In February of 2002, the National Federation of Federal Employees Locals 1705 and 1642, filed grievances against the United States Small Business Administration on behalf of all bargaining unit employees. The Grievance alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a federal law that protects the rights of American workers.

The Law Offices of Snider and Associates, as the legal representatives for the Union, are working hard for the bargaining unit employees to ensure that their rights under federal law are upheld. As part of the process, we have been busily contacting NFFE locals 1705 and 1642 General Services Administration grievants about their job duties and how much unpaid overtime they have worked. We are happy to

Status

In September, 2003, the Union and the Agency reached a partial settlement agreement that covered all GS employees at grade 9 and below. While the Union has been speaking to grievants about their job duties and extra work, the Agency has been stone-walling and slowing down the resolution process. The Union is starting a new wave of telephone interviews of grievants with the help of newly elected local president Brian Coleman.

Who is covered by the Grievance?

All bargaining unit employees whether or not they members of the union, are covered by this grievance.

What is the FLSA?

The FLSA protects Federal employees' rights by providing time-and-a-half pay for overtime work, payment for work "suffered and/or permitted" by the agency (not ordered or approved) and the right to choose overtime instead of comp time. But not every Federal Employee is covered by the FLSA. If an employee is exempt (not covered by the FLSA), he or she gets capped overtime for Ordered and Approved overtime (under Title V, not the FLSA), a "thanks for staying late" (if you're lucky) for overtime that is not ordered and approved, and can be forced to take comp time for ordered and approved work.

There is a lot of confusion among federal employees as to who is covered by the FLSA, based on years of the Federal Government not following the law properly. A lot of people think it depends on your grade or on your job title. But, that's not true. The only thing FLSA coverage depends on is the actual job duties each employee performs.

That's why attorneys and paralegals from Snider and Associates have been calling General Services Administration employees to find out about their jobs. The union needs to be ready to show the Agency and a Mediator or Arbitrator that the work that employees are doing is covered by the FLSA. Your cooperation in truthfully describing your job to Snider and Associates will help the Union prove that you have wrongfully exempted from the FLSA. If you have not been called yet, you can call 410 653-9060 and ask for any of the FLSA paralegals, or take our online survey.

How will this grievance affect me?

The law says that when a federal employee works for his or her Agency, the Agency has to pay that employee. If an employee worked but didn't get paid, the Agency owes that employee money for the time spent working. In legal terms, the employees must be "made whole," which means that the Agency pays the employee what he or she is owed, under the law.

Employees are underpaid when they receive capped overtime instead of uncapped overtime, comp time instead of uncapped overtime, and are not paid at all for "suffered and permitted" overtime that was not ordered or approved.
In short, an employee who is not classified properly under the FLSA may have been underpaid for their work in the past. In such a case, the agency would owe the employee their due compensation.

Attorneys and paralegals from Snider and Associates have been calling General Services Administration employees to find out how much time people have been working without getting paid properly. They also have been discussing what kind of evidence the Union can present to prove that employees have been coming to work early, working through lunch, leaving late, taking work home, and coming in on weekends and Federal Holidays. If you have not been called yet, you can call 410 653-9060 and ask for any of the FLSA paralegals, or take our online survey.

What must be done to prove our case?

There are two separate things that must happen so that the grievants can be made whole. The first is that the General Services Administration has to fail to prove that it properly classified each grievant. The Union's position is that the Agency has blatantly mis-classified nearly all grievants, from GS-6 all the way up to GS-15. As a result of this misclassification, employees have been underpaid overtime, were forced to take comp time instead of overtime, and were not paid for "suffered or permitted overtime," or "off the clock" work. The Agency has the burden of proof, "beyond a reasonable doubt," in this "liability" phase. The second thing that must happen is proving "damages." The Union must prove that employees actually performed work for the Agency for which they were not paid, that under the law they should have been paid for if they had been classified FLSA non-exempt. This is in addition to "underpaid" overtime and "comp time" damages.

If you would like further information about this grievance and how our firm is working for you, please contact your union or our offices at (410) 653-9060.