Tag Archives: Fair Labor Standards Act

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a full-time firefighter. I recently left my first firefighting job in a small combination department. I worked there for almost 5 years before moving onto a bigger department. My former colleagues at this small combination department recently settled a long-running contract dispute with the town. As a result of this settlement, the firefighters will be ...

The Department of Labor (DOL) will be implementing several important updates to regulations related to the FLSA over the next few weeks. These updates include an increase in the minimum salary required for overtime exempt “white-collar” employees and critical changes to DOL regulations related to the regular rate of pay. It would be nearly impossible to properly address these changes ...

Madison County, Tennessee, has agreed to a $1.25 million settlement with over 100 county employees following an FLSA lawsuit filed earlier this year. In July 2019, Natasha Grayson filed the suit in the U.S. District Court from the Western District of Tennessee on behalf of herself and other similarly situated county employees. The suit quickly grew to include over 100 ...

The City of New York has been ordered to pay a total of 2,519 current and former FDNY EMTs, medics, and Fire Safety Inspectors (EMTs) $14,477,026 in back pay and liquidated damages after being found liable of violating the FLSA. On October 24, 2019 a jury unanimously found the city failed to pay EMTs for time spent working before and ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am an HR director for a mid-sized city. The fire chief wants to require all future officers possess NFPA 1041 (Fire Service Instructor) and 1021 (Fire Officer I) certification prior to getting promoted. The chief tells me these classes are frequently offered at the state fire academy at a minimal cost. The chief also believes these ...

Hazel “Pepper” Corbin, a civilian office employee for the Arizona City Fire District, has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the district failed to pay her overtime as required by the FLSA and state law. Corbin’s suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona on December 2, makes rather common wage and hour allegations against ...

Three Newton County, Georgia Battalion Chiefs (BCs) have filed a federal lawsuit claiming the County’s Fire Department fails to pay them overtime in violation of the FLSA. Battalion Chiefs Bobby Cagle, Brian Massey, and Ralph “Trey” Stewart III filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, on November 27, 2019. Specifically, the three BCs ...

The City of Providence, RI has settled a 2013 FLSA lawsuit filed by city police officers for more than $1.7 million dollars. According to the Providence Journal, the terms of the settlement require the city to pay $1.5 million to more than 400 current and former officers and an additional $223,000 to the officers’ attorneys. The city has yet to ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am the fire chief of a mid-sized full-time fire department. Currently, our firefighters work 24-hour shifts; however, the firefighters’ union is proposing a move to 48-hour work shifts. I am open to the change, but I am concerned about firefighter fatigue and the effects of working shifts longer than 48 hours. We do not have a ...

Stan Smith, a former Fire Marshal for the City of Sand Springs, Oklahoma Fire Department has agreed to a $247,500 settlement with the city following his 2017 lawsuit over unpaid overtime. Smith filed a rather common straight-forward FLSA lawsuit in September 2017. Smith alleged that he regularly performed work during his unpaid scheduled lunch hour. The FLSA requires employers pay ...