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Administrative Law Keyed to Lawson
Christensen v. Harris County
Citation:
Christensen v. Harris County 529 U.S. 576, 120 S. Ct. 1655, 146 L. Ed. 2d 621 (2000)Facts
Harris County, Texas, concerned about the financial liability of accumulated compensatory time, implemented a policy requiring employees to use their accrued compensatory time when they reached a certain threshold. The policy was designed to reduce the County’s financial liability for overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Deputy sheriffs, including John Christensen, challenged this policy, arguing that the FLSA prohibited employers from compelling the use of compensatory time without an agreement. The deputies relied on a Department of Labor opinion letter that stated employers could not require employees to use compensatory time unless such an agreement existed. Harris County maintained that nothing in the FLSA prohibited such a policy in the absence of an express prohibition.
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