Firefighter Overtime Discussing Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Firefighters, First Responders as well as Human Resource & Finance Professional

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a paid firefighter for a small non-profit volunteer fire company. Our organization has a large group of volunteer firefighters and an all-volunteer chief and command staff. I am one of two full-time (Monday-Friday) firefighters. I am treated as an hourly employee, however, I do not receive any overtime. Between trainings, after-hours calls, and regularly scheduled ...

An FLSA retaliation and unpaid overtime lawsuit filed by an Oklahoma fire marshal will continue following a decision last week by Chief Judge John E. Dowdell of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. Judge Dowdell denied attempts by both the City of Sand Springs, Oklahoma (the defendant) and Fire Marshal Stan Smith (the plaintiff) to end ...

Three FDNY Motor Vehicle Operators (MVOs) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York last week alleging the City of New York violated the FLSA. More specifically, the plaintiffs allege the city failed to pay them for all hours worked and is not paying overtime at the correct rate of pay. Plaintiffs Christopher ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am the payroll/HR manager for a fire department. Our department offers first aid and CPR classes for residents of the community. We offer the classes a couple of times per year. Firefighters that are certified CPR and first aid instructors teach the classes during off-duty hours. However, since most of the firefighters make different hourly rates, ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a paid municipal firefighter for a small fire department. When our firefighters utilize vacation, sick, or personal leave, the city deducts this time from the firefighter’s hours worked for FLSA overtime purposes. However, a neighboring community’s fire department counts all scheduled hours for overtime purposes. Basically, the firefighters in that town receive overtime every payday ...

Fifty-eight Morgantown, West Virginia firefighters have filed a lawsuit alleging the City of Morgantown failed to pay overtime as required under West Virginia state law. The crux of the firefighter’s argument stems from a very unique West Virginia statute that requires time-and-one-half pay for firefighters required to work holidays. Here is a portion of that statute: §8-15-10a. Firemen who are ...

Two Battle Creek, Michigan battalion chiefs (BCs) have again lost their claim for FLSA overtime. In a June 3, 2019 decision the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld a lower court’s decision denying Battalion Chiefs Howard Holt and Martin Erskine overtime for time spent on-call after their normal work hours. Battalion chief Howard Holt, who retired in ...

The City of Santa Clara, California is close to settling an FLSA lawsuit filed by five city firefighters back in October of 2018. These five initially alleged the city violated the FLSA by failing to include all remuneration in their regular rate of pay which resulted in firefighters being shorted on both comp time and overtime payments. The firefighters also ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am the union president of a mid-sized fire department. In our most recent contract negotiations, we were able to secure a small “on-call” stipend for several fire department officers that are required to be on-call. Starting July 1, the fire marshal and safety officer will each receive a weekly stipend for the inconvenience of being on-call. ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I recently read a story on your website about Rhode Island enacting a new law requiring firefighters be paid overtime after working only 42 hours per week. But the FLSA only mandates overtime pay after firefighters work 53 hours per week. Doesn’t federal law (FLSA) trump (or pre-empt) state law? Answer: Good question. You are not alone ...