Tag Archives: Emergency Medical Technicians

TN County and Medics Settle Overtime Lawsuit

Putnam County, Tennessee has reached a $280,000 settlement agreement with a group of current and former EMTs following a 2019 lawsuit over alleged FLSA violations. The suit, which was initially filed by a lone paramedic last July, contained three basic allegations. First, the county failed to pay for off-the-clock pre-and-post shift work, second, the county improperly implemented the “fluctuating workweek ...

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Austin First Responders Upset Over City’s Hazard Pay Plans

The City of Austin, Texas has announced that some city employees will be receiving “hazard pay” as a result of working during the coronavirus outbreak. Austin officials have announced that some city workers will receive a one-time lump-sum payment as a reward for coming to work during the height of the pandemic. The one-time payment could be as much as ...

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Air EMS Transport Company Settles Unpaid OT Claims with Over 400 Flight Crew Members for $78 Million

Air Methods, Inc., the country’s largest air medical transport company, has reached a $78 million settlement with approximately 450 current and former employees following a class-action lawsuit alleging the company failed to pay overtime as required by California law.  Flight crew members filed their suit in California’s Alameda County Superior Court in 2013. They alleged Air Methods failed to pay ...

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New DOL Rule Makes It Easier to Lower First Responder Pay

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a significant modification to an existing overtime rule for employees that work fluctuating hours from week to week. As a result, many first responders, including firefighters may find less money in their paychecks in the coming months. The new rule, set to take effect in July, alters the current stringent requirements necessary ...

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Alabama City Boosts Essential City Workers’ Pay By 5 Percent in Response to Coronavirus

The Birmingham, Alabama City Council has approved a temporary 5 percent pay increase, or “hazard pay” for approximately 2,000 essential city workers. The increase, which is expected to cost the city approximately $500,000, is designed to help firefighters and other essential city workers operating on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to firefighters, police officers and correctional ...

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Paramedics, Pre-and-Post Shift Activities, Retaliation, and the FLSA

Today’s FLSA Question: I was a paramedic for a local fire department. The department has a policy that requires medics brief each other face-to-face at the beginning and end of each 12-hour shift. Medics must fill each other in on the calls that were run, medications used and replaced, account for on-board narcotics, computer, and radio equipment. This process takes ...

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Pennsylvania First Responders Move to Have Coronavirus Considered Workplace Injury

Should workers’ compensation cover police and firefighters that contract the coronavirus? Pennsylvania first responders think that it should…And are trying to do something about it. The Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) has drafted legislation—which has yet to find a sponsor in the Pennsylvania legislature—that would include coronavirus in a list of “specific occupational illnesses covered under the Workers’ Compensation Act for first responders.”

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Settlement Reached in Cleveland EMS FLSA Lawsuit

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 ...

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