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Today’s FLSA question: Our city reimburses firefighters’ tuition costs for college classes related to fire science. In order to qualify for the reimbursement program, participating firefighters must have at least two years of service with our department prior to taking any classes, and they must earn a grade of “B” or better in the class. The city reimburses all money ...

Two former paramedics for the Great Divide Ambulance Service (GDAS) have filed a federal lawsuit alleging GDAS and four different Wisconsin Townships failed to pay overtime in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The pair claim the Townships of Drummond, Cable, Grand View, and Namakagon, Wisconsin created GDAS as a “joint venture” to provide emergency medical services to ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am the finance manager responsible for our fire department’s payroll. Our firefighters receive higher hourly rates when working in a higher rank. For example, last week a firefighter worked 24 hours as a firefighter and another 48 hours as a lieutenant. How can I calculate a firefighter’s regular rate when he or she is paid two ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am the fire chief for a small full-time fire department. We just received funding to add an additional fire officer for peak “day-time” hours. The new lieutenant will work Monday thru Friday from 7am to 5pm. During the daytime shifts the lieutenant will regularly respond to alarms as a safety officer, chief’s aid, and even as ...

The City of Baldwyn, Mississippi has been served with a federal lawsuit filed by five city police officers. The suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, alleges the city failed to pay the officers for all hours worked in violation of both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Mississippi state laws. ...

A Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, police officer has filed a federal lawsuit in the Middle District of Pennsylvania alleging that the city failed to pay the officer for approximately 15 hours of work over a 2-month period in late 2016. The officer, Kara Kroll, alleges she sustained a work-related injury in October of 2016. As a result, she missed one week of ...

The City of Akron, Ohio has ended the practice of providing “off-the-books” paid time off to some police officers and firefighters. For more than 30 years, the city had an unwritten policy that allowed some police officers and firefighters take time off in lieu of receiving overtime pay for attendance at community outreach meetings and fire safety events. The paid ...

Today’s FLSA Question: Does the FLSA require employers to pay employees while they are on military leave? Answer: Good question. The answer is maybe . . . and it depends. . . We need a little more information to answer this one. As a general rule, the FLSA does not require that employers continue to pay employees while they’re on ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I work for a midsize municipal fire department in the Northeast. We work a 42-hour average workweek. Our city administrators claim they are not required to set a work period, calculate regular rate, or follow much of this FLSA “stuff” because we work an average of 42 hours per week and have a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). ...

A North Carolina paramedic has filed a federal lawsuit against his employer, Duplin County Emergency Medical Services (DCEMS) alleging the county willfully violated both the FLSA and the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act (NCWHA). Paramedic Ryan Lang filed the federal lawsuit on behalf of himself and other similarly situated individuals (i.e. other EMTs that have worked for DCEMS over ...