Tag Archives: Department of Labor

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a city finance director responsible for paying our city’s public safety workers. The fire chief recently approached me with an interesting idea for new firefighters. During the recession the city lowered the starting wages for fire department employees significantly. This has impacted our ability to recruit and retain rookie firefighters. The chief would like to ...

The City of Cleveland, OH has agreed to pay over $619,322 to settle a 2018 lawsuit filed by a lone EMT alleging the city violated the FLSA and Ohio state law. The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in November 2018, contained rather straight-forward allegations of underpaid overtime. Specifically, EMS Captain Margerita ...

In this Podcast, Curt Varone and I discuss the legal implications related to the quarantine of firefighters following the recent Corona COVID – 19 breakout. The issues discussed include: the applicability of workers’ compensation benefits for quarantined firefighters, FLSA wage and hour requirements for injured and quarantined firefighters, and much more.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that the Charter Township of Van Buren, Michigan has paid $54,945 in back wages to forty-eight current and former township employees, including police officers and firefighters. The announcement was made following an investigation by the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, the arm of the DOL tasked with enforcing the FLSA, following a ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am the fire chief of a mid-sized municipal fire department. The most recent collective bargaining agreement with our firefighters contains an incentive plan designed to curb sick leave abuse. Firefighters and officers that use less than 72 hours of sick leave during a calendar year receive an additional 24 hours of paid leave during the following ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a fire chief for a small full-time fire district. Our firefighters only receive overtime after they work 212 hours in a twenty-eight-day work period. We do not pay any overtime unless the FLSA requires it. The vast majority of our neighboring departments pay their firefighters overtime for any unscheduled work hours regardless of actual hours ...

Last week a federal judge approved an almost $3 million settlement between Air Evac EMS, Inc., a global company that operates more than 140 air ambulance helicopters in 15 states across the country, and over 400 current and former flight nurses, medics, and pilots. The settlement follows a 2018 lawsuit containing allegations of unpaid overtime. Jason Peck, a former flight ...

This is the third of a three-part series related to recent updates to Department of Labor (DOL) regulations pertaining to the FLSA. Click here for Part I and here for Part II. The updated regulations will undoubtedly affect many workers in different ways. However, for the purpose of this series, we will look at several key components of the update ...

This is the second of a three-part series related to recent updates to Department of Labor (DOL) regulations pertaining to the FLSA. Click here for Part I. The updated regulations will undoubtedly affect many workers in different ways. However, for the purpose of this series, we will look at several key components of the update and how it may impact ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a full-time firefighter. I recently left my first firefighting job in a small combination department. I worked there for almost 5 years before moving onto a bigger department. My former colleagues at this small combination department recently settled a long-running contract dispute with the town. As a result of this settlement, the firefighters will be ...