The Fair Labor Standards Act - Essay Example

This is to be noted here that few jobs may use the word "overtime" otherwise, for example, to describe "extra time worked after the employee's normal schedule" or "time worked beyond normal hours in a day”. An organization may pay employees on whatsoever it wishes, keeping in mind that actual pay does not fall below the least standards defined by the FLSA. It is, therefore, allowed for an employer to apply the word "overtime" to mean something else from the actual definition of "overtime" prescribed by FLSA. However, that does not alter the meaning of the word “overtime” for FLSA principles, and it is important to keep the meaning of "overtime" to its legal definition in deciding the FLSA rights of employees. "Time worked after of normal working schedule" may not equate to "time worked after threshold time (40 hours in a work-week)." Only the second is "overtime" under the FLSA rules, and the FLSA governs only pay due for the overtime as per FLSA (McCarty, 2010).

According to the United States Department of Labor (DOL), the time spent by employees performing duties that are related to the job is termed as “work –time” and considered as working hours and must be paid, except attendance is beyond regular working hours. Important FLSA regulations on the above points are at “29 CFR 785.11, 785.12, and 785.13”.   Note as per FALSA rules all the activities that not benefitting the employer during the overtime should not be considered to pay. The reason for which I feel that Mr. Mike Murphy does not have a right to FLSA claim is that during his job he manages to train himself and stay in shape while he is on duty so that he can proceed to perform the required physical test to pursue his duties as a member of the SWAT team. The extra overtime that was shown on his time card was outside of and in addition to the allotted time specified by the company, which was not the requirement of the company. Again, according to the US Department of Labor (DOL), if employees initiate to attend an independent institution, training or any other activity that is not benefiting the company should not be counted as work-time if the courses are benefiting their jobs. Mr. Murphy elected to spend the additional time in his work-out as a result; he spent time that falls in the nonworking hours, those he was claiming as overtime. That is why he should not be able to collect overtime pay for the 36 hours (Chamberlain, K. & Jones, 2002).

1. From an HR perspective, five things that an employer should analyze to ensure compliance with FLSA and avoid claims are:
2. Employers should make sure of their employee's classification regularly and properly.
3. Differentiate between exempt and non-exempt employees accurately. This will help extinguish any possible claims taken against the employer for not accurately compensating their employees for overtime hours worked. Employers also should make sure they have workplace policies and procedures in place so employees can bring their issues to the notice of managers. The employer should make sure that non-exempt employees are being compensated for all hours worked and that any overtime is paid at one and one-half of their base pay rate.
4. Use a reliable Payroll Management System that keeps the complete record of the employees.
5. Keep a check on the activities of employees, whether they are performing their jobs as per job description and the hours assigned by management. If not, take a firm stand they exercise as per given duties.