Santa Fe Battalion Chiefs File FLSA Misclassification Lawsuit

A group of seven Santa Fe, New Mexico battalion chiefs have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that their employer, the City of Santa Fe, denied them overtime in violation of the FLSA. More specifically, the battalion chiefs claim that the city misclassifies them as overtime exempt “white-collar” employees. Additionally, the chiefs claim that this misclassification results in a violation of the New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Act. Quoting from the complaint:

• Plaintiffs are or have worked as Battalion Chiefs of the City of Santa Fe Fire Department; They all are or were employees of the City of Santa Fe.
• The City of Santa Fe has misclassified the Battalion Chiefs as exempt from the FLSA overtime requirements. Based on their job duties, they do not meet any of the tests for exempt employees under the FLSA.
• Battalion Chiefs are explicitly dispatched as part of the initial emergency response team.
• Battalion Chiefs perform minimal managerial and administrative functions, and the primary duty of Battalion Chiefs is operational and tactical in nature.
• Pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 207(k), Defendant has adopted a work period of 14 days for employees in the Fire Department, including Plaintiffs. Pursuant to that designation, non-exempt employees in the Fire Department are entitled to overtime for all hours worked in excess of 106 hours in the 14-day period.
• Plaintiffs are Shift Working Operational Battalion Chiefs who work 24-hour operational shifts on rotating schedules – this is the typical schedule of other non-exempt personnel rather than the typical schedule of an administrative FLSA exempt position.
• Plaintiffs do not have independent authority to hire, fire, or discipline personnel.
• Plaintiffs are required to work mandatory overtime hours. As a result of the misclassification as FLSA exempt, Plaintiffs are not compensated at the overtime rate for these hours.
• Due to their schedule, Plaintiffs routinely work more than 106 hours in a 14-day period, but are not compensated at overtime rates for those hours in excess of 106.
• In some instances, Plaintiffs are required to work additional hours, often to cover staffing shortages; on these occasions Plaintiffs are provided compensatory time rather than straight time pay.
• If Plaintiffs have reached their maximum allotted compensatory accrual hours, Plaintiff are not compensated at all for this additional work.
• The Public Employees Retirement Act (“PERA”) mandates public employees’ retirement contributions.
• Since July 2021, mandatory overtimes hours can be credited toward PERA.
• Because of the misclassification, Plaintiffs are not afforded this benefit to their PERA contributions.
• Plaintiffs’ complaint states a violation of the FLSA for the misclassification of the Battalion Chiefs at the City of Santa Fe.
• The misclassification of Plaintiffs’ position has resulted in the loss of overtime benefits.
• Plaintiffs have also suffered lost wages for hours worked without pay of straight time, overtime, or compensatory time.

Whether any employee can be properly classified as overtime exempt under the FLSA’s white-collar overtime exemptions requires a careful examination of the way the employee is compensated and the employee’s primary job duties. The FLSA and Department of Labor (DOL) regulations contain numerous requirements that employer’s must be able to prove in order to utilize the white-collar overtime exemptions. Job titles and descriptions alone will not determine whether an employee meets these requirements. We will be keeping a close eye on this case as it develops.

Do you have questions related to FLSA overtime pay for fire and emergency service personnel? Please join us at one of our upcoming in-person seminars or live webinars. Here is the current line-up:

Advanced FLSA: Firefighter Work Schedules for the 21^st Century Live webinar November 19, 2025, at 1PM (EST)

FLSA for Fire Departments – December 9-11, 2025, in DeLand, Florida

Advanced FLSA: Executive Exemption: Fire Officers and Overtime Live webinar December 17, 2025, at 1PM (EST)

FLSA for Fire Departments – February 3-5, 2026, in Houston, Texas

Here is a copy to the complaint.