Tag Archives: FLSA

The FLSA’s §207(k) Exemption May Not Be an Option for Some Fire Departments

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a full-time paid fire chief for a private non-profit volunteer fire company. Over the past twenty-five years our organization has grown and required the hiring of several daytime staff personnel (training chief, fire marshal, assistant chief) to augment our core of volunteer and paid-on-call firefighters. But we are now in the process of hiring our ...

Read More »

City Policy May Prove A Violation of the FLSA

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a newly appointed firefighter in a small municipal fire department. We work a 48/96 schedule and are paid every two weeks. The city has an old policy related to payroll that I do not think is FLSA compliant. If a firefighter misses any worktime during the two-week work period, they lose their FLSA overtime. Recently, ...

Read More »

California City Settles FLSA Suit Filed by Firefighters

Cathedral City, California, has settled a lawsuit filed by 47 current and former firefighters that alleged the city failed to pay them overtime as required by the FLSA. The lawsuit, which was filed on March 19, 2019, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, contained allegations the city failed to include all remuneration in the firefighters’ ...

Read More »

Compensability of On-Call Time at the Fire Station and the FLSA

Today’s FLSA Question: I am full-time firefighter for a small combination fire department. We work a 24/48 schedule for an average of 56 hours per week. The department has a policy that requires firefighters be on-call for at least one 24-hour shift every two-week work period. The department pays on-call firefighters $24 for each on-call shift and overtime if called ...

Read More »

Firefighters, Lower Rate of Pay for Call-Back, and the FLSA

Today’s FLSA Question: I am the fire chief for a small combination fire department. In addition to myself, we employ fifteen full-time employees. Twelve firefighter/medics, two lieutenants, and one captain all assigned to 24-hour shifts (24 hours on, 48 hours off) working a 56-hour average workweek. We use a 14-day work period and pay overtime for all hours worked over ...

Read More »

Limitations on FLSA Comp Time for Firefighters

Today’s FLSA Question: Can a fire department’s collective bargaining agreement limit the amount of FLSA compensatory time (comp time) a firefighter can accrue to only 240 hours? The current contract allows firefighters to accrue up to 480 hours of FLSA comp time. A new city administrator wants to negotiate with the firefighter’s union in an effort to lower the city’s ...

Read More »

Indiana Town Alters Call Firefighter Pay Over FLSA and Fairness Concerns

The Town Council in Dyer, Indiana recently passed a temporary ordinance related to compensating town employees that also serve as paid-on-call firefighters. The ordinance, which was unanimously passed by the council, mandates the town set the overtime rate for town employees that also serve as paid-on-call firefighters, at time and one-half of the “highest regular hourly rate of pay” earned ...

Read More »

Oklahoma Firefighters Claim Regular Rate Violations in Lawsuit Against City

The City of Chickasha, Oklahoma is facing a lawsuit filed by city firefighters for unpaid overtime. A group of thirty-one, current and former Chickasha firefighters filed the lawsuit in federal court earlier this month. Specifically, the firefighters allege the city failed to include contractually guaranteed longevity payments in their regular rate of pay in violation of the FLSA. As a ...

Read More »