Mills v. State of Me., Civ. No. 92-410-P-H.

• Decision Date: 21 December 1993
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 92-410-P-H.
• Citation: 839 F. Supp. 3
• Parties: Jon MILLS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. STATE OF MAINE, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maine

839 F. Supp. 3

Jon MILLS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. STATE OF MAINE, Defendant.

Civ. No. 92-410-P-H.

United States District Court, D. Maine.

December 21, 1993.

John R. Lemieux, Maine State Employees Association, Augusta, ME, for plaintiffs.

Linda S. Crawford, Asst. Atty. Gen., Portland, ME, for defendant.

ORDER ON CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

HORNBY, District Judge.

This case is a dispute between state probation officers and the State over application of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. (the "Act"). On the undisputed facts, I conclude that the State cannot exclude its probation officers from the Act's protection as professionals, id. § 213(a)(1), but that the State can take advantage of the special provision for public employees employed in law enforcement activities. Id. §§ 207(k), 213(b)(20).

PROFESSIONALS

The Act exempts from coverage "any employee employed in a bona fide ... professional capacity." Id. § 213(a)(1). For employees who earn over $250 per week, as state probation officers do, the regulations provide a short test for the exemption:

(1) Does the primary duty consist "of the performance of work requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning?"

(2) Does the work require "the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment?"¹

29 C.F.R. § 541.315(a).

I conclude that the undisputed facts demonstrate that Maine probation officers' work does not require knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning. That term is described in § 541.3(a)(1) as knowledge "customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study, as distinguished from a general academic education and from an apprenticeship." Id. § 541.3(a)(1). The academic requirement for state probation officers is simply a baccalaureate degree in one of the social sciences or a closely-related field. That is hardly a course of specialized intellectual instruction and study but is, instead, a general academic education. State probation officers are also required to have six months' experience in parole or probation work, youth or adult counseling or law enforcement activities or, in the alternative, an equivalent combination of directly related education, experience and training. This requirement is like the apprenticeship training that the regulations cite as not characteristic of the requirement for the professional exemption. The State tries to show a certain specialization reflected in the actual course work many of the individual state probation officers have taken. The exemption, however, is keyed to what the work requires and not to the hiring preferences various interviewers may practice in making individual employment selections. Although state probation officers do important work that is critical to the administration of Maine's system of justice and although they are expected to behave in a "professional" capacity in the sense that the word is popularly used, their work does not fit the definition of the exemption under the regulations and the statute. Accord Dybach v. State of Florida Dep't of Corrections, 942 F.2d 1562 (11th Cir.1991).² (It is irrelevant that the union in the recent past has argued that state probation officers should be treated as professionals for certain state recordkeeping purposes. That argument does not bear upon the federal statutory interpretation of this specialized term. Moreover, the union's position there cannot bind the plaintiffs here.)

In light of my conclusion concerning the duties of state probation officers, it is unnecessary to address the disputed issues of whether the plaintiffs must consistently exercise discretion and judgment in their job or whether they are paid on a salaried basis.

LAW ENFORCEMENT

The Act establishes special requirements for public employees employed "in law enforcement activities." 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(20). The regulations define that term as any employee:

(1) who is a uniformed or plainclothed member of a body of officers and subordinates who are empowered by State statute or local ordinance to enforce laws designed to maintain public peace and order and to protect both life and property from accidental or willful injury, and to prevent and detect crimes,

(2) who has the power to arrest, and

(3) who is presently undergoing or has undergone or will undergo on-the-job training and/or a course of instruction and study which typically includes physical training, self-defense, firearm proficiency, criminal and civil law principles, investigative and law enforcement techniques, community relations, medical aid and ethics.

29 C.F.R. § 553.211(a).

I address the second requirement first. State probation officers clearly have arrest powers. Specifically, they may make arrests in circumstances involving parole violations. 34-A M.R.S.A. § 5404(2).

With respect to the first requirement, probation officers are plainclothed members of a body of officers and subordinates. The issue is whether they are empowered by state statute to enforce laws designed to maintain public peace and order and to protect life and property and to prevent and detect crimes. The statutory power to make arrests under certain circumstances certainly is one element of a statutory scheme for maintaining public peace and order. Maine probation officers also have the responsibility to "investigate any criminal case or matter concerning...