X-Ray Technicians, also known as radiology technicians, or RT\u2019s, may be paid on an hourly, salary or per diem basis.\u00a0 Regardless of how they are paid, the question is often asked whether they are entitled to overtime pay.\u00a0 Hospitals and physician practice groups sometimes deny RT\u2019s overtime pay by claiming that they are exempt under the professional overtime exemption.\u00a0 However, according to federal caselaw and an opinion letter from the Department of Labor, RT\u2019s generally do not qualify for the professional exemption, and thus are entitled to overtime pay.\u00a0 To qualify under the professional exemption, all of the following tests must be met:<\/p>\n
Both federal courts and the Department of Labor have rejected the notion that RT\u2019s qualify for the professional exemption.\u00a0 In Brennan v. South Davis Community Hospital<\/em>, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a radiology technician\u2019s work did \u201cnot appear to be work predominantly intellectual and varied as required by [the professional exemption], and thus affirmed the trial court\u2019s refusal to apply this exemption.\u00a0 538 F.2d 859 (10th Cir. 1976).\u00a0 Likewise, in an opinion letter, the Department of Labor stated that X-Ray Technicians are not exempt from overtime under the professional exemption, reasoning as follows:<\/p>\n We do not believe that the RT position meets the primary duty requirements of [the professional exemption].\u00a0 First, the RT\u2019s primary duty does not appear to require \u201cknowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.\u201d\u00a0\u201cThe phrase \u2018customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction\u2019 restricts the exemption to professions where specialized academic training is a standard prerequisite for entrance into the profession.\u00a0 The best prima facie evidence that an employee meets this requirement is possession of the appropriate academic degree.\u201d\u00a0 As the preamble to the Department\u2019s 2004 revisions to the Part 541 final rule explained, jobs that \u201crequire only a four-year college degree in any field or a two-year degree as a standard prerequisite for entrance into the field . . . do not qualify for the learned professional exemption.\u201d\u00a0 The requirement that an RT complete a two- to three-year radiology technology program accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (or some other manner of accreditation acceptable to the ARRT), along with an ARRT examination for registration, does not appear to meet this regulatory standard….<\/b><\/p>\n The existence of a mandatory, accredited certification program, as is the case for the RTs, does not override the regulatory requirement for a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction for entry into the field….<\/b><\/p>\n Second, the RTs\u2019 work…seems to be more in the character of routine mental, manual, mechanical and physical processes than intellectual work requiring the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment.\u00a0 The \u201clearned professional\u201d activity in this area appears to be the practice of medicine involved in the analysis and interpretation of the images developed by the radiologist.<\/b><\/p>\n For these reasons, it is our opinion that these employees do not qualify for the \u201clearned professional\u201d exemption, and they must be paid in accordance with the minimum wage and overtime pay provisions of the FLSA.\u00a0 See DOL Opinion Letter, available at <\/b>http:\/\/www.dol.gov\/whd\/opinion\/FLSA\/2007\/2007_02_01_05_FLSA.htm<\/b><\/a>. \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Thus, numerous sources of authority have concluded that most X-Ray Technologists cannot be denied overtime pay based on the professional exemption.\u00a0 If you are a Radiology Technologist and have questions about overtime pay, consult an experienced overtime attorney to learn your legal rights.<\/p>\n About the author: <\/b>Josh Borsellino is a Texas attorney who represents workers to get them the overtime pay they deserve. \u00a0 For a free consultation, call 817.908.9861 or 432.242.7118 or complete this online contact form<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Are Radiology Technologists Owed Overtime? X-Ray Technicians, also known as radiology technicians, or RT\u2019s, may be paid on an hourly, salary or per diem basis.\u00a0 Regardless of how they are paid, the question is often asked whether they are entitled to overtime pay.\u00a0 Hospitals and physician practice groups sometimes deny RT\u2019s overtime pay by claiming…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3886,3895,3896,3897],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dfwcounsel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dfwcounsel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dfwcounsel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dfwcounsel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dfwcounsel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dfwcounsel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/807\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dfwcounsel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dfwcounsel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dfwcounsel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}