Reserve

Can a full time civilian employee of the sheriffs office also be a Reserve Deputy in their off-time? I am being told there is a labor law that prevents this. I can be a reserve for another agency, but not the one I work for.

Yes you can be a reserve deputy/officer with the same agency you work for as a civilian

[Mod 610]

You might want to read this case 1985 Supreme Court decision in Garcia v. San Antonio

"Q. What activities are considered "work?"

A. The courts have held that work time under the FLSA includes all time spent performing job-related activities which (a) genuinely benefit the employer, (b) which the employer "knows or has reason to believe" are being performed by an employee, and (c) which the employer does not prohibit the employee from performing. These can include activities performed during "off-the-clock" time, at the job site or elsewhere, whether "voluntary" or not.

Courts have awarded FLSA damages for "off-the-clock" time spent by employees maintaining equipment, staying late after normal shifts without "putting in" for overtime, doing job-related paperwork "at home," making and responding to job-related telephone calls, working through meal periods, and many other activities. Employees sometimes underestimate the amount of "off the clock" time they spend performing compensable tasks."

It is that very case law when puts employee's into a bind as for going into the Reserves as you are already an employee who is getting paid. Now doing the Reserve job as a LEO, you are still working for your agency and doing a different job which is as a volunteer. It does not matter in the eyes of the court and several employees have later become upset for what ever reason and turned demanding payment for those hours. The courts rule in favor of the employee and the employer is on the hook for that back OT pay along with interest.

It's also funny how that case law makes it a requirement for us to be paid to maintain our equipment, but we never get paid for it. Think about taking your car for cleaning or washing it at home, waxing it, maintenance, cleaning your weapon(s), the phone call you get just to ask you a question on your day off, etc. There is a lot of violations to this law. Most people wont file a complaint out of fear of loosing their job. That is what the union(s) try to push for, and employers try to cover up.