NEW HAVEN — The question raised about police recruit overtime in New Haven could have a ripple effect at training academies statewide and has prompted preliminary discussions on whether existing labor laws can be changed.

City officials are still calculating how much retroactive overtime the city will have to pay to as many as 104 former and current recruits from the city’s police academy. The department historically had paid recruits flat salaries regardless of how many hours they worked. The state Department of Labor, after a city inquiry, said that violated labor laws.

Public safety trainers across the state are now wondering how it could affect them.

Representatives from the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association already have approached House Speaker Christopher Donovan, D-Meriden, about potential legislative changes.

Norwalk Fire Chief Denis McCarthy, the president of the Connecticut Career Fire Chief’s Association, sounded the alarm in a November e-mail, saying the overtime issue “affects us as well.”

“There is a lot of confusion,” said Jeffrey J. Morrissette, the state fire administrator in charge of the Connecticut Fire Academy in Windsor Locks, “because there is federal law and state law and, in a way, Connecticut is very unique with its strong labor laws.”

Adding to the uncertainty is the unconventional way in which the issue was first raised. There was no formal decision handed down or a complaint filed. The New Haven police union this fall asked about the practice and the city turned to the state Labor Department, which said there was no overtime exemption for police recruits.

That prompted a meeting between representatives from the state attorney general’s office, the Connecticut fire and police academies and the state police, along with officials from the chiefs’ associations.

The attorney general’s office, to date, has not issued a formal opinion on the law, nor has it been asked for one.

“We’ll certainly seek to be helpful if there’s a way we can provide guidance or assistance,” state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Thursday. “My office has sent representatives to several meetings, but my understanding is there may be an effort to address this issue legislatively.”

Douglas Whiting, a spokesman for Donovan, said the speaker is aware of the situation.

“He certainly has been approached by the chiefs’ association and is participating in conversations with various parties to see if there is a possible remedy at the legislative level,” Whiting said.

State law requires employers to pay overtime for any hours exceeding 40 in a work week, with certain exemptions for white collar employees.

The Police Officer Standards and Training Division, which oversees the police academy, has been researching the “nuances” of the federal and state laws, said Wallingford Police Chief Douglas Dortenzio, president of the police chiefs association.

“As I understand it, there is no formal decision or guidance that has been received yet,” he said. At the same time, however, the potential ramifications are significant.

“This is certainly not going to be limited to police officers. The fire service is also concerned about what implications might exist in that arena.”

“To the best of my knowledge, at the present time the matter is still unresolved.”

The labor director in New Haven, meanwhile, is awaiting additional records from the police academy so he can finish calculating how much is owed to the recruits from the last two years, the statute of limitations under state law.