Tag Archives: firefighters

Six Wichita, Kansas fire investigators have filed a federal lawsuit seeking overtime pay under the FLSA. The City of Wichita currently classifies fire investigators as employees engaged in fire protection activities under the FLSA’s §207(k) partial overtime exemption. The investigators claim they should be classified law enforcement personnel as opposed to employees engaged in fire protection activities for FLSA overtime ...

The City of Palo Alto, California continues to settle claims for unpaid overtime with city firefighters. The city has paid more than $1.5 million in the past year to firefighters and other city employees for failing to include all remuneration in the regular rate of pay for FLSA overtime purposes. Some of these payments stem from a 2016 lawsuit filed ...

The City of Chula Vista, California has agreed to pay over 100 firefighters just over $1 million in back wages and other damages for FLSA violations. The firefighters filed a lawsuit to recover back wages and additional damages in August of 2016. The firefighters claimed the city failed to calculate the regular rate of pay correctly. Proper calculation of the ...

Horry County Fire Rescue wants to hire at least 15 new part-time firefighters. The part-time firefighters would be utilized as “fill-ins” for full-time firefighters in an effort to reduce mandatory overtime in the department. Mandatory overtime is not a new problem for Horry County Fire Rescue. Here is a story from this past summer that first detailed the County’s mandatory ...

Thirteen Hermosa Beach, firefighters have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The firefighters claim the city improperly calculated the regular rate of pay and failed to pay overtime for all hours worked each work period. Properly calculating the regular rate is critical since FLSA ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I run payroll for a small, full-time paid fire department. In lieu of department-issued cell phones, the fire chief has proposed a $50-per-month flat cell phone reimbursement for members of the command staff. The command staff (non-exempt) are required to have phones and must be available in case of an emergency. Does the FLSA require this reimbursement ...

Today’s FLSA question: I am a paid firefighter. I worked a 24-hour overtime shift a couple of Saturday’s ago. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, it was the last day of daylight savings time. I worked 25-hours instead of 24-hours. But, I was only paid for 24-hours of overtime. Doesn’t the FLSA require payment for all 25-hours? You ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a deputy fire chief in charge of administration and personnel. Our firefighters work a 24/48 schedule with a 21-day work period and an assigned Kelly day every third week. We recently suspended (without pay) a firefighter for two 24-hours shifts following a serious disciplinary matter. Instead of serving the suspension as planned, the firefighter has ...

A group of current and former firefighters in Gwinnett County, Georgia, have begun a grassroots campaign attempting to raise community awareness about mandatory overtime. The group, which is led by a retired firefighter claims excessive overtime in the Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services Department is costing the county millions of dollars while jeopardizing the safety of both firefighters and ...

This past week two unions that represent New York City EMS workers and fire inspectors filed a lawsuit against the city. The suit accuses the city of refusing to release documents related to the race, gender, rank, and disciplinary history of both FDNY and other city workers. The union is seeking this information in an effort to illustrate EMS workers ...