LA City and Firefighters Poised to Settle FLSA Lawsuit for $9.5 Million

The City of Los Angeles and a class of more than 1,100 plaintiff firefighters have agreed to settle a 2023 lawsuit over unpaid work hours. The lawsuit, which was initially filed by three firefighters in federal court in February 2023, contained allegations that city firefighters were frequently being required to work beyond their 24-hour shift without compensation.

Quoting from the settlement motion [citations removed for ease of reading]:

• Plaintiffs worked 24-hour shifts as firefighters for the City of Los Angeles (“Defendant,” or the “City”) in the following positions: Firefighter III, Paramedic, Firefighter III Paramedic, Apparatus Operator, Engineer, Fire Captain I, Fire Captain II, Fireboat Pilot, Fireboat Mate, Helicopter Pilot I, Helicopter Pilot II, Helicopter Pilot III, Helicopter Pilot IV, and Helicopter Pilot V.
• Plaintiffs allege that, while the official start and end time of their shifts was 8:00 a.m., the actual policy and practice was that firefighters were expected to arrive (and, in practice, did arrive) for their shift no later than 6:30 a.m. to relieve their counterpart on the prior shift. As such, the shift actually operated from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., instead of from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.
• Plaintiffs allege that the City violated the FLSA because the Department regularly held firefighters at the end of their shift, often until 8:00 a.m. or later, without paying any wages for the time between 6:30 a.m. and their actual release time. One reason for this alleged failure to pay wages was the Department’s practice of implementing a ”limited recall.” When the Department ordered a limited recall, all firefighters Department-wide were required to stay on at the end of their shift until the recall ended, which was usually at 8:00 a.m. Plaintiffs allege that the Department implemented this practice as a way to manage staffing issues. Plaintiffs were held over for other reasons in addition to limited recalls, such as when the relieving firefighter had to travel from another station, or whether the oncoming shift was short staffed.

A total of 1,146 firefighters joined in on the lawsuit. The firefighters’ attorneys estimated back wages and damages could be as much as $24.5 million. However, the firefighters and the city have agreed to settle the suit for a total of $9.5 million. While the proposed settlement still requires court approval, here are the highlights:

• Payments for Participating FLSA Collective Members, calculated based on Plaintiffs’ Counsel’s damages model under a three-year statute of limitations [estimated to be approximately $7,051,311.37]
• Administration costs, not to exceed $10,000
• Any employer-side taxes
• Attorneys’ litigation costs (subject to Court approval), estimated not to exceed $20,000 and attorneys’ fees (subject to Court approval) equivalent to 25% of the Total Settlement Amount, or not more than $2,375,000
• An enhancement award of $10,000 to Named Plaintiff Daniel Gonzalez, $5,000 enhancement awards for Named Plaintiffs John Frye and Tony Ortiz, and $1,000 service payments for deposed Plaintiffs Eric Dillon and Andrew Rees (subject to Court approval), for their service and efforts in obtaining the benefits of the Settlement
• A contingency fund of $25,000, used to address any discrepancies, errors, or omissions in the allocation

Here is more on the lawsuit from FireFighterOvertime from 2023.

LA City Fire Facing FLSA Lawsuit Over Late Reliefs and Mandatory Shift Recalls

Here is more on the lawsuit from KTLA 5.

Here is a copy of the proposed settlement motion.