Tag Archives: wage and hour

Paramedic and Length of Service Bonuses and the FLSA

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a full-time firefighter for a small city fire department. Our state does not recognize collective bargaining for public employees and we are not represented by a union.  Firefighter pay in our city lags behind most of our neighboring departments. As a result, recruitment and retention is a huge issue. The city recently looked to address ...

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Louisiana City Settles 2008 Lawsuit with Firefighters

The City of Bastrop, Louisiana, and a group of current and former city firefighters have finally reached a settlement following almost fifteen years of litigation, special property tax increases, and promises. The story starts back in 2008, when 32 Bastrop firefighters filed a lawsuit alleging the city was not paying them as required by Louisiana law. Louisiana law requires most ...

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Comp Time Agreements and the FLSA

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a union firefighter for a mid-sized municipal fire department. Our labor contract with the city allows firefighters to receive FLSA comp time instead of FLSA overtime. Despite this option our firefighters have always chosen overtime pay. To my knowledge, the city has never provided any firefighter with comp time. Recently, several firefighters including myself requested ...

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Jonesboro Arkansas Facing FLSA Lawsuit from Former Emergency Dispatcher

A former emergency dispatcher for the City of Jonesboro, Arkansas has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the city of Jonesboro violated both the FLSA and Arkansas state law. The lawsuit was filed by Laura Trullinger on behalf of herself and other similarly situated individuals [i.e., other city workers] in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, earlier ...

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DOL Expected to Change Salary Requirement for Overtime Exempt Employees

In today’s Fire Law VLOG, Curt and Bill discuss the fire service implications related to an expected increase in the minimum salary requirements for overtime exempt white-collar [EAP] employees. Do you have questions about the FLSA and how it applies to firefighters and other first responders? Please consider attending the next FLSA for Fire Departments Live Webinar scheduled for June ...

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Firefighters, Required Pre-Shift Meeting and the FLSA

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a paid firefighter in a small full-time fire department. My department has one station and a total of 7 firefighters on-duty per shift. We work 24-hour shifts that start at 7 am. We rotate ride positions between two engines and an EMS unit. Our department’s policy requires that all personnel report to the shift captain ...

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Collective Bargaining, Comp Time, and the FLSA

Today’s FLSA Question: My fire department has a firefighter out on long-term leave. He is receiving his normal salary by utilizing his accrued sick leave while out of work. While on leave he performed six hours of computer type work from home. This work wasn’t required. He volunteered to file some reports related to grants and other computer work. As ...

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$16.5 Million Settlement Reached in FEMA Unpaid Overtime Claim

According to AFGE Local 4060, the union that represents thousands of Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] workers, a $16.5 million settlement has been reached following a 2018 grievance for unpaid overtime. According to the union’s president Steven Reaves the bulk of the settlement funds will be distributed to effected employees based on various factors and data and will likely take ...

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Dallas Firefighters Claim City Shorted them on Overtime Pay

The Dallas Fire Fighters Association is claiming that the City of Dallas, Texas has failed to pay hundreds of firefighters’ tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime dating back several months. According to union officials, the city failed to pay some firefighters overtime for hours worked during the months of December 2021 and January 2022, in violation of city ...

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