Tag Archives: Fair Labor Standards Act for Fire Departments

Alabama Firefighters Claim City Retaliated Against Them For Filing FLSA Suit

A lawsuit filed by 91 Alabama firefighters who claimed the City of Gadsden was violating the FLSA, has been amended to accuse the city of retaliating against them for having brought the suit. The firefighters filed their original suit in May alleging the city miscalculated their regular rate, resulting in overtime underpayments.

Court Concludes Overtime Exemption for Company Officers Must Go To Jury

The US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio has ruled that a jury must decide whether company officers in the Eaton Fire Department are entitled to, or exempt from, overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The suit was filed in 2019 by three captains and a lieutenant who claimed they were improperly classified as exempt executives.

Nevada Firefighters Claim Overtime Violation Under FLSA

Two Nevada firefighters have filed a class action suit claiming they and their collogues have been wrongly classified as exempt from overtime. Victor Yohey and Chris Tillisch filed suit last week against the Storey County Fire Protection District in US District Court for the District of Nevada alleging a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Podcast 29 Firefighter Overtime

In this episode, Curt and Bill Maccarone expound on Curt’s January, 2020 article in Firehouse Magazine addressing the most common ways that fire departments are being sued for overtime violations. In the podcast, they go beyond the top five reasons in explaining the overtime issues that are leading to most lawsuits.

Overtime Regs to Change in 2020

The US Department of Labor has formally issued new regulations that will change the way the Fair Labor Standards Act will be applied starting January 1, 2020. Two of the most important changes are an increase in the minimum salary for “white-collar” employees and changes to the calculation of an employee’s overtime rate.

Podcast # 27: Compensation for EMS Training Time

In this episode, Curt discusses an FLSA lawsuit filed by a Memphis firefighter, Jon Misewicz, over the issue of whether firefighters have to be compensated for attending mandatory paramedic training. Misewizc v. City of Memphis is the definitive ruling on the compensability of EMS training time for firefighters.

FLSA, Executive Exemption, Threats and Retaliation

Today’s burning question: The line chiefs in my fire department (deputy and battalion chiefs assigned to shifts) have gotten together to file an FLSA claim. We feel we are improperly classified as being exempt executives when we should be hourly employees. The Fire Chief has publicly stated that if we are successful, he will change our titles to eliminate the word “Chief”. Can he do that?

Wichita Settles Fire Investigators’ FLSA Claims for $155k

The city of Wichita has reached a settlement with six fire investigators who filed suit late last year claiming they were being improperly required to work 204 hours per 27-day work period before being eligible for overtime. The six investigators will split $140,000 while their attorneys will receive $15,000.

Compensation For Work While On Vacation

Today’s burning question: We are combination department in which our full-time firefighters are permitted to respond back to alarms. We pay them their overtime rate for the extra time they work. Is it permissible under the FLSA to pay the firefighter overtime for returning to an alarm while we are paying him to be on vacation (ie. twice for the same time)?

San Luis Obispo FLSA Settlement Calls For $3k In Damages $54k in Attorney’s Fees

The City of San Luis Obispo has reached an agreement to settle a Fair Labor Standards Act overtime lawsuit filed by its firefighters. The suit filed in 2016 alleged the city failed to include certain payments in the overtime.

California Firefighters Battle With Mayor

This past weekend, a local newspaper in California wrote about a nasty dispute between the mayor of the City of La Verne and the La Verne Firefighters, IAFF Local 3624, that has prompted two separate federal court lawsuits in recent months.

Volunteers, Day Time Help and the FLSA

Today’s burning question: Our volunteer fire department is struggling to get enough help weekdays. We are thinking about paying some of our folks to be available during these hours. Can we pay our folks $4/hour to be available? Answer: Volunteer fire departments have to be very careful when it comes to compensating their personnel in any way.

Court Approves Settlement in California Firefighters’ Overtime Suit

A court-approved settlement has been reached between Modesto firefighters and the City of Modesto in a Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit over the inclusion of health care buy-back in overtime.

Are Battalion Chiefs Subject to The Highly Compensated Employee Exemption

Today's burning question: I am a city manager and I just read about an exception in the Fair Labor Standards Act that exempts anyone making over $100,000 per year from eligibility for overtime. Do our Battalion Chiefs and perhaps even our company officers meet the criteria to fall under this exemption? Answer: Your line officers probably do not but your staff officers may.

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