Florida State Agency Class Action Suit Research Paper

Florida State Agency Class Action Suit

Within the confines of the statewide bureaucratic and legislative structure, the strict regulatory statutes guiding the implementation of this agency's human resource policies must be adhered to at all times. In cases such as that described in the interoffice memorandum recently drafted and distributed by certain department directors -- who have routinely been forced to work in excess of the proscribed 40 hours per week, despite their status as "excluded career service employees" who cannot legally receive overtime compensation -- the agency's process of due diligence must be rigorous and exacting. The following policy analysis is intended to provide transparency for all parties involved, by describing the various regulatory statutes and provisions of the Florida Administrative Code which are applicable to the aforementioned complaint, before ascertaining whether or not an oversight or omission has been permitted to occur. By comparing the precise set of circumstances described by the department directors' complaint to the relevant sections of the Florida Department of Management Service's human resources mandates, the validity of the directors' grievance and subsequent request for recompense can be accurately assessed.

Introduction

The compact between employee and employer is essential to the foundation of any successful enterprise, because organizational goals are achieved with efficiency and effectiveness only when key contributors are fairly compensated for their investment of time and energy. Whenever employees feel as if they are being overworked or undercompensated, the potential for reduced morale infecting the agency is as disconcerting as the likelihood of litigation being filed to remedy the complaint.This is why members of the human resource management department must make every effort to properly interpret the Florida Administrative Code, before rendering the most appropriate possible judgment according to state law. By discerning between the standard 40-hour work week and additional hours spent on the job which are paid at an additional overtime rate, while also maintaining an employee classification system which disallows certain groups of employees to be compensated for working overtime despite the occasional requirement that they do so, state agencies must provide equivalent compensation when these circumstances inevitably arise. The provision of compensatory paid-leave is the traditionally accepted method through which Florida and other states resolve this apparent conflict, because the ability to earn a vacation from work along with an accompanying paycheck is ostensibly considered to be commensurate compensation for services rendered.

Discussion

According to the memorandum circulated by the disgruntled directors, their status as "excluded career service employees" precludes them from receiving the standard overtime compensation rate in the event their weekly workload exceeds the maximum amount of 40 hours. Indeed, a review of the Personnel Management System devised by Section 60 of the Florida Administrative Code, Regular Time and Overtime, indicates that "(1) Agencies shall pay the following at the employee's current straight time hourly regular rate of pay: the first 40 hours of work & #8230; (and) (3) Employees filling excluded positions in the selected exempt service and the senior management service are expected to work the necessary hours required, and shall not be paid overtime.....