Washington, DC
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Fair Labor Standards Act Decision
Under section 204(f) of title 29, United States Code
MTC Command: 1M
Air Force Material Command
Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma
Robert D. Hendler
Classification and Pay Claims
Program Manager
Merit System Audit and Compliance
08/19/2013
Date
As provided in section 551.708 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (
Introduction
On March 5, 2013, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Merit System Audit and Compliance received a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) claim from Mr. Monte W. Pipins who states:
Until June 2012, I was erroneously classified under FLSA and received the wrong pay for overtime work performed. The Agency corrected my FLSA classification at that time but didn’t reimburse back pay for the overtime while classified incorrectly.
The claimant states that neither her agency nor her local union, the American Federation of Government Employees Local 916, “has presented [him] an offer for all the back pay and overtime [he] worked.” The claimant seeks “all money [he] was not paid while [his] FLSA status was incorrect along with all penalties, interest and any other monies owed to [him] by law or statute” for overtime allegedly worked while misclassified as FLSA exempt.
We have accepted and decided this claim under Section 4(f) of the FLSA of 1938, as amended (29 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 204(f)).
In reaching our FLSA decision, we have carefully considered all information of record, including that furnished by the claimant and his employing agency.
Jurisdiction
OPM’s adjudication authority, under the provisions of 29 U.S.C. § 204(f), is an administrative remedy, not a judicial remedy. See 5
The claimant acknowledges his bargaining unit status as he plainly states in his claim request: “I am and always have been a member of a collective bargaining agreement.” However, he also states he “was not covered by a negotiated grievance procedure [NGP] during the period of this claim.” The claimant is incorrect regarding his coverage by an NGP. The CBA between AFGE Council No. 214 and Air Force Material Command covering the claimant and in effect during the period of the claim does not specifically exclude FLSA overtime pay issues from the NGP (Article 6) covering the claimant. Therefore, the claimant’s FLSA claim must be construed as covered by the NGP the claimant was subject to during the claim period and OPM has no jurisdiction to adjudicate this claim or intervene in this matter as the claimant appears to ask.
Decision
The claim is denied based on lack of jurisdiction.