Static educational checklist — not a calculator. No banked-hour inputs, no 1.5× accrual engine, no live cash-out / OT math. Spot common compensatory time (comp time) red flags under FLSA § 7(o) and 29 CFR Part 553. Distinct from sleep-time, spread-of-hours, training-time, continuous-workday, on-call/waiting, travel-time, meal/rest, tip-credit, recordkeeping, child-labor, final-paycheck, and OT pay-stub pages.
Federal baseline
Under FLSA § 7(o), a public agency may compensate nonexempt employees with compensatory time off in lieu of cash overtime at a rate of not less than one and one-half hours of comp time for each hour of overtime worked, if there is an agreement or understanding before the work is performed. Accrual is generally capped at 240 hours (160 OT hours × 1.5), or 480 hours for public-safety, emergency-response, and seasonal employees. Unused comp time must be paid out in cash at termination (and in other specified events) at the higher of the final regular rate or the average regular rate. Private employers generally cannot use § 7(o) comp time in place of cash OT. This page does not bank hours or compute cash-outs for a specific payroll.
Checklist — compensatory time red flags
Private-sector “comp time” instead of cash OT. Flag private employers that bank unpaid overtime as future time off and skip the cash premium. § 7(o) is a public agency provision; private-sector informal comp banks do not substitute for FLSA cash overtime under § 207(a).
No agreement before the overtime is worked. Flag handbooks that impose comp time after the fact, or silent schedules where OT hours are auto-banked without an agreement / CBA / understanding reached before the work. Agreement timing is part of the § 7(o) test.
1:1 accrual instead of 1.5×. Flag banks that credit one hour of time off for each OT hour. Comp time under § 7(o) must accrue at not less than one and one-half hours for each overtime hour worked.
Caps ignored (240 / 480). Flag balances that climb past 240 hours for general public employees, or past 480 for public-safety / emergency-response / seasonal roles, without cashing excess OT. Excess overtime beyond the applicable cap must be paid in cash.
“Public safety” label stretched to raise the cap. Flag clerical, purely administrative, or non-response roles slotted into the 480-hour bucket without a genuine public-safety, emergency-response, or seasonal function. Mislabeling the cap is a common Part 553 trap.
Forced use / denied use without regard to § 7(o)(5). Flag policies that never let employees take accrued comp time, or that force burn-down in ways that ignore the statute’s reasonable-period / undue-disruption framework. Also flag cash-only shops that refuse legitimate banked time when an agreement exists.
No cash-out on termination (or wrong rate). Flag final paychecks that zero unused comp banks without cash payment, or that pay at straight base instead of the higher of the final regular rate or the average regular rate over a recent period. Termination cash-out is mandatory under § 7(o)(4).
Regular-rate games when banking or cashing out. Flag banks built on an understated regular rate (missing non-discretionary bonuses, shift diffs, or other includable pay) so that later cash-outs and OT equivalents are short. Comp-time accounting still rides on a correct regular rate.
8/80 or special-detail rules mixed up with § 7(o). Flag public-safety schedules that treat an 8/80 work-period election (§ 7(k) / Part 553 Subpart C) as if it were itself a comp-time bank, or that confuse § 7(p) special-detail / fire-protection moonlighting with § 7(o) accrual. Related doctrines — not substitutes.
State / local overlays ignored. Flag federal-only reliance where a state (e.g., tighter public-employee comp-time statutes, cash-OT mandates, or local civil-service rules) restricts or bans banking. Always check the stricter overlay — § 7(o) permission is not a ceiling on state protection.