Following several years of sparring between the City of Wilmington, DE and its firefighters’ union, the city is proposing a drastic change to the firefighters’ work shifts. The city has submitted a proposal to a neutral third-party arbitrator calling for firefighters to move from a four-platoon to a three-platoon organizational structure as a way to save money. According to ABC ...
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Anchorage Settles Payroll Issue with City Firefighters for an Estimated $2 Million
The City of Anchorage, AK has settled an ongoing issue with city firefighters related to a mistake-ridden payroll software program that was part of a city-wide computer software upgrade that began in 2011. The city-wide software program initially came with a $10.6 million price tag however, that cost has sky-rocketed to an estimated $81 million over the past 8 years. ...
Read More »AL City Resolves Underpayment of Overtime with City Firefighters
Rainbow City, AL has paid twenty-two city firefighters a total of $22,846.88 following a Department of Labor Wage and Hour investigation. The investigation looked at the way city firefighters were paid from August 2017 to August 2019. The investigation revealed the city failed to pay firefighters overtime and maintain records as required by the FLSA. Specifically, the city agreed to ...
Read More »Training Required for Promotion and the FLSA
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 ...
Read More »AZ Fire District Facing Unpaid Overtime and FLSA Retaliation Lawsuit from Office Manager Responsible for Payroll
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 ...
Read More »Providence Settles FLSA Lawsuit with Police Officers for More Than $1.7 Million
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 ...
Read More »Consecutive Hours Worked and the FLSA
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 ...
Read More »Tennessee County Facing FLSA Suit from Medic
Gary Perry, a paramedic for Montgomery County Emergency Medical Services, has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the county fails to pay him and other similarly situated medics overtime as required by the FLSA. According to Perry’s complaint—which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee on October 28—the county does not provide Perry and other ...
Read More »Lump Sum Annual OT Payments and the FLSA
Today’s FLSA Question: I am a full-time paid firefighter that works a 24/48 schedule for an average of 56 hours per week. Historically, firefighters in our city received all of their FLSA overtime in one big check at the end of the year. The city maintained a running record of all the overtime pay firefighters were owed from scheduled work ...
Read More »Arkansas Firefighters Gearing Up to File FLSA Suit Over On-Call Time
A lawyer representing a group of Blytheville, Arkansas firefighters is gearing up to sue the City of Blytheville for unpaid wages. According to NewsChannel 3, the lawyer sent a “demand letter” to city officials indicating the intent to file an FLSA lawsuit over a city policy that requires city firefighters be on-call 24-hours per day, seven days per week in ...
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