Author Archives: Bill Maccarone

Federal Judge Approves Settlement in Virginia Beach FLSA Misclassification Lawsuit

Senior United States District Court Judge Rebecca Beach Smith has approved a $200,000 settlement in a FLSA misclassification lawsuit filed late last year by a group of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Captains, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The settlement, which was officially approved by the court on Friday December 10, 2021, requires the City of Virginia Beach to pay a total ...

Read More »

Firefighter’s Hours Worked, Paid Sick Leave, and the FLSA

Today’s FLSA Question: I recently read your article entitled “Firefighters, Mandatory Overtime, and the FLSA” and have a somewhat related follow-up question. I work for a large county fire department. We also work a 24/48 schedule with a scheduled Kelly-day every three weeks for a 48-hour average workweek. However, we receive overtime for all additional hours worked outside of our ...

Read More »

Volunteer Firefighter Incentive Plan, Same Type of Services, and the FLSA

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a volunteer fire chief for a fully volunteer fire department. Like many volunteer fire departments, we struggle getting trucks on the road during weekday hours. However, we have several volunteer firefighters that are employed by the town in other departments in addition to serving as volunteer firefighters. Recently, a town official proposed allowing these town ...

Read More »

Four Florida Firefighters File FLSA Suit for Unpaid Training Time

A group of four former Destin, Florida firefighters filed an FLSA lawsuit earlier this week alleging that their former employer, The Destin Fire Control District [District] failed to pay them for hours spent attending work-related training. Former Destin firefighters David Garner, Brian Ostos, Alejandro Osorio, and Joseph Quinn filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District ...

Read More »

VA Beach Settles “White Collar” FLSA Lawsuit with EMS Captains

The City of Virginia Beach, Virginia has agreed to a $200,000 settlement with 8 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Captains following a November 2020 lawsuit for unpaid overtime. The captains alleged the city misclassified them as overtime exempt “white collar” employees in violation of the FLSA and Virginia state law. The terms of the settlement require the city to pay a ...

Read More »

PA Shift Commander’s FLSA Overtime Lawsuit to Continue

An FLSA overtime lawsuit filed last fall by a retired deputy fire chief will continue following a recent federal court ruling. Retired First Deputy Fire Chief Gary Mogel filed the lawsuit in September 2020, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Mogel alleges in his lawsuit that his employer, the City of Reading Pennsylvania, failed to ...

Read More »

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Lower Court Ruling on Overtime, Establishment of a Qualifying Work Period, and the FLSA’s §207(k) Exemption

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has upheld a lower court’s finding that in order to utilize the FLSA’s §207(k) partial overtime exemption, a fire department must establish a qualifying work period. This story began back in January 2020 when former Highland Hills, Ohio firefighter David Vance filed an FLSA lawsuit against his former employer. Vance’s allegations ...

Read More »

Court Finds for KC Firefighters in FLSA Regular Rate Lawsuit

A United States Magistrate Judge has ruled in the favor of more than 450 Kansas City, Missouri firefighters following their FLSA lawsuit against the city. In a 2019 lawsuit, Kansas City firefighters claimed the city failed to include a wide range of wage augments in their overtime rate of pay. The FLSA requires “all remuneration for employment paid to, or ...

Read More »

National Fire Academy Training and the FLSA

Today’s FLSA Question: I am the fire chief of a full-time paid municipal fire department. Several of our firefighters and officers have been voluntarily attending on-campus classes in several different programs offered through the National Fire Academy (NFA). As a policy, the department provides these members with paid time off (without using vacation time or requiring shift trades) for all ...

Read More »