Hello,

I am a government contractor. I have recently quit my job to accept another position. In the process, I have been accused of all sorts of unsavory things and have had my previous employer go to potential employers and threaten them about hiring "his people".

Anyhow, upon clearing out of the company, I have been told that they intend to pay me only 48 hours of vacation time and that because I have worked every holiday this year, they have no obligation to pay me for them. The company's position is that it is holiday pay OR regular pay, but not both. I know this is totally wrong, but I am awaiting final word from the owner before demanding this pay.

Further, I have worked in a position that was defined by contract for the last year. The title of the job was Senior Field Engineer/Site Manager. The job duties, however, do not match the title. Here is how the job was defined in the contract:

EMPLOYEE AGREEMENT

Annex A – Duties and Responsibilities (Not Limited To)

1. Maintenance – Preventive maintenance of camera components to include
scheduled maintenance and replacement of consumables (i.e. desiccant packs), purging of system, general cleanliness, and function checks of the systems based on defined maintenance procedures. All maintenance will be documented based on established procedures.

2. Troubleshooting - Troubleshoot systems to LRU level, repair and/or replace defective components, prepare documentation for billing and/or warranty purposes IAW established procedures.

3. Logistics - Keep an inventory of commonly used parts, prepare necessary documentation for shipping and receiving components, provision spares and long lead items. Prepare and disseminate maintenance and site status reports.

4. Other – Establish and maintain a forward site of operations. Apply similar maintenance to ASE Missile Seeker units. Other duties as assigned in direct support of the contract.

Now, prior to accepting my new position, I was ignorant of the FLSA. My new employer, however is paying me hourly with overtime for the position I previously performed for my old employer. Upon examining the FLSA, I think I was eligible for overtime pay with my previous employer as well. This job in my opinion was a skilled trades job (blue collar), not an engineering position (despite the title). FLSA says blue collar, specifically mentioning electrical and mechanical, is non-exempt.

Based on this job description, does my previous employer have even a chance of denying this position i held was blue collar trades?

Thank you for your consideration and responses!

Was this job covered by the Service Contract Act? If so, the employer does not have much wiggle room. Employes under the SCA get all Federal holidays. If they work on the holiday, they get double time (basically, the holiday plus the regular pay).

The SCA would also require that you be paid overtime for any hours worked over 40 in a work week and prescribe a certain level of fringe benefits, which could be paid in cash.

If you are not covered by the SCA, you are pretty much out of luck on the holiday issue as FLSA and state laws don't require payment of holiday pay.

You do, however, still have a case for the overtime.

Contact the federal Dept of Labor or your state equivalent. I would recommend the feds, first, if the SCA could apply.

Hello ScottB,

Thank you for the reply. The contract was covered under the SCA and the PCA. In the corporate handbook, it specifically states that the company observes all federal holidays. Further, my contract has the following clause:

6. Personal Leave and Holidays. Mr. Desertman shall be entitled to a mid tour break for a period of thirty days (30). These hours will be in addition to his entitled sick/vacation allocation.

I would think that this reinforces the idea of holidays and vacation being paid. This was a signed contract for labor between myself and the owner of the company.

I have asked for my accrued leave and my holidays to be paid, but I have encountered nothing but resistance from his "human resources" personnel (person operating in the role that has no experience or education regarding labor law). If I have to fight for what I believe I am entitled to, I will also go after the overtime issue. I have said this much to the owner, but so far, the silence is deafening.