Tag Archives: retaliation

Alabama City and Firefighters Reach Settlement Following Claims of FLSA Regular Rate Violations and Retaliation

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 ...

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Selma AL Reaches “Confidential” Settlement Following FLSA Misclassification Lawsuit

The City of Selma, Alabama has reached an undisclosed “confidential” settlement with three fire department assistant fire marshals/fire investigators following their 2021 lawsuit for unpaid overtime, breach of contract, and FLSA retaliation. The plaintiffs’ complaint set forth three basic allegations. First, the plaintiffs claim the city misclassified them as overtime exempt employees in violation of the FLSA. Second, the city ...

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More Litigation in Morgantown

Lawyers representing almost one-hundred Morgantown, West Virginia firefighters and police officers filed four separate lawsuits against the city this past week. In addition to the lawsuits, the unions that represent the city’s police officers and firefighters also announced “no-confidence” votes in the city council, city manager, and human resources director. The firefighters and police officers claim that recent reductions in ...

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Shift Trades and Fire Department Recordkeeping Likely to Play A Crucial Role in Former Firefighter’s Discrimination and Harassment Lawsuit

The Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department is facing a harassment and discrimination lawsuit filed by a former city firefighter. The lawsuit, brought by former firefighter Jyan Harris in 2018, alleges the city improperly fired him in for “double-dipping” on several occasions in 2015. Harris’s trial began last Thursday, and early indications show that the Kansas City Fire Department’s recordkeeping practices ...

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West Virginia Holiday Pay Dispute Wages On

Firefighters in Morgantown, West Virginia have demanded a public hearing with the city’s civil service commission following allegations of retaliation for refusing to settle a 2019 lawsuit over holiday pay. In June 2019, fifty-eight Morgantown firefighters filed the lawsuit alleging the City of Morgantown violated a West Virginia law that requires either paid time off, or time-and-one-half pay for all ...

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WV Firefighter Holiday Pay Dispute Heading to State Supreme Court

Lawyers representing the City of Martinsburg, West Virginia recently announced that the city will appeal a state court decision over holiday compensation for the city’s firefighters. In a February 2020 decision, Judge Laura Faircloth found as a matter of law [i.e. absent a trial], that the city’s holiday pay plan for its firefighters violated the West Virginia Wage Payment and ...

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Judge Sides with WV Firefighters In First Round of Holiday Pay Dispute; Extent of Damages and Fate of Retaliation Claims Remain

A Berkeley County West Virginia Circuit Court judge issued a summary judgement ruling in favor of approximately three dozen current and former Martinsburg, West Virginia firefighters following a 2018 lawsuit over holiday pay. A summary judgement ruling is a judicial decision based on undisputed facts without the need for a full-blown trial. Here, Judge Laura Faircloth found the city liable ...

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Firefighters, Overtime, and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Firefighters, Overtime, and the Fair Labor Standards Act is the title of an article appearing in this month’s Firehouse Magazine. The article was written by my friend and colleague Curt Varone. The article is based on Curt’s Fire Litigation Database and delves into the top five reasons fire departments are getting sued under the FLSA. In the following podcast, Curt ...

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