Tag Archives: off-the-clock

Planes, Trains, Automobiles, and the FLSA. . .

Today’s FLSA Question: I am the assistant chief for a mid-sized full-time paid fire department. The department is sending two fire officers out-of-state to inspect a new piece of fire apparatus we are purchasing. The apparatus factory is about two hours away by airplane or 6 hours by car. One of the officers wants to leave a day early and ...

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Allegations of Improper Sleep Time Deductions by National Air Ambulance Company

Three flight paramedics and one flight nurse have filed an FLSA lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, against their employer, Air Methods Corporation. The suit alleges Air Methods improperly deducts sleep time from employees hours worked in an effort to evade FLSA overtime requirements. While this suit only includes four plaintiffs at this time, attorneys ...

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Denying Unauthorized Overtime Can Prove Costly

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a fire chief. I recently had a lieutenant work past the end of his shift and submit an overtime request without authorization. I denied his request for overtime and reminded him that all non-emergency overtime must be pre-approved in advance. Now, the union has filed a grievance and the lieutenant is saying he may institute ...

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California Firefighters and City Settle FLSA Claims for More than $280,000

The City of La Verne, California has reached a settlement with a group of twenty-seven current and former city firefighters following allegations of unpaid overtime. The settlement follows a February 2018 FLSA lawsuit filed by the firefighters in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The firefighters made two basic claims in the suit. First, the city ...

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California Voters Clear Path Around Costly Wage and Hour Laws for Some EMS Workers

California voters overwhelmingly approved a voter initiative entitled Proposition 11 – Emergency Ambulance Employee Safety and Preparedness Act” (Act) during last week’s mid-term election. In part, this new state law will require ambulance companies provide advanced training and improved access to mental health assistance for private sector ambulance workers. In addition, Proposition 11 also mandates paid rest periods for ambulance ...

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Firefighter Recruits, Homework, and the FLSA

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a fire department training instructor. I help teach at the fire academy a few days per month. I recently instructed one of the recruits to spend some extra time working on ropes over a long weekend. The captain in charge of training informed me that I shouldn’t make those types of statements. In fact, he ...

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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 ...

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California County Settles FLSA Suit for Overtime at Sheriff’s Training Academy

The County of Riverside, California, has settled a lawsuit filed by 24 former trainees over unpaid overtime. The 24 claimed the county failed to pay trainees for all hours worked during their 26-week training academy. The lawsuit was initially filed by Matthew Dashiell, a former sheriff’s deputy trainee. Dashiell was a trainee at the sheriff’s department training academy in 2013. ...

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