§ 551.541 - Employees engaged in fire protection activities or law enforcement activities.

§ 551.541 Employees engaged in fire protection activities or law enforcement activities.

(a) An employee engaged in fire protection activities or law enforcement activities (as described in §§ 551.215 and 551.216, respectively) who receives compensation for those activities under 5 U.S.C. 5545(c)(1) or (2) or 5545b, or does not meet the definition of “employee” in 5 U.S.C. 5541(2) for the purposes of 5 U.S.C. 5542, 5543, and 5544, is subject to section 7(k) of the Act and this section. (See § 551.501(a)(1) and (5)). Such an employee shall be paid at a rate equal to one and one-half times the employee's hourly regular rate of pay for those hours in a tour of duty which exceed the overtime standard for a work period specified in section 7(k) of the Act.

(b) The tour of duty of an employee covered by paragraph (a) of this section shall include all time the employee is on duty. Meal periods and sleep periods are included in the tour of duty except as otherwise provided in §§ 551.411(c) and 551.432(b).

(c) Each agency shall establish the “work period” to be used for application of section 7(k) of the Act. The work period shall be at least seven days and not more than 28 days.

(d) A firefighter subject to section 7(k) of the Act who is compensated under part 550, subpart M, of this chapter is deemed to be appropriately compensated under section 7(k) of the Act and this part if the requirements of § 550.1304(a) of this chapter are satisfied. (See 5 U.S.C. 5545b(d)(2).)

[45 FR 85665, Dec. 30, 1980, as amended at 57 FR 59280, Dec. 15, 1992; 63 FR 64595, Nov. 23, 1998; 64 FR 69181, Dec. 10, 1999; 72 FR 52773, Sept. 17, 2007]