Portsmouth VA Settles FLSA Suit with Paramedics Absent Trial

The City of Portsmouth, Virginia has reached a settlement with a group of fifteen paramedics ending an FLSA lawsuit filed in late 2020. The medics alleged the city failed to pay them overtime as required by the FLSA and Virginia Law. For more on the medics’ claims, including a copy of the complaint, click here.

The terms of the settlement require the city to pay a total of $109,630 to resolve all of the medics’ claims. The fifteen medics will receive a total of $48,115 in back pay and $24,058 in liquidated damages. This results in a total recovery of $72,173 for the medics. Typically, liquidated damages are equal to back wages, however in an effort to avoid the expense and uncertainty of a trial the parties negotiated the liquidated damages portion of the settlement down to fifty percent of the back wages. The remaining $37,457 of the settlement amount will be payable to the medics’ attorneys.

Here is a copy of the Joint Motion to Approve the Settlement and the Judge’s Order approving the settlement.