FLSA2006-12NA — Time spent by police officers transporting prisoners and sections 6 and 7

U.S. Department of Labor
Employment Standards Administration
Wage and Hour Division
Washington, D.C. 20210

June 23, 2006 FLSA2006-12NA

Dear Name*:

This is in response to your inquiry concerning the application of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to law
enforcement personnel who are employed by a municipality. Your letter raises the question of whether a police
officer must be compensated for all time spent transporting prisoners.

You write on behalf of a union that represents law enforcement officers employed by a municipality pursuant to a
collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The CBA states that officers who transport prisoners will be compensated
for no more than eight hours a day while en route. The hours spent transporting prisoners in excess of eight per day
are not counted as hours worked and are not included in the calculation of overtime under FLSA section 7(a). You
indicate that prisoner transportation by car may require ten to twelve hours a day and that travel by plane could also
require more than eight hours a day. You state that the municipality has not established an FLSA section 7(k) partial
overtime exemption. The facts you present raise the question of whether the CBA’s treatment of time spent
transporting prisoners complies with the FLSA requirement that employees be compensated for all hours worked.

The Department’s regulations and interpretive guidance address compensable working time under the FLSA. See 29
C.F.R. Part 785; 29 C.F.R. § 553.221(b) (copies enclosed). Specifically, compensable hours of work generally
include “all of the time during which an employee is on duty on the employer’s premises or at a prescribed
workplace, as well as all other time during which the employee is suffered or permitted to work for the employer.”
29 C.F.R. § 553.221(b).

As explained in 29 C.F.R. § 785.41, any work that an employee is required to perform while traveling must be
counted as hours worked. Police officers who are guarding prisoners while transporting them and who are
responsible for the safety of the prisoners and the public are working while traveling. Consequently, all of the hours
an officer spends transporting prisoners are compensable hours and must be compensated in accordance with the
provisions of section 6 and 7 of the FLSA. If the transportation requires the officer to stay away from home
overnight, the provisions of 29 C.F.R. § 785.39 apply. However, time spent in bona fide meal periods or when the
officer is permitted to sleep is not hours worked. 29 C.F.R. § 785.41. Additional guidance regarding compensable
hours worked by law enforcement employees can be found in 29 C.F.R. § 553.221.

Except as specifically provided in the FLSA, the provisions of the CBA may not override the employer’s obligation
to comply with the FLSA. See Barrentine v. Arkansas-Best Freight Systems, Inc., 450 U.S. 728, 740-41 (1981).
Therefore, except where specifically excluded by regulation, all of the time an officer spends transporting prisoners
is considered working time that must be compensated in accordance with the provisions of sections 6 and 7 of the
FLSA.

This opinion is based exclusively on the facts and circumstances described in your request and is given on the basis
of your representation, express or implied, that you have provided a full and fair description of all the facts and
circumstances that would be pertinent to our consideration of the question presented. Existence of any other factual
or historical background not contained in your request might require a conclusion different from the one expressed
herein. You have represented that this opinion is not sought by a party to a pending private litigation concerning the
issue addressed herein. You have also represented that this opinion is not sought in connection with an investigation
or litigation between a client or firm and the Wage and Hour Division or the Department of Labor.

We trust that this information is responsive to your inquiry.

Sincerely,

Barbara Relerford
Office of Enforcement Policy
Fair Labor Standards Act Team

Enclosures:
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U.S. Department of Labor
Employment Standards Administration
Wage and Hour Division
Washington, D.C. 20210

29 C.F.R. Part 785
29 C.F.R. § 553.221

Note: * The actual name(s) was removed to preserve privacy in accordance with 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)

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