Minimum Wage May Affect You!

(Editors note: The following are excerpts from a, memorandum by N.R.P.A. Since we have experienced differing opinions on the effect on park districts, we suggest you contact your attorney for interpretation.)

The 1974 amendments (PL 93-259) to the Fair Labor Standards Act extended minimum wage and overtime coverage to employees of state and local governments, including employees of park and recreation agencies.

N.P.R.A. staff recently met with representatives of the U.S. Department of Labor's Hour and Wage Division, responsible for administering the Fair Labor Standards Act, to discuss application of the new law to park and recreation agencies and their operations. In order to assist these agencies in understanding the law, N.R.P.A. composed the following information memorandum containing answers to questions of immediate concern to park and recreation operations. It should be emphasized that the memorandum is intended to serve as an informational guideline only, not as a definitive interpretation of the law. Specific questions about the law's statutory requirements, should be directed to the Wage and Hour Division of the nearest U.S. Department of Labor office. Give detailed information on your problem, since coverage and exemption depend on the facts in each case.

(1) Schedule of new minimum wage rates:

Provisions applicable on and after May 1, 1974, to employment of employees brought under the Act in 1967 and later (park and recreation employees).

$1.90 an hour, beginning May 1, 1974
$2.00 an hour, beginning Jan. 1, 1975
$2.20 an hour, beginning Jan. 1, 1976
$2.30 an hour, beginning Jan. 1, 1977

(2) Exemption from coverage for seasonal recreation establishments:

State and local government agencies which operate seasonal amusement or recreational establishments (i.e., golf courses, summer camps, summer concerts, etc.) may utilize an exemption to the law provided in Section 13(a)(3) of the Act. Regrettably, considerable confusion about this provision of the law has resulted from distribution of erroneous information by a number of Washington-based national organizations. The 13 (a) (3) exemption is clearly provided to public as well as private seasonal recreational facilities. It provides a complete exemption from both minimum wage and overtime for employees of an amusement or recreational establishment which meets either one of the following two criteria:

A. is not open for more than 7 months in a year, or

B. whose average receipts during any 6 months of the preceding calendar year (not necessarily consecutive 6 months) did not exceed one-third of its receipts for the other 6 months.

Seasonal employees employed at the seasonal recreational facility which is exempt under Section 13 (a) (3) are also exempt from minimum wage and overtime requirements. Year-round department or agency employees who are employed exclusively in the seasonal recreational facility during its period of operation are exempt. However, year-round department or agency employees, working out of the central or regional office or other non-seasonal facilities, spending a part of their work day in a place other than the exempt facility (i.e., maintenance crews or playground coordinators) are not exempt from coverage of the Act.

(3) The Workweek—a definition:

A workweek is a regular recurring period of 168 hours in the form of seven consecutive 24-hour periods. It may begin on any day of the week and at any hour of the day, and need not be the same for all departments and all employees. Once established, however, an employee's workweek may not be changed unless the change is intended to be permanent.

An employee's schedule of hours worked in the workweek can be arranged in any manner.

(4) Overtime pay and compensatory time:

Except where a specific overtime pay exemption is provided by the Federal law, covered employees must be paid at least one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for all time worked after 40 hours in a workweek. Payment of compensatory time in lieu of overtime pay is not acceptable. However, if an employee/employer agreement exists regarding the maximum number of hours worked in a work-week less than 40 (35, for example), the employee may receive compensatory time for hours worked over 35, if they do not exceed 40 hours. If an employee on such an established workweek program works 40 hours a week, he or she would be, under that program, entitled to five hours compensatory time. Should the employee work a 41 hour week, he or she would be entitled, under the same program, to five hours compensatory time and, according to Federal law, one hour overtime pay, because all hours worked over 40 must be paid in overtime pay.

(5) Exemptions for Executive, Administrative and Professional

Employees:

An exemption from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements is provided for any employee employed in a bona fide executive, administrative or professional capacity. An employee will qualify for exemption if all the pertinent tests relating to duties, responsibilities and salary as stipulated in the Wage and Hour Division's regulations are met.

Whether an employee is exempt depends on (1) his duties and responsibilities, and (2) the salary he is paid. The minimum weekly salary in each category is one of several tests applied in determining the application of the exemption; it is not a minimum wage requirement. No employer is required to pay an employee the salary specified in the regulations, unless he desires to claim the exemption. Any employee who is paid at least the minimum weekly salary specified and who also meets all of the duties and responsibilities specified is exempt from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements of the law. An honorific title does not make an employee exempt. An employee is not exempt because he has a college degree and is considered a "professional" within his field. Furthermore, an employee is not automatically exempt simply because he is paid on a salary rather than an hourly basis. To receive exemption an employee must meet all the pertinent tests of the Division's regulations. This exemption is discussed in detail in a Division publication titled "WH Publication 1363 (Rev.)."

Illinois Parks and Recreation 28 July/August, 1974