Tag Archives: liquidated damages

What began as a typical lawsuit over breach of contract and the inclusion of longevity in a couple dozen Mississippi firefighter’s regular rate of pay in late 2022, ended in a rather unusual court ruling this past week. A federal magistrate Judge has ordered the enforcement of a settlement agreement negotiated between the City of Biloxi, Mississippi and thirty-five city ...

Lockheed Martin [a global aerospace and defense contractor] has settled a 2022 FLSA lawsuit filed by a group of forty-nine industrial firefighters for a total of $949,996. The crux of the firefighter’s claims was that Lockheed Martin only paid its in-house firefighters’ overtime after they worked more than 48 hours per week. The FLSA requires non-public agency fire departments, pay ...

A large group of FDNY emergency medical technicians and paramedics filed a federal lawsuit late last week alleging that the City of New York’s pay practices violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The lawsuit, which contains several claims including uncompensated off-the clock work, regular rate violations, and failure to timely pay overtime compensation was filed in the U.S. District ...

A group of more than 500 Los Angeles firefighters, captains, engineers, fire inspectors, and pilots filed have filed a class action lawsuit alleging that the city fails to include longevity pay, wellness bonuses, retirement incentive pay, special duty pay, platoon duty pay, and educational bonuses in their regular rate of pay in violation of the FLSA. The FLSA requires “all ...

Today’s FLSA Question: Can the terms of a negotiated agreement between a union and an employer [i.e., collective bargaining agreement, memorandum of understanding, etc.] supersede the FLSA’s overtime requirements? Answer: No, a negotiated agreement between a union and an employer will not supersede the FLSA’s overtime requirements. This is a relatively common misconception when it comes to the impact of ...

The City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin has proposed a settlement of more than $1.5 million with several hundred city firefighters following a 2020 FLSA lawsuit. The settlement, which still requires court approval, allocates up to $1.15 million for back wages and damages, up to $400k for the firefighters’ attorneys, another $25k for court costs, and an additional $5k for the firefighter ...

The Destin Fire Control District has settled an FLSA lawsuit with a total of nine firefighters for almost $40,000. The firefighters had alleged that the district required them to attend specific training sessions while off-duty and did not compensate them for that time. The district countered by claiming the firefighters attendance at the trainings was purely voluntary and provided by ...

Firefighters in the City of Gadsden, Alabama recently filed a federal lawsuit alleging the city’s pay practices violate the FLSA. More recently, the same firefighters are now claiming [in an amended complaint filed on August 11, 2022] that the city has unlawfully retaliated against them in violation of both the FLSA and the U.S. Constitution. This story begins in May ...

A group of three Mobile, Alabama Police Department K-9 handlers have filed a federal lawsuit alleging the City of Mobile is violating the FLSA by not properly compensating them for all of the time spent caring for their four-legged partners. Wage and hour claims related to “off-the-clock” work activities like this are relatively commonplace in today’s workplace. The FLSA requires ...

A federal judge has found in favor of a group of thirty Pemberton Township, New Jersey police officers and sergeants following their 2014 lawsuit over uncompensated pre-and-post shift work activities. The judge’s decision, which came after eight years of litigation and a 4-day bench [non-jury] trial found that Pemberton Township failed to pay the officers for time spent preparing their ...