Osceola County Settles with Battalion Chiefs Following FLSA Suit

Osceola County, Florida, and a group of fourteen current and former fire department battalion chiefs have reached a settlement following a 2024 misclassification lawsuit. The battalion chiefs claimed that the county misclassified them as overtime exempt executives in violation of the FLSA. The county countered that the battalion chiefs were “properly classified” and denied all of their claims. However, according to the settlement documents, both parties sought to compromise and settle these claims.

The terms of the settlement require the county to pay the battalion chiefs a total of  $344,962.40 and reclassify the battalion chiefs as non-exempt [i.e., overtime eligible] employees moving forward. A total of $211,500.92 is earmarked as back-pay, $105,750.46 represents liquidated damages, and another $27,711.02 for the battalion chiefs’ attorneys. As a general rule, liquidated damages are typically equal to the amount of back wages owed. Based on the settlement amounts listed above, the amount of liquidated damages appears to be only fifty percent of the back wages owed.

Here is a copy of the Joint Motion for Settlement Approval and earlier coverage on the battalion chiefs’ lawsuit from FirefighterOvertime.org.