Firefighter Overtime Discussing Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Firefighters, First Responders as well as Human Resource & Finance Professional

What began as a typical lawsuit over breach of contract and the inclusion of longevity in a couple dozen Mississippi firefighter’s regular rate of pay in late 2022, ended in a rather unusual court ruling this past week. A federal magistrate Judge has ordered the enforcement of a settlement agreement negotiated between the City of Biloxi, Mississippi and thirty-five city ...

For the second time in recent weeks, the Baltimore County Professional Firefighters Association is blasting county officials over staffing and overtime. The union has been raising public awareness of the county’s ongoing practice of shutting down two engine companies on weekdays in an effort to reduce overtime. According WJZ News Baltimore, the county has been rotating two engine companies out ...

Today’s Advanced FLSA Question: What are the potential wage and hour concerns associated with sending non-exempt firefighters out of state to spec and/or inspect new fire apparatus? Answer: Good question. Believe it or not, this is a very advanced question. Allowing overtime eligible employees [like firefighters] to engage in work-related travel without considering the potential wage and hour implications is ...

Lockheed Martin [a global aerospace and defense contractor] has settled a 2022 FLSA lawsuit filed by a group of forty-nine industrial firefighters for a total of $949,996. The crux of the firefighter’s claims was that Lockheed Martin only paid its in-house firefighters’ overtime after they worked more than 48 hours per week. The FLSA requires non-public agency fire departments, pay ...

According to the Baltimore County Professional Firefighters Association a significant staffing shortage along with an overspent annual overtime budget has led the county to expand the practice of shutting down two engine companies during weekday daytime hours to avoid overtime pay. According to the county, it is “re-directing personnel” during weekday hours from their normal positions to help train new ...

A police K9 officer from Philadelphia has filed a lawsuit against the city on behalf of himself and other “similarly situated” individuals for violations of the FLSA and state wage and hour laws. The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court on December 29, 2023, contains allegations that the city failed to adequately compensate the officer and other officers for ...

Delaware State Representative Cyndie Romer has introduced legislation that would include some overtime pay in local police and firefighter pension calculations. House Bill 266 – AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL POLICE/FIREFIGHTER PENSION PLAN was introduced by Representative Romer earlier this month in the Delaware General Assembly. The bill would make ...

The City of Los Angeles is facing an FLSA lawsuit from four city police officers. The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California contains allegations that the city is violating the FLSA by failing to include all “remuneration” in the officers’ regular rate of pay. More specifically, the officers claim the city ...

A large group of FDNY emergency medical technicians and paramedics filed a federal lawsuit late last week alleging that the City of New York’s pay practices violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The lawsuit, which contains several claims including uncompensated off-the clock work, regular rate violations, and failure to timely pay overtime compensation was filed in the U.S. District ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a fulltime chief of a combination fire department. We have a mix of volunteer and paid firefighters. Like many folks, we are struggling with recruitment and retention within all of our ranks, but especially within our volunteers. Recently, some of our neighboring departments began offering their volunteers an hourly rate instead of a stipend. Some ...