Firefighter Overtime Discussing Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Firefighters, First Responders as well as Human Resource & Finance Professional

Prince George’s County Fire Chief Tiffany Green has announced a plan to reassign paid personnel from four of the county’s fire stations in an effort to reduce anticipated “critical staffing shortages” and “excessive mandatory callbacks and holdovers.” This reassignment comes on the heels of the firefighter’s unions voicing concerns related to its firefighter’s mental health and burnout due to excessive ...

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a class of more than 150 current and former LA County firefighters alleging that the county failed to pay recruit firefighters for all hours “worked” during the course of five separate recruit academies spanning an eight-month period in 2020. The firefighter’s claims centered around the county’s decision to offer a compressed ...

The union that represents firefighters from the James Island Public Service District’s, Fire and Rescue Department is renewing its plea for higher firefighter pay. The James Island Public Service District, which is a special Public Service District located on the outskirts of Charleston, South Carolina, provides sewer, trash, and fire and rescue services to around 10,000 homes on James Island. ...

A long running dispute over firefighter pay, staffing levels, and overtime has reached the boiling point in Manhattan Beach, California. This past week, a group of twelve city firefighters filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the city has unlawfully retaliated against them after they went public with complaints over what they refer to as “crushing” amounts of overtime in recent ...

A group of fourteen current and former battalion chiefs from the Osceola County Fire Rescue and EMS Department have filed a lawsuit alleging the county improperly classified them as overtime exempt executive and administrative employees in violation of the FLSA. Whether any employee can be classified as an overtime exempt executive or administrative employee depends on the specific facts involved. ...

The City of Carbondale, Pennsylvania’s City Council voted to privatize its paid firefighting force by a 5-2 vote late last week. The Carbondale Fire Department is a combination department operating with a small number of paid firefighters augmented by volunteers. According to ABC News Channel 16 [WNEP] the department’s paid staff has dwindled to only four firefighters. As a result, ...

The labor dispute between the union representing firefighters and Boeing took a drastic turn this past weekend when Boeing locked out 125 private firefighters that work at the corporation’s Renton and Everett, Washington manufacturing facilities. The heart of the dispute centers on the firefighter’s wages. According to Boeing the average annual salary for a firefighter is around $91,000. The firefighters ...

An emergency medical technician (EMT) employed by the Clark County Illinois Ambulance Department filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging the county’s on-call requirements for its EMTs violates both the FLSA and IL state law. The suit, which was filed by a lone EMT in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois late last month contains allegations ...

Should firefighters be paid the same as police officers? That is the question being asked in Mobile, Alabama following a 2022 lawsuit filed by members of Mobile Fire and Rescue Department. The lawsuit alleges the city violated an Alabama state law that requires police officers and firefighters be paid the same. Pay parity between police and fire is not a ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I work as a full-time fire lieutenant for a combination fire department. Our full-time firefighters and officers work a 24/48 schedule. We also have a small group of volunteer firefighters that assist at larger incidents. I am on my department’s grant committee. The committee consists of myself, the Fire Marshal, and the Assistant Chief. I am the ...