Alamo v. United States

Before October 2012, Army emergency medical technicians and paramedics serving at Fort Stewart, Liberty, Georgia (EMTs) were generally scheduled for a compressed schedule consisting of 24 hours on-duty followed by 48 hours off-duty. After October 2012, the EMTs switched to a schedule consisting of two 48-hour workweeks. Because the EMTs remain at their work stations more than 40 hours in one week, they were entitled to Fair Labor Standards Act overtime pay. For a typical biweekly pay period, the government compensated the EMTs with basic pay under the Federal Employees Pay Act (Title 5); standby duty premium pay under Title 5; and FLSA overtime pay for regularly scheduled overtime. Current and former EMTs filed suit, alleging that the government underpaid them by using an incorrect formula to calculate FLSA overtime. The Federal Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of the government. The EMTs receive “the straight time rate of pay times all overtime hours worked” when the government pays them annual premium standby pay in addition to basic pay. The EMTs are not entitled to a windfall, particularly where the very nature of standby work means that the employees are not actively working all hours for which they receive pay. View "Alamo v. United States" on Justia Law