM on or about November 19, 1999, challenging his exemption status under the FLSA when he was employed as a Criminal Investigator, GS-1811-13, with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The claimant was a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims at approximately the same time the administrative claim was filed with GAO. Based on information provided by B & L, the claimant was awarded back pay under a settlement agreement for the pay period ending September 23, 1989, to the pay period ending October 29, 1994, subject to the two-year statute of limitations for FLSA claims under 29 United States Code (U.S.C.) 255(a).
B & L has requested OPM adjudicate the administrative claim filed with OPM and asserts that, because the claimant served in the military during the Gulf War, the statute of limitations applicable to this claim is the five-year statute of limitations under 31 U.S.C. 3702(b)(2) rather than the two-year statute of limitations (three years for willful violations) applicable to FLSA administrative claims filed under the Barring Act. See 73 Comp. Gen 157 (May 23, 1994); 31 U.S.C. 3702(b); 29 U.S.C. 255(a). B & L states the claimant was called to active duty with the United States Air Force “from approximately February 1, 1991, to May 2, 1991” in connection with Operation Desert Shield/Storm and, citing the provisions of 31 U.S.C. 3702(b)(2), asserts: “[H]e is entitled to retroactive back pay and interest… for the period he was employed by DEA after the commencement of the Gulf War on August 2, 1990, up to the date he recovered under previous FLSA settlements. This period includes August 2, 1985, to September 9, 1989, less Mr. Braud’s active duty military service time, for which he does not seek recovery.”
Background
We previously accepted and decided six similar claims under section 4(f) of the FLSA, as amended, codified at section 204(f) of title 29, U.S.C., which we denied as time barred. Subsequently, claimant’s representative brought suit under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 551 et seq., and 701 et seq.) in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging that OPM wrongfully applied a two-year statute of limitations in denying their administrative claims for unpaid FLSA overtime pay. Armstrong v. Archuleta, 77 F.Supp.3d 9 (December 30, 2014). In relevant part, the court stated in its opinion:
All Plaintiffs are deemed to have timely filed their claims as of the date of their filings with the Claims Court. As a result, Plaintiffs . . . can recover for the entire claim period under the five-year statute of limitations—that is, for all claims that accrued within five years before the Gulf War commenced on August 2, 1990—minus monies paid under their DOJ Settlements.
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[T]he case is remanded to OPM to adjudicate and process damages in accordance with FLSA and other applicable laws, and Plaintiffs’ respective employing agencies are directed to compensate them in accordance with OPM’s determinations.
Consistent with the holding in the Armstrong case, we will apply the five-year statute of limitations and corrective methodology (subtracting monies already received under prior settlements or judgments) to the claims of similarly-situated claimants we find to be FLSA non-exempt and potentially due FLSA overtime pay.
Analysis
Under the provisions of 5
…was classified as exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) during the period of his claim from August 2, 1985 through September 9, 1989. He was assigned to the Miami Field Division – Office of the ASAC - Task Force Group 4. The classification at the time was based on 5CFR 551.207 for the Professional Exemption….
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At this grade [GS-13], the investigators typically plan, and carry out their work independently, establishing priorities, setting deadlines, determining the scope and intensity of their efforts based on the needs and objectives of the service, the limitations imposed by statutes and precedent, the resources available and the constraints imposed by time, geographical area to be covered and alien activity. Investigators typically develop considerable expertise in the work and their decisions and recommendations typically are accepted as authoritative statements of fact.
Based on the fact that the work at the GS-13 grade level is generally performed with minimum supervisory control, and the complexity of the work, the agency deemed this position exempt from the FLSA.
Based on 5 CFR 551.206 and 5 CFR 551.207, the Administrative and Professional exemption criteria do not apply to the traditional non-supervisory criminal investigator whose primary duties do not consist of the performance of office, or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the organization. General criminal investigator work follows “well-established techniques and procedures which may have been catalogued and described in manuals or other sources.” The criminal investigators rely on techniques and skills acquired through specialized training or experience. Even though they may exercise some independent judgment in the performance of their duties, this judgment is exercised within closely prescribed limits.
Based on our review, we conclude that the administrative or professional exemption criteria should not have been applied to criminal investigators at the GS-7 through GS-13 grade levels and [they] should have been treated as FLSA non-exempt.
Based on careful review of the record, we concur with the agency’s determination. The claimant is requesting compensation for work performed from August 2, 1985, to September 9, 1989, less his active duty military service time.[1] Therefore, DEA would have been required to compensate the claimant under the FLSA overtime pay provisions of 5 CFR Part 551 for overtime hours worked within the claim period; i.e., within five years before the commencement of the Gulf War on August 2, 1990, and subject to deduction for any monies paid under the claimant’s DOJ settlement agreement. In this case, the entire claim period (August 2, 1985, to September 9, 1989) is covered.[2]
Decision
The claimant’s work is FLSA nonexempt (i.e., covered by FLSA overtime provisions), and he is entitled to compensation for all overtime hours worked at the FLSA overtime rate for the period of the claim; i.e., from August 2, 1985, to September 9, 1989. Since both his active duty military service time and his previous FLSA settlement were for time periods subsequent to September 9, 1989, they are not germane to the overtime pay calculations for the period of the claim covered by this decision. The agency must follow the compliance requirements on page ii of this decision.
The claimant must submit evidence showing the amount and extent of overtime that was performed as provided for in 5 CFR 551.706(a) as informed by the agency payroll records submitted to OPM and the claimant on September 16, 2016. The agency will have the opportunity to review this evidence using any other sources of information available, including witnesses, before a determination is made as to whether the claimant is entitled to any back pay under the FLSA and any interest as required under 5 CFR part 550, subpart H.[3] Any petition for attorney’s fees and expenses must be submitted to the agency out of which this claim arose. Should the claimant be determined to be entitled to back pay which the claimant believes to be incorrectly computed, the claimant may file a new FLSA claim with this office.
[1] The claimant’s Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, DD Form 214, included with his claim shows he was in an active duty status from February 1, 1991, to May 2, 1991.
[2] The record shows the claimant was detailed to a Supervisory Criminal Investigator (Group Supervisor), GS-1811-14, position from March 17, 1986, to April 15, 1986, while the position’s occupant was on leave. We decline to apply the executive exemption criteria in 5 CFR 551.205 in force during the claim period to the claimant during this detail given the limited human resources management authorities typically exercised by detailed employees during such short-term assignments, and the provisions of 5 CFR 551.208(b) in effect during the claim period which limited the potential impact of temporary duties (“duties which are not included in the employee’s permanent position”) on a nonexempt employee’s exemption status to those exceeding 30 days in duration.
[3] The agency’s overtime and interest calculations must account for the claimant’s prior receipt of administratively uncontrollable overtime, documented as 25 percent on his Standard Form (SF) 50s covering the claim period, using the principles contained within 29 U.S.C. 207(k), 5 CFR 551.501(a)(1) and (5), and 5 CFR 551.541(a). OPM’s Fact Sheet on the topic can be found at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-administration/fact-sheets/guidance-on-applying-flsa-overtime-provisions-to-law-enforcement-employees-receiving-administratively-uncontrollable-overtime-pay/.