Tag Archives: regular rate

The Town of Brookline, Massachusetts and group of more than 100 current and former firefighters and officers have reached a settlement to resolve a 2023 lawsuit. The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court on December 1, 2023, by two Brookline fire lieutenants quickly grew to include a class of 119 other current and former Brookline firefighters and officers. The ...

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: ...

A group of more than forty current and former Los Angeles police officers have filed a lawsuit alleging the city’s pay practices violate the FLSA. The officers’ complaint was filed in federal court this week as a collective action and will likely grow to include more “similarly situated” officers. According to the complaint, the city fails to include educational incentives ...

The City of Gadsden and ninety-four current and former city firefighters and officers of various ranks have reached a global settlement following a 2022 FLSA lawsuit. The firefighter’s initial complaint, which was filed in federal court in May 2022 was limited to alleged violations of the firefighters’ regular rate of pay. However, that complaint was amended in August 2022 to ...

Two-hundred and twenty-three Fort Wayne, Indiana firefighters have filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging the City of Fort Wayne isn’t calculating their overtime pay as required by the FLSA. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana on August 15, 2024. The firefighters claim the city is calculating their regular and ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I have noticed several recruiting announcements lately where municipalities and private corporations are offering new paramedics sign-on, retention, and even relocation bonuses. These bonuses can be significant. In fact, one agency is offering a $10,000 sign-on bonus, a $10,000 retention bonus (after completing 2 years) and another $5,000 as a relocation bonus. Do these bonuses need to ...

A Lancaster, Pennsylvania, firefighter has dropped an FLSA regular rate lawsuit pending a potential settlement. Geoff Stone, the president of the Lancaster Professional Firefighters, IAFF Local 319 filed the lawsuit on behalf of himself and other firefighters in federal court in October, 2023. Chief among his allegations was that the city failed to include longevity pay in his [and other ...

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 ...

A lieutenant from the Warren Township Fire Department, in Warren, Ohio has filed a lawsuit against his employer claiming the department’s pay practices violate several provisions of the FLSA.  Lieutenant Gregory Wrightsman filed the lawsuit on behalf of himself and other “similarly situated” individuals [i.e., other firefighters that may eventually join in on the lawsuit] in the United States District ...

A federal judge has ruled that an FLSA lawsuit filed by a lone former Independence, Missouri firefighter can move forward as a collective action. A collective action under the FLSA is a mechanism that allows similarly situated current and former employees the ability to band together in an FLSA lawsuit against their current or former employer. A collective action is ...