Tag Archives: medics

Fire Departments that utilize the FLSA’s §207(k) partial overtime exemption for cross-trained firefighter/EMTs should carefully review their policies and procedures following a recent court decision. The decision, which was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Ada Brown, invalidated the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport’s Fire Department’s (DFWFD) use of the §207(k) exemption for cross-trained firefighter/EMTs assigned to the department’s EMS ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a newly appointed fire chief. I am very concerned about some of my department’s pay practices. In particular, payments made to firefighters for paramedic certification and longevity are not being included in their regular rate of pay. I want to resolve this issue. Based on my figures, we probably owe our firefighters around $60,000 in ...

The State of California has agreed to pay almost 2000 firefighters a total of $4.8 million in back pay after shortchanging their regular rate over the past several years. According to The Sacramento Bee, the back wages will be going to approximately 1,900 CalFire firefighters that received cash payments in lieu of accepting employer sponsored medical benefits from May 2015 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Two Storey County, Nevada firefighters have filed an FLSA suit against their employer, the Storey County Fire Protection District. The pair claim the district fails to pay them, and other similarly situated firefighters, overtime as required by the FLSA. Specifically, firefighters Victor Yohey and Chris Tillisch allege the district has a practice of not paying firefighters any FLSA overtime for ...