The United States Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced the Wynne Police Department of Arkansas must pay 24 uniformed officers a total of $150,085 in back wages for allegedly failing to issues the proper compensation for overtime. The DOL found the department was not paying its employees all of the wages they were owed for their time and attendance and had also neglected to keep accurate records to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The Wage and Hour Division investigated the department and found officers were not receiving compensation for all of their hours worked, or premium pay rates if they spent more than 86 hours on duty in a two-week period. WHD representatives also found the department was failing to keep proper documentation of critical information, such as employee attendance and identification data.

"The FLSA provides that employers must pay their employees for all hours worked," said Cynthia Watson, the WHD Southwest regional administrator. "Failing to record all the time employees work, and failing to pay proper overtime compensation, is illegal and unacceptable."

To stay in compliance with the FLSA, employers and department heads can invest in new timekeeping systems that make it easy to account for all employees' work totals whether they're out on duty or in the station.

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