Ronald Mortensen v. County of Sacramento, and Voluntary Dispute Resolution Neutral

Sacramento County Sheriffs Deputy Ronald Mortensen appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of his employer. The question for decision is whether the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 207 (o), requires the county to allow its deputies to use accrued compensatory time off (“CTO”) on days they specifically request unless it would “unduly disrupt” the law enforcement agency’s function within the meaning of § 207(o X5). Mortensen ar gues that we must defer to the Department of Labor regulations and opinion letter construing § 207(o )(5) and hold that deputies are entitled to use CTO on a specifically requested date. In contrast, the county maintains that its leave policy and the parties’ collective bargaining agreement (“Agreement”) comply with the FLSA because the county grants CTO use within a reasonable time — up to one year — after a deputy makes a request. The county insists that under both the statute and its long-established leave practice, it may deny a CTO request for a specific date if all leave openings are full.

We do not defer to the Department of Labor regulations because the statutory language is clear. Joining the Fifth Circuit, we…