HomeMy WebLinkAbout93-198WHEREAS, recent Federal court interpretations regarding
the application of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA}
regulations to public employers have raised several issues of
great concern to the Butte County Board of Supervisors.
These court decisions have resulted in huge awards of back
overtime pay to executive, professional, and administrative
public employees earning annual salaries of between $40,000
and $90,000. Dozens of su,i.ts against state and local
governments have been decided across the nation and scores
more are pending. The existing liability is in the hundreds
of millions of dollars, while the potential liability for
states and localities could mean fiscal disaster.
WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors believe that under
FLSA and the corresponding regulations, executive,
professional, and administrative employees were intended to
be exempt from the time-and-a-half overtime pay requirements.
However, these regulations were drafted almost fifty years
ago with manufacturing workers in mind, long before FSLA
applied to public sector employees. These regulations
were not revised upon FLSA's application to state and local
governments in 1985, even though the U.S. Department of Labor
acknowledged the need far such revision.
WHEREAS, the application of these FLSA regulations to
public sector employers is wholly inappropriate and places an
RESOLIITIDN ON THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OVERTIME PAY
entirely unanticipated and unacceptable burden on state and
local governments at a time when they can least afford it.
The courts have ruled that any form of accountability for
time spent on the jab is a violation of FLSA regulations and
therefore prevents any exemption from the Act's overtime pay
requirements. This notion is antithetical to the need for
government to be accountable to its taxpayers for the
expenditure of public funds.
NOW THEREFORE IT IS HEREBY resolved as follows: the
Butte County Board of Supervisors urges the Federal
government to act immediately to resolve the crisis that has
arisen because of the misapplication of FLSA regulations to
public sector employers, The Board of Supervisors believe
that the Federal Government should take the following steps:
o The Department of Labor should, without delay,
abolish the "Salary Basis" regulation and replace it
with an alternative approach that more effectively
addresses public sector employment. The Department
also should revise the "Duties Test" regulations.
o Congress should immediately pass legislation that
would eliminate retroactively the liability that has
thus far accrued to state and local governments as a
result of FLSA regulations.
IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of this Board
shall cause a certified copy of this Resolution, with the
seal of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte,
State of California, to be sent to the Secretary of Labor, to
Congressmen Wally Herger, to Senator Tim Leslie, and to
Senator Maurice Johannesen.
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PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Butte County Board of
Supervi5or5 this I4th day of December , ].993, by the
fallowing vote:
AYES: Supervisors Meyer, Dolan, McLaugktlin, Thomas and Chair Roux
NOES : None
ABSENT: None
NOT VOTING : None
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MARY E O C air o e
Butte C my Board of Supervisors
ATTEST:
JOHN S. BLACKLOCK
Chief Administrative Officer
and lerk of t Board
By