TEXAS AFT LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE--TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009

Big Win: Union's Legal Action Under Fair Labor Standards Act Delivers Back Pay for School Employees in San Antonio ISD

Texas AFT this summer launched a stepped-up campaign to end pervasive overtime abuses harming school support employees, who are entitled under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act to time off or overtime pay at the rate of time-and-a-half when forced to work beyond 40 hours in a given workweek.

That campaign already is having a significant impact. The latest evidence is a big win achieved by our local Texas AFT affiliate in San Antonio ISD, the San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel. The case involved five of our members who had been denied the extra pay they were due for overtime work they were required to perform "off the clock" at a district day-care facility for children of students enrolled in SAISD.

Represented by Texas AFT general counsel Martha Owen, the five employees sued the district in federal court, and this month the district settled the case by paying the employees double the amount of the two years of back pay they were owed--for a total of nearly $30,000--plus attorney's fees.

The San Antonio Alliance reports that the case has sent a strong message, with the central administration in San Antonio ISD now working to make sure that supervisors throughout the district understand the seriousness of this issue of compliance with federal overtime law.

It's a message Texas AFT will continue to press home in school districts across the state. To that end, leaders of Texas AFT's local affiliates have been armed with advocacy toolkits containing step-by-step advice on how to ensure enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act in their school districts. Whether through grievances, negotiation of local policy changes, or lawsuits if necessary, we will keep up the fight proactively against overtime abuses statewide. Meanwhile, thanks are due to the members, officers, and staff of the San Antonio Alliance, as well as Texas AFT general counsel Owen, for setting a strong example of effective advocacy on this issue.