<?xml version="1.0"?>
<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>378730</law_id><section_number>9.1-700</section_number><catch_line>Definitions</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2026/" slug="2026" current="TRUE" last_updated="2026-08-02">2026</edition><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="36" identifier="9.1">Commonwealth Public Safety</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="8" identifier="7">Overtime Compensation for Law-Enforcement Employees and Firefighters, Emergency Medical Technicians, and Other Fire Protection Employees</unit></structure><text>
						<section><p>As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:</p><p>&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Employer</span>&#x201D; means any political subdivision of the Commonwealth, including any county, city, town, authority, or special district that employs <span class="dictionary">fire protection employees</span> except any locality with five or fewer paid firefighters that is exempt from overtime rules by 29 U.S.C. &#xA7;&#xA0;207 (k).</p><p>&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Fire protection employee</span>&#x201D; means any person, other than an employee who is exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, who is employed by an <span class="dictionary">employer</span> as a paid firefighter, emergency medical services provider, or hazardous <span class="dictionary">materials</span> worker who is (i) trained in fire suppression and has the legal authority and responsibility to engage in fire suppression and is employed by a fire department of an <span class="dictionary">employer</span> or (ii) engaged in the prevention, control, or extinguishment of fires or response to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk.</p><p>&#x201C;<span class="dictionary"><span class="dictionary">Law</span>-enforcement employee</span>&#x201D; means any person who is responsible for the prevention and detection of <span class="dictionary">crime</span> and the enforcement of the penal, traffic or highway <span class="dictionary">laws</span> of the Commonwealth, other than an employee who is exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, and who is a full-time employee of either (i) a police department or (ii) a sheriff&#x2019;s office that is part of or administered by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof.</p><p>&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Regularly scheduled work hours</span>&#x201D; means those hours that are recurring and fixed within the work period and for which an employee receives a salary or hourly compensation. &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Regularly scheduled work hours</span>&#x201D; does not include on-call, extra duty assignments or any other nonrecurring and nonfixed hours.</p></section></text><history>2001, c. 768, &#xA7; 2.1-116.9:7; 2005, c. 732; 2015, cc. 502, 503; 2016, c. 541.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
