Osceola County, Florida, and a group of fourteen current and former fire department battalion chiefs have reached a settlement following a 2024 misclassification lawsuit. The battalion chiefs claimed that the county misclassified them as overtime exempt executives in violation of the FLSA. The county countered that the battalion chiefs were “properly classified” and denied all of their claims. However, according ...

A former Aurora, Colorado firefighter has filed a lawsuit in federal court against his former employer seeking overtime pay for unpaid worktime while attending recruit school at the city’s fire academy. Joseph Elias filed the suit on behalf of himself and other similarly situated individuals in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado on January 21, 2025. ...

The Rye Fire Protection District, located in Colorado City, Colorado is facing a lawsuit filed by three of its firefighters. The firefighters claim that the district’s pay practices violate both the FLSA and state law. More specifically, the firefighters make several claims related to the FLSA including the District’s failure to pay overtime due to improper usage of the FLSA’s ...

According to the unions that represent FDNY firefighters and fire officers, the city’s new congestion pricing plan for vehicles entering lower Manhattan is going to increase overtime and response times for the almost 40 fire companies in the congestion pricing zone. The congestion pricing plan—which began last Sunday—charges drivers $9 per day per vehicle when they enter lower Manhattan. The ...

The Bright Volunteer Fire Company, a non-profit incorporated fire company that provides fire and emergency medical services in Lawrenceburg, Indiana is facing a wage and hour lawsuit from a former firefighter. According to the complaint, former firefighter Jacob King worked for the Bright Volunteer Fire Company from July 2020 until his termination on August 5, 2024. King alleges that the ...

A group of three former firefighters from the East Lincoln Fire Department, Inc., a non-profit incorporated fire department operating in the suburbs outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, have filed a lawsuit alleging  the department failed to pay them and other firefighters overtime as required by the FLSA. According to the firefighters’ complaint, East Lincoln Fire fails to pay the firefighters ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a fulltime firefighter in a municipal fire department. Our department allows firefighters to trade shifts with each other. However, the department just fired a firefighter that owes me 48 hours in shift trades. What happens to those hours? Since the department fired the other firefighter, shouldn’t the department be responsible for the 48 hours of ...

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 ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a firefighter for a small municipal fire department. Currently our department is only staffed during daytime hours. We utilize a paid-on-call system and call-backs for incidents that occur during overnight hours. We are transitioning to a 24-hour staffing model in the new year with the combination of fulltime and part-time firefighters. Each shift will have ...

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: ...