Tag Archives: regular rate

Today’s FLSA Question: My fire department initiated a “sign-on bonus” program for paramedics a couple of years ago. Under the terms of the program, lateral paramedic transfers received a one-time $5,000 sign-on bonus at the time of hire. In exchange for the bonus, the paramedic signed an agreement that they would remain employed with the fire department for at least ...

The City of Kansas City, Missouri has reached a global settlement with 383 current and former city firefighters following their 2019 lawsuit for alleged violations of the FLSA. The firefighters alleged in the lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri on February 8, 2019, that the city failed to include specialty ...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has reversed a lower court ruling that previously dismissed an FLSA overtime lawsuit filed by a North Carolina EMT. Sara Conner, an EMT for Cleveland County, North Carolina Emergency Medical Services filed the lawsuit, on behalf of herself and other similarly situated EMTs, in the U.S. District Court for the Western ...

A United States Magistrate Judge has ruled in the favor of more than 450 Kansas City, Missouri firefighters following their FLSA lawsuit against the city. In a 2019 lawsuit, Kansas City firefighters claimed the city failed to include a wide range of wage augments in their overtime rate of pay. The FLSA requires “all remuneration for employment paid to, or ...

The City of New York is once again facing an FLSA lawsuit filed by FDNY Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workers. In a 15-page complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on September 16, 2021, three named plaintiffs claim the City of New York is systematically underpaying its EMS workers. Specifically, the complaint alleges ...

A group of four firefighters have filed a lawsuit, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleging their employer, the Village of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, underpaid them for overnight shifts and failed to pay overtime as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law. The Village of Winthrop Harbor is a ...

The City of Chickasha, Oklahoma and has settled an FLSA lawsuit with 31 city firefighters for almost $150,000. The settlement stems from a December 2020 lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. The firefighters alleged the city failed to include longevity pay in their regular rate of pay. The FLSA requires wage augments, like ...

The City of New York has agreed to pay four current and former FDNY Motor Vehicle Operators (MVOs) and their attorneys a total of $429,901.18 to settle an unpaid overtime lawsuit. The MVOs, filed the lawsuit in June 2019, alleging the city failed to pay them for required pre-and-post shift activities (i.e., off-the-clock work), time spent working during unpaid meal ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a non-exempt battalion chief for a municipal fire department. Our department requires all non-exempt chief officers, like myself receive FLSA comp time in lieu of FLSA overtime. Recently, the city changed some comp time policies. First, the maximum number of comp time hours an employee can accrue is now capped at 300 hours. Previously, we ...

The Borrego Springs Fire Protection District (District) has reached a settlement with twenty-five firefighters following an FLSA lawsuit filed in May 2020. The firefighters claimed the District failed to include money paid directly to firefighters in lieu of employer sponsored medical benefits, paramedic certification, and holiday in lieu pay in their regular rate of pay. The terms of the settlement ...