ARE THE OVERTIME LAWS DIFFERENT FOR GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES?
The application of the overtime laws to federal, state, and local government employees is, for the most part, the same as the application in the private sector. There are a few noteworthy differences, however. Police and fire fighters are subject to a partial overtime exemption so that they are not entitled to FLSA overtime until after they have worked more hours than other employees. The rules applicable to state and local government employees differ from those applicable to federal employees. The main differences between the application of the FLSA overtime laws in the private sector and in the government are as follows: The payment of compensatory time is permitted to government employees as long as there is an agreement before overtime work commences that compensatory time will be paid. The maximum amount of compensatory time that can be accrued is 240 hours for most government employees (480 hours for public safety workers). Employers can not compel employees to accept compensator
