Illinois Paramedic Alleges City Denied Him Overtime for Years

An Illinois paramedic has filed a lawsuit in federal court against his former employer, the City of O’Fallon, claiming the city’s pay practices violate both federal and state wage and hour laws. The crux the lone paramedic’s complaint alleges that the city misclassified him as overtime exempt in violation of the FLSA and the Illinois Minimum Wage law.  Additionally, the complaint includes claims of retaliation and wrongful termination.

Quoting from the complaint:

• Plaintiff was employed by the City of O’Fallon as a paramedic holding a supervisory or management title. However, his actual job duties consisted almost entirely of non-exempt paramedic field work.
• Plaintiff’s primary responsibilities included:
  • Responding to emergency 911 calls;
  • Providing emergency medical care and patient stabilization;
  • Transporting patients to hospitals;
  • Completing detailed patient care and incident reports;
  • Operating and maintaining emergency vehicles;
  • Participating in shift-based public safety operations.
• Approximately 90% of Plaintiff’s work involved hands-on paramedic duties, indistinguishable from those performed by hourly, union-represented paramedics.
• Despite his title, Plaintiff primarily was an on call worker
• Plaintiff worked an average of 58 hours per week, typically completing 116 hours over each two-week pay period.
• Plaintiff received a fixed salary of approximately $99,000 annually, amounting to roughly $1,903.85 per week or $32.82 per hour based on actual hours worked.
• Plaintiff was paid straight time for all hours worked and was never paid an overtime premium for hours worked beyond 40 in a week.
• Plaintiff routinely worked approximately 18 hours of overtime per week.
• The unpaid overtime premium due to him was approximately $295.38 per week, totaling an estimated $46,086.70 over three years.
• Union-represented paramedics performing the same duties were paid overtime in accordance with the city’s collective bargaining agreement. Plaintiff was not in the union, but performed equal or greater non-exempt labor and received no such compensation.
• Defendant was aware of Plaintiff’s job duties and regularly scheduled him for paramedic shifts.
• Defendant maintained timesheets and schedules showing his hours and tasks, and directed him to perform this work.
• In 2023, Plaintiff was terminated. The city cited a “mistaken” work report as the reason. Plaintiff denies wrongdoing and alleges the stated reason was pretextual.
• Plaintiff believes he was terminated in retaliation for engaging in protected activity under the FLSA and IMWL, including questioning his exempt status and unpaid overtime.
• The city failed to follow its own written disciplinary policies, which required progressive discipline and due process before termination. These policies applied to non-union employees such as Plaintiff.
• As a result of the city’s unlawful actions, Plaintiff has suffered lost wages, lost benefits, emotional distress, reputational harm, and other compensable damages.

Here is a copy of the complaint.