Tag Archives: firefighters

Today’s FLSA Question: I am the Fire Marshal for a mid-sized fire department. The town considers my position overtime exempt. I have been pressing town hall for an explanation of why my position is classified this way. The HR Director initially told me I was an overtime exempt executive employee. However, I informed him that exempt executives must supervise other ...

This is the second of a three-part series related to recent updates to Department of Labor (DOL) regulations pertaining to the FLSA. Click here for Part I. The updated regulations will undoubtedly affect many workers in different ways. However, for the purpose of this series, we will look at several key components of the update and how it may impact ...

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 ...

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...