27 Miss. Code. R. 110-5.11
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as codified at 29 U.S.C. § 201 and following (hereinafter referred to as "FLSA"), is a federal law which is applicable to all state agency employers. The FLSA provides that all covered, or non-exempt, employees must be paid at least a minimum wage, and must be paid at the rate of one and one-half times, or time-and-a-half, their regular rate of pay for each hour over forty worked during a single workweek. State agency employers may, in lieu of cash payment for overtime, pay their non-exempt employees in compensatory time at the rate of one and one-half hours for each hour over forty worked during a single workweek. Police and firefighters, emergency response personnel, and employees engaged in seasonal activities may accrue up to 480 hours of compensatory time. Other non-exempt employees may only accrue up to 240 hours of compensatory time. After a non-exempt employee has accrued the maximum amount of compensatory time, the employer is required to pay the employee overtime for the additional overtime hours worked in cash.
A state agency employer may require a non-exempt employee requesting leave to exhaust an FLSA compensatory leave balance prior to use of any personal and/or medical leave, and a state agency employer may compel a non-exempt employee to use FLSA compensatory time and take time off work to reduce a compensatory time balance below the 480 or 240 hour thresholds.
The U. S. Department of Labor (DOL) is responsible for the enforcement of the FLSA, and may investigate and gather data concerning wages, hours, and other employment practices. For assistance in complying with the FLSA, state agency employers may contact the area office of the Wage and Hour Division of the DOL.
The federal regulations governing FLSA applicable to state agency employers in the area of compensatory time and other areas may be found at 29 C.F.R. § 500.
When requesting authorization under FLSA for payment of overtime compensation to non-exempt employees, the following shall be in effect:
27 Miss. Code. R. 110-5.11