CT Firefighters File FLSA Lawsuit Against the Town of East Hartford

A group of more than one hundred current and former employees of the East Hartford Fire Department have filed a federal lawsuit against the Town of East Hartford, Connecticut, alleging violations of the FLSA. The plaintiffs (firefighters) make two basic claims. First, that the Town failed to calculate the firefighters’ regular rate correctly and as a result shorted the firefighters’ overtime rate pay. Second, that the Town improperly classified several plaintiffs assigned to support activities as §207(k) firefighters, which resulted in those plaintiffs failing to receive overtime required by the FLSA.

The complaint contains two distinct groups of plaintiffs. The first group involves current and former East Hartford firefighters that are or were engaged in fire suppression activities and assigned to 24-hour shifts. One of the primary allegations made by these plaintiffs is that the Town failed to include additional forms of compensation [a.k.a. remuneration] in their regular rate of pay. This included extra money paid to firefighters for holidays, acting officer pay, paramedic certifications, education incentives, and money received as part of a wellness program.

The second group encompasses current and former employees assigned to apparatus repair, the fire marshal’s office, EMS, training, and the fire alarm divisions. According to the complaint, these plaintiffs are generally scheduled to work 35 hours per week. These employees also allege that their regular rate was not correctly calculated, however they also allege that some of them were misclassified as §207(k) firefighters and should have received overtime pay after working 40 hours in a 7-day workweek and not after working 212 hours in a 28-day work period.

In addition to these claims, both the firefighters and support staff claim the Town paid all overtime at a rate of time and one-quarter of a contractually negotiated hourly rate instead of time and one-half of the regular rate. The FLSA requires that all federally mandated overtime be paid at a rate not less than time and one-half of an employee’s regular rate of pay. The ins-and-outs of contract versus FLSA overtime is an advanced FLSA topic that can be confusing to fully grasp.

Overtime pay for firefighters often comes from different sources. Two of the most common  sources can be contract overtime and FLSA overtime. While both of these forms of overtime pay may be referred to as “overtime,” contract and FLSA overtime operate in different ways and serve different purposes.

Contract overtime exists because an employer has agreed to it. The rules are written into an employment contract, a union or collective bargaining agreement, or a company policy such as an employee handbook. These rules can be customized to fit the workplace and are often more generous than federal law. For example, a contract might promise overtime pay for working anything additional beyond the firefighter’s normally scheduled hours, or for hours worked on certain holidays. Typically, when an employee believes that his employer has not met its obligation under a contract, the remedy is likely a grievance or possibly a state court action for breach of contract or another type of similar remedy.

FLSA overtime, on the other hand, is required by the Fair Labor Standards Act, a U.S. federal law that sets baseline wage and hour protections. It applies to employees who are classified as non-exempt. Under the FLSA, employers must pay at least one and one-half times an employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked over maximum hours for the workweek, or in the case of firefighters, the work period. These requirements cannot be waived or reduced by a contract or employment policy, even if the employee agrees to it. The FLSA establishes a mandatory floor of protection that applies nationwide.

When both contract overtime and FLSA overtime apply, they work together rather than in conflict. The FLSA sets the minimum standard, and any contract or policy can only improve upon that standard, not undercut it. In practice, this means employees are entitled to whichever overtime provision is more favorable to them. If a contract offers overtime sooner or at a higher rate than the FLSA requires, the employer must follow the contract. If the contract is silent or less generous, the employer must still comply with the FLSA.

Here, the plaintiffs are seeking:

• A declaration that the Town violated the FLSA
• Back pay and unpaid overtime compensation for the past three years
• Liquidated damages
• Pre-judgment and post-judgment interest
• Attorneys’ fees and costs
• A complete and accurate accounting of wages
• Any additional relief the Court deems appropriate

Here is a copy of the complaint.