Marvin B. Atkinson-FLSA Overtime Pay Claim

B-256938.2 Jan 29, 1996 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Claimant's appeal to GAO for additional 4 years' overtime pay is denied under section 640 of Treasury Appropriations Act. His claim is denied because the record shows that he received administratively uncontrollable overtime (AUO) pay for the claim period and that his claim is for time spent driving a government vehicle between his home and duty station. His claim is denied. Atkinson's claim was received by Customs on January 1. Atkinson is a civilian pilot and his claim is based on hours worked for purposes of FLSA overtime during home to work travel driving a government vehicle for the benefit of the Customs Service. [2] Soon after Mr. Atkinson's claim was filed. Sec. 255(a) (1994) was applicable to all FLSA claims filed by federal employees with GAO. View Decision Matter of: Marvin B. Atkinson-FLSA Overtime Pay Claim File: B-256938.2 Date: January 29, 1996 Customs Service employee, on January 1, 1994, filed claim with his agency for 6 years' overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Customs Service allowed claim for 2 years' backpay, but denied claim for additional 4 years. Claimant's appeal to GAO for additional 4 years' overtime pay is denied under section 640 of Treasury Appropriations Act, 1995, as amended by Pub. L. No. 104-52, Nov. 19, 1995, which provides that 6-year limitation period shall not apply to any FLSA claim where the employee has received overtime compensation for the claim period under any other law or to any claim for commuting time between the employee's residence and duty station. His claim is denied because the record shows that he received administratively uncontrollable overtime (AUO) pay for the claim period and that his claim is for time spent driving a government vehicle between his home and duty station. DECISION Mr. Marvin B. Atkinson, an employee of the United States Customs Service, Department of the Treasury, has appealed to the General Accounting Office (GAO) from the Customs Service's denial of his claim for 4 years' overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) [1] in addition to the 2 years' FLSA overtime pay he has already received. For the reasons stated below, his claim is denied. BACKGROUND Mr. Atkinson's claim was received by Customs on January 1, 1994. He also filed his claim with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) which accepted it on January 19, 1994, and referred it to Customs for review and a report. Mr. Atkinson is a civilian pilot and his claim is based on hours worked for purposes of FLSA overtime during home to work travel driving a government vehicle for the benefit of the Customs Service. [2] Soon after Mr. Atkinson's claim was filed, we determined that the 2-year limitations period (3 years for willful violations) in 29 U.S.C. Sec. 255(a) (1994) was applicable to all FLSA claims filed by federal employees with GAO, rather than a 6-year period which had been previously applied. Joseph M. Ford, 73 Comp.Gen. 157, May 23, 1994. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and several federal agencies had urged this position, and the Claims Court in Hickman v. United States, 10 Cl. Ct. 550, 552 (1986) had held that the 2-year statutory limitation period applicable to FLSA claims by private sector employees would be applied by the court to FLSA claims by federal employees as well. The court found that, when the FLSA was extended to federal employees, "no congressional intent was manifested . . . that federal employees would be accorded a more liberal limitations period than employees in the private sector." Id. at 552. On June 30, 1994, the Customs Service acknowledged liability to Mr. Atkinson for overtime pay under FLSA and allowed his claim for 2 years, but denied his claim for an additional 4 years pursuant to Joseph M. Ford, supra. Subsequent to our Joseph M. Ford decision and the Customs Service's action, section 640 of the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act, 1995, Pub. L. No. 103-329, 108 Stat. 2382, 2432 (September 30, 1994) was enacted, and it provides that: "In the administration of section 3702 of title 31, United States Code, the Comptroller General of the United States shall apply a 6-year statute of limitations to any claim of a Federal employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) for claims filed before June 30, 1994." The effect of section 640 was to limit the application of our Joseph M. Ford decision to FLSA claims filed on or after June 30, 1994, and to preserve a 6-year limitations period for claims filed before that date. After enactment of section 640, Mr. Atkinson appealed Customs' denial of his claim for the additional 4 years of backpay to this Office.