Tag Archives: FLSA for Fire Departments

Osceola County Settles with Battalion Chiefs Following FLSA Suit

Osceola County, Florida, and a group of fourteen current and former fire department battalion chiefs have reached a settlement following a 2024 misclassification lawsuit. The battalion chiefs claimed that the county misclassified them as overtime exempt executives in violation of the FLSA. The county countered that the battalion chiefs were “properly classified” and denied all of their claims. However, according ...

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Bartlesville Oklahoma Looking to Settle FLSA Lawsuit with City Firefighters

The Bartlesville, Oklahoma City Council is poised to approve a settlement offer intended to resolve a lawsuit filed in federal court last week by 75 current and former city firefighters. The firefighters’ complaint contains allegations that the city violated the FLSA by failing to include “various stipends” in their regular rate of pay. According to the complaint, these stipends include: ...

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Second FLSA Lawsuit in a Week for West Virginia Firefighters

Two similar FLSA lawsuits have been filed by firefighters from two different West Virginia cities in the past week. The first, which my friend and colleague Curt Varone covered on his Fire Law Blog last Wednesday, contained allegations that the City of Clarksburg was improperly calculating its firefighter’s regular rate of pay in violation of the FLSA. [You can find ...

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Lockheed Martin Settles 2022 FLSA Lawsuit with Firefighters for Close to $1 Million

Lockheed Martin [a global aerospace and defense contractor] has settled a 2022 FLSA lawsuit filed by a group of forty-nine industrial firefighters for a total of $949,996. The crux of the firefighter’s claims was that Lockheed Martin only paid its in-house firefighters’ overtime after they worked more than 48 hours per week. The FLSA requires non-public agency fire departments, pay ...

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Jackson Mississippi Firefighters Push for Pay Raises

Tensions between firefighters and their fire chief are running high in Jackson, Mississippi over firefighter pay and the chief’s newly proposed budget. The chief’s proposed budget, which does not include any pay raises for city firefighters has the firefighters seeing red. As a result, Jackson firefighters are pushing back against their fire chief and requesting a vote of “no confidence” ...

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Los Angeles County Fire Prevails in COVID Related FLSA Lawsuit

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a lone Los Angeles firefighter for unpaid overtime while attending the county’s fire academy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawsuit, which was initially filed in state court only to be moved to federal court in July 2021, contained allegations that both the city and the County of Los Angeles failed to ...

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DOL Investigation Yields $672K In Back OT for Gary IN Firefighters and Medics

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has ordered the City of Gary, Indiana to pay 154 firefighters and 18 paramedics a total of $672,000 in back overtime wages. The order follows a DOL investigation into the city’s pay practices related to firefighter and medic pay. According to the DOL, the city failed to pay firefighters overtime for all hours worked ...

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GA Battalion Chiefs File FLSA Lawsuit

Ten Cobb County, Georgia battalion chiefs have filed a federal lawsuit alleging the county has failed to pay them overtime as required by federal law. More specifically, the battalion chiefs claim the county misclassified them as overtime exempt “white collar” employees in violation of the FLSA. Quoting from the complaint: Within the last three years, and continuing to date, while ...

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