Issue
In Mortensen v. City of Sacramento (2004 Daily Journal D.A.R. 6146, 9th Cir.,(Cal.), May 24, 2004), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit considered the issue of whether the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) required a county to allow its deputies to use accrued compensatory time off on days that the deputies specifically requested unless it would unduly disrupt the law enforcement agency’s operation.
Facts
Pursuant to an agreement between the Sacramento County Sheriffs’ Association and the County of Sacramento, deputies generally are required to take compensatory time off in lieu of cash compensation for overtime. If, however, the sheriff’s department is unable to schedule the time off within one year, the department will pay overtime. To keep track of leave time (including compensatory time off) and to comply with minimum staffing requirements, the Rio Consumnes Correction Center, part of the sheriff’s department, kept a leave book with a predetermined number of leave slots. Deputy Ronald Mortensen, who worked at the correction center, submitted a request for twelve hours of compensatory time off on one day in particular. The request was denied because the leave book was full for that day. Deputy Mortensen sued the county, claiming that the FLSA requires it to grant a request for leave on a specific day, unless the request would unduly disrupt operations. The federal district court ruled in favor of the county, and Deputy Mortensen appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Appellate Court Decision
Instead of paying overtime, the FLSA allows States and their political subdivisions, including counties, to give employees time off “within a reasonable period after making the request [for time off] if the use of the compensatory time does not unduly disrupt the operations of the public agency.” (29 U.S.C. § 207(o)) The Court of Appeals determined that this FLSA provision clearly means that, once Deputy Mortensen requested compensatory time off, the county had a reasonable period of time to allow him to use the time off. The Court rejected Deputy Mortensen’s argument that the county was required to permit him to choose a specific date on which to take his compensatory time off. The Court also concluded that the county’s long-time use of the leave book was reasonable. Furthermore, the Court noted that the county granted Deputy Mortensen’s request within a reasonable time because it offered him 18 optional days to take leave during the 60-day period following his request. Thus, the county did not violate the FLSA.
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