Supreme Court Decision Allows Public Employer to Require Use of Accrued Compensatory Time

The Supreme Court, in a decision issued May 1, 2000, has determined that a public employer may require its employees to use their accumulated compensatory time, allowing the employer to avoid the potential adverse fiscal consequences of large leave balances. In reaching its decision the Court in Christensen v. Harris County, 68 U.S.L.W. 4343 (2000) rejected the argument raised by employees that a forced use was only possible if agreed to by the parties.

29 U.S.C. §207(o)(5) requires employers to allow the usage of compensatory time "within a reasonable period after making the request," provided the employer's operations are not unduly disrupted. The Court reasoned that this language was a restriction on the employer's ability to limit the use of the time, not a limit on the employer's ability to require employees to take the time off. In reaching its 6-3 decision, the Court noted that, under the Fair Labor Standards Act, an employer can reduce the number of hours an employee works and may also "cash out" compensatory leave balances through payment. Harris County's policy of requiring the use of the leave balances, the Court concluded, merely did both allowable steps at once.