Tag Archives: exemption

The City of San Luis Obispo has reportedly reached a settlement with city firefighters following a 2016 federal lawsuit regarding overtime pay. The firefighters alleged the city failed to include money paid in-lieu of receiving employer sponsored medical benefits in the firefighter’s regular rate of pay. Properly determining a firefighter’s regular rate is critical, since all FLSA overtime must be ...

Today’s FLSA Question: Does the FLSA require employers to pay employees while they are on military leave? Answer: Good question. The answer is maybe . . . and it depends. . . We need a little more information to answer this one. As a general rule, the FLSA does not require that employers continue to pay employees while they’re on ...

Today’s FLSA question: I am a U.S citizen working as a contract firefighter at a U.S. military base overseas. The company I work for is based in the U.S. My co-workers and I receive straight time for all hours worked. We receive zero overtime. We average over 80 hours of work per week! Does the FLSA apply to us? The ...

Former Killian, Louisiana, Police Chief Dennis Hill has been indicted on felony malfeasance charges for allegedly requesting payments for overtime he never worked. The felony charge comes on the heels of an investigation conducted by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor into the former chief’s actions. Despite numerous claims of alleged criminal conduct within the auditor’s report, the grand jury only indicted ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am the HR director for a suburban town. The fire chief is going to be out on medical leave for several months. The senior assistant chief will be moved up to fill in for the chief in his absence. Senior fire department staff (chief and both assistants) are overtime exempt. Even though it is not required, ...

Former Paxton, IL, Chief of Police Robert Bane filed a lawsuit in federal court last week seeking money damages for unpaid overtime wages, additional unspecified money damages for retaliation under the FLSA, and a court order requiring that the city reinstate the chief to his former position. The lawsuit follows Chief Bane’s termination by the city in August 2017. Chief ...

This past July the Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD) filed an unusual lawsuit against the union that represents Spokane Valley firefighters (IAFF Local 3701). SVFD wanted the court to issue a “declaratory judgement” that SVFD battalion chiefs and fire marshals were exempt from receiving FLSA overtime. A declaratory judgement is when a court is asked to issue a formal opinion ...

Today’s FLSA Question I attended one of your Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Fire Departments seminars last year. I learned a great deal about the FLSA over those three days. However, I just took a promotional examination for deputy chief within my fire department and found the following question: Which of the following must be true in order for ...

The wait is finally over. On August 31, a federal judge in Texas issued an opinion formally striking down proposed Department of Labor (DOL) changes for Executive, Administrative, and Professional (EAP) employee exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The latest decision comes several months following this judge’s earlier ruling that postponed the long-awaited implementation of new federal regulations. ...

As many of us are keenly aware, firefighters do not always receive overtime after working 40 hours in a week. In fact, firefighters are often required to work upwards of 53 hours per week before receiving any overtime.