Tag Archives: firefighters

Washington State Battalion Chiefs Will Get Their Day in Court

Should battalion chiefs be eligible for FLSA overtime? That is precisely the question a federal court in Washington State will be answering in the coming months. This case is one of many pending lawsuits that we are following regarding shift commanders and overtime eligibility. This particular case began in May of 2017, when eight current and former Vancouver, Washington, battalion ...

Read More »

CA City Settles Alleged Regular Rate Violation

The City of Petaluma, California, has settled claims made by seventy current and former police department employees for unpaid overtime. The original complaint was initially filed by only two police department employees in August of 2016. These two original plaintiffs sought to have money paid in lieu of receiving city sponsored health insurance included in their regular rate of pay ...

Read More »

Collective Bargaining, Work Periods, and the FLSA

Today’s FLSA Question: I am the financial manager for a small fire protection district. I recently attended your FLSA for Fire Departments seminar. One of my biggest take-aways from the 3-day class relates to firefighter work periods. But now I have a follow-up question. Our firefighters work 24-hour shifts for an average of 56 hours per week. We process payroll ...

Read More »

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 ...

Read More »

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 ...

Read More »

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 ...

Read More »

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 ...

Read More »

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 ...

Read More »

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 ...

Read More »

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 ...

Read More »