FLSA GRIEVANCE FILED BY LOCAL 2152

Status as of November 2009-

Over 150 CALIFORNIA BLM employees are now correctly classified as non-exempt! The final agreements are being signed now on the last of the employees to be corrected.

For those of you who have received some funds for back pay - those are funds due to you for just SOME of the back pay. Probably close to only the last year of capped OT from working non-fire related overtime. Some of you have had to also change pervious timesheets on fire overtime from 113 codes to 110 codes. That is all normal.
So where is the rest of the money? The penalty phase will start when the agency finishes the first phase, which includes identify all the grades and series which have been misclassified all these years. Once again the Solicitor is stalling - cancelling meetings, not returning phone calls, etc.

This grievance effects all current and former CA BLM employees that are in the bargaining unit. This does not apply to NORCAL professionals, as they have chosen not to be represented by the Union, although their counterparts in the rest of the state are being correctly classified and compensated. If you know of any former worker associates (June 2003 to present), please make sure they provide the Union their current contact information so that we can provide the any funds they are entitled to.

The penalty phase will be next to determine awards to each employee entitled. If your leave and earning statement does NOT reflect a non-exempt status and you work at the field office or district office levels, please contact Elaine Downing at eld_2152@yahoo.com. It will take extra time for the SF-50's to be processed as personnel is still suffering from the effects of "Managing for Excellence"! The agency has only provided limited information to the Supervisors and Managers of what is going on. To get answers to your questions, contact Elaine Downing (760)326-7003 or keep coming back to this website.

The Union hired Snider and Associates to represent us in this grievance. Please contact the attorney's office and speak with Ms. Bernstein or Ms. Sullivan at 410-653-9060 to fill out an affidavit. This will help us determine if you should or should not be exempt. It is based on what you do, not your grade!

IT PAYS TO BE IN THE UNION. Your Union is fighting for your rights everyday.

Background information:

In June of 2006, on behalf of the bargaing unit, the union filed a grievance against the agency for misclassifying several employees exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and for not appropriately paying employees correctly. We hired the law firm of Snider & Associates to represent us.

Our attorneys have been trying to settle this grievance, but the agency has not cooperated- stonewalling at every turn. In July 2007, we elected to take the case to arbitrator. The arbitrator has asked that we try mediation first, and if that has not worked by November, we will head to arbitration in March.

Over the past 3 years, Snider & Assoc. have been trying to contact employees (present and past employee since June 2003) regarding this grievance. If you haven't already contacted them to fill out their survey, please do so. They are 3 hours ahead of us in California, so keep that in mind. Their number is 410-653-9060. Tell them you're currently or previously employed by CA-BLM and they will either mail the survey out to you or interview you over the phone.

Lots of employees are not even sure what exempt status they are! If you look at your leave and earning statement under Basic Information, you'll see the words "FLSA Class". It will either say nonexempt or exempt. If it says EXEMPT, pay close attention. Here are the three exemptions classifications:

Executive exemption criteria
Administative exemption criteria
Professional exemption criteria

Most of us do not have that kind of authority, discretion or independent judgement. Letters do not go out under our signature. We may have influence in the decisions that are made, but in no way do we make those decisions. Most things go through a supervisor and a manager before they are done.

Explaination of why we filed: It use to be that exemption status was based on grade. That decision was overturned in the late 70's. The agency has chosen not to correct the decision for nearly thirty years!

If your series is reclassifed to non-exempt as a result of our grievance, you may get paid an additional 50% for every comp hour you earned during the last three years. For every hour you were capped out at GS-10 step 10, you may be reimbursed for the additional funds you should have been paid without the cap for the last 3 years.

For those that can prove they worked hours they were not compensated for, you may be entited to "suffer and permitted OT" and damages. If they knew, or should have known, that you were working and accepted your work, you might be able to prove your case and possibly recieve double damages. For more information about what kind of documentation you may need, please contact Elaine Downing at (760)326-7003 or at eld_2152@yahoo.com.