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Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS)

Substitutions

Reference Number: MTAS-1528
Reviewed Date: 09/12/2023

The FLSA provides that any individual employed in any capacity by a public agency may agree to substitute, during scheduled work hours, for another employee. Rule 29 U.S.C. § 207(p)(3) and 29 C.F.R. § 553.31(a) provides that employees may work substitution schedules where the substitution is:

  1. Voluntarily undertaken and agreed to solely by the employees, and
  2. Approved by the employer.

The traded time is not considered by the public agency in calculating the hours for which the employee is entitled to overtime compensation. 29 C.F.R. § 553.31(a). In effect, even though a substitution is made, “each employee will be considered to have worked his/her normal schedule.” 29 U.S.C. § 207(p)(3). In addition, “the employer of the employee who performs such substitution work is not required to keep a record of the hours of substituted work.” 29 U.S.C. § 211(c); 29 C.F.R. § 553.31(c).