Tag Archives: wage and hour

The Augusta-Richmond County Fire Department has reached a settlement with more than sixty- firefighters following allegations the county failed to include supplemental pay granted to firefighters for either EMT or Paramedic certification in the firefighter’s regular rate of pay. The FLSA requires virtually all remuneration — like compensation paid to firefighters for EMT or paramedic certification — included in a ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am the president of my local firefighter’s union. I was told that since we live in a collective bargaining state and are not subject to right-to-work laws, knowledge of the FLSA is not essential for us. Is this true? Answer: Nothing could be further from the truth. The FLSA is a federal law. Virtually all of ...

Today’s FLSA Question: Several firefighters and I discovered our fire department was violating the FLSA. We brought the errors to the chief’s attention, and he quickly made corrections. The payroll problems pre-dated his tenure as chief and it was an honest mistake, however most firefighters are owed several years back wages. The chief assured us that he would discuss this ...

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 ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am the fire chief of a small paid fire department with a mixture of full-time and part-time firefighters. Our full-time firefighters work a 24/48 schedule for an average of 56 hours per week. The Town Council hired a new town manager last year. He is highly critical of our overtime budget. He has proven relentless in ...

Cody Inman, a former 911 dispatcher for the City of Water Valley, Mississippi, has filed a federal lawsuit seeking back overtime and straight time wages in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. The suit, which was filed November 8, 2018, alleges the city misclassified Inman as an “employee engaged in fire protection activities” (§207(k) firefighter) in ...

Union officials in Pueblo City, Colorado are sounding the alarm over the city’s decision to temporarily close engine companies while firefighters assigned to those rigs attend paramedic school. According to KOAA, News channel 5, nine city firefighters are currently attending paramedic school during their normally assigned work shifts. The department has structured the training so that only one engine company, ...

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 ...

The Los Angeles County Fire Department is facing scrutiny over departmental overtime and payroll costs. According to the Los Angeles Times (Times), overtime costs for the more than 4,800-member department has increased 36 percent in the past 5 years. The department spent over $200 million on overtime in 2017. In response to these increases, the county recently launched an internal ...

Question: I recently accepted a position as a fire chief for a small department. I just retired as a battalion chief from a larger neighboring department. My new department considers my position as overtime exempt. I know I will be working well over 40 hours per week. During the interview process I was assured I could accrue comp time, since ...