The City of Tipton, Indiana, its mayor and fire chief are facing an FLSA lawsuit filed by a veteran city firefighter. The suit, filed by twenty (plus) year department veteran Chad Frazier, follows a recent Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Investigation which ultimately found fifteen city firefighters were shorted almost $100,000 in overtime wages. In the suit, Frazier ...
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Volunteer Fire Company Sues CT Town Over Volunteer Stipends
An unusual battle between an independent volunteer fire company and a rural New England town has resulted in the fire company filing a lawsuit against the town. In a March 31 lawsuit—filed in New London Superior Court—the Gardner Lake Volunteer Fire Company alleges the Town of Salem, CT is unlawfully withholding almost $28,000 earmarked for volunteer firefighter stipends from the ...
Read More »Rookie New Mexico Firefighters Get A Raise… Thanks to New State Minimum Wage
Entry-level firefighters in Raton, New Mexico received an unexpected wage increase earlier this month following an increase the state’s minimum wage. Effective January 1, 2020 the State of New Mexico increased its minimum wage from $7.50 to $9.00 per hour. The City of Raton and its firefighters work under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement that allows the city ...
Read More »State Wage and Hour Laws Can Trump the FLSA
Today’s FLSA Question: I recently read a story on your website about Rhode Island enacting a new law requiring firefighters be paid overtime after working only 42 hours per week. But the FLSA only mandates overtime pay after firefighters work 53 hours per week. Doesn’t federal law (FLSA) trump (or pre-empt) state law? Answer: Good question. You are not alone ...
Read More »Repayment of Training Costs and the FLSA
Today’s FLSA question. . . Same question. . . Two sides. . . I am a rookie firefighter. I just completed recruit school last week. I was paid minimum wage for 14-weeks while in the academy. I am set to begin on my first shift tomorrow. I don’t think this was a good choice for me and I just found ...
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