Health and Wellness Programs and the FLSA

Today’s FLSA Question: I am my city’s HR manager. Our city provides health and wellness activities for city employees. As part of this program, employees can voluntarily participate in biometric testing programs. These include blood pressure, cholesterol, and other important health screenings. Employees who participate receive discounts off their portion of health insurance premiums. We schedule many activities during the ...

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Another Week, Another FLSA Lawsuit for Overtime from a Shift Commander

Lately, it seems that a week cannot pass without a complaint, settlement, or ruling pertaining to first responders being classified, or misclassified, under the FLSA’s “white-collar” exemptions. Here are just a couple of recent examples: Florida Battalion Chiefs File FLSA Suit Virginia Battalion Chiefs File Lawsuit Seeking Overtime Pay California City and Firefighters Reach Global Settlement following a 2016 FLSA ...

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Comp Time and Emergency Call-Back

Today’s FLSA Question: I am the union president for a small municipal fire department. We have only five firefighters on duty at any one time. We negotiated an overtime call-back provision within our labor agreement that allows firefighters to come back if the on-duty crew is out of service (on calls) for an extended length of time. Firefighters receive time ...

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AZ and CA Firefighters File FLSA Suits Over Alleged Regular Rate Violations

Late last week, firefighters in two west coast cities filed separate FLSA lawsuits alleging they were shorted overtime pay by their employers. The first lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, by four Flagstaff firefighters, on September 20, 2018. The complaint makes two basic claims: The City of Flagstaff failed to include non-discretionary “premium ...

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Florida Battalion Chiefs File FLSA Suit

On September 12, 2018, six Battalion Chiefs (BCs) from the Greater Naples Fire Rescue District (district) filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking overtime pay. According to the complaint, the district classifies the BCs as white collar overtime-exempt employees. The BCs estimate that each is owed approximately $60,000 in unpaid overtime wages for the past 3 years. Additionally, the complaint ...

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Battalion Chiefs, Executive Exemption, and Overtime

FLSA Question: I am a battalion chief in a mid-sized municipal fire department. I command a platoon of firefighters and work 24-hour shifts. I work an average of 56 hours per week. I do not receive any overtime. The city considers myself and other BCs overtime-exempt executives. . . . I recently read that “first responders” are entitled to overtime ...

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California Police Officers Seek Holiday Pay Included in Regular Rate

Six Merced, California, Police Department employees have filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming it failed to calculate overtime pay correctly. The suit was filed on August 17, 2018 by three sergeants, two patrol officers, and one dispatcher in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Specifically, these sergeants, officers, and dispatcher claim the city failed to ...

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Former Illinois Firefighter Claims Employer Violated FLSA

The Village of Villa Park, Illinois, is being sued by a former firefighter for alleged FLSA violations. Brandon Santiago filed the lawsuit on behalf of himself and other “similarly situated” firefighters, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois last week. Santiago claims the village failed to include various wage augments in his and other firefighters regular ...

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Kansas Fire Investigators Reach Settlement with City Following FLSA Suit

The City of Wichita, Kansas, will pay six fire department arson investigators and their attorney almost $155,000 to settle unpaid overtime claims. The six investigators argued they should receive overtime similar to city police officers as opposed to firefighters. Here is more on those claims. Wichita Fire Investigators File FLSA Overtime Lawsuit The Settlement According to the Wichita Eagle, Wichita’s ...

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Tennessee City Looks to Correct FLSA Violations with Firefighters

According to the Elk Valley Times, the City of Fayetteville, Tennessee, is looking to correct overtime “pay issues” with local firefighters. City officials are poised to correct longstanding violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that may date back over the tenure of the past two fire chiefs. Fayetteville firefighters work a 28-day work period. The FLSA requires time ...

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