Adair v. City of Kirkland, F.3d. 1999 D.A.R. 4061 (9th Cir. May 3, 1999)
* court: federal (Ninth Circuit)* public agency: City of Kirkland, Washington* plaintiffs' job classes: police officers* trial court's decision: in favor of City* Ninth Circuit's decision: mixed, partly in favor of City, partly in favor of plaintiffs* issue area: Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Adair Facts
* Plaintiffs work four twelve-hour shifts every eight days.* The department requires officers to attend ten-minute briefings before each shift.* The applicable collective bargaining agreement (CBA) provided that overtime was due whenever an officer worked more than seven minutes beyond the normal work day but did not define the normal work day.* The POA president protested this situation in 1992; the parties did not clarify the issue in the subsequent CBA.* The CBA did provide that, for FLSA purposes, the work period in patrol was eight days.* The district court ruled in favor of the City, finding that the briefings were compensated through the plaintiff's regular salary.
Analysis of the Ninth Circuit's Adair Decision
* The FLSA generally requires overtime to be paid if an employee works more than forty hours a week.* Section 7(k) of the FLSA permits police departments to select a longer work period than a seven-day week.* The Ninth Circuit concludes that the City in the CBA established an eight-day work period.* Using-an eight-day work period, the plaintiff police officers did not work overtime, even if the ten-minute briefing is included.* The Ninth Circuit noted that courts have recognized "gap time" claims, i.e., claims for uncompensated hours, but that plaintiffs waived this claim by not raising it to the district court.* The plaintiffs won on one point. The Ninth Circuit remanded the case back to the district court (which is then to consider whether it should retain jurisdiction) on the issue of whether, under the CBA as opposed to the FLSA, the plaintiffs worked overtime.