Tag Archives: first responders

According to the Capitol Gazette, county officials in Anne Arundel, Maryland, recently discovered an error in calculating overtime pay for many county employees, including police officers and firefighters. County Executive Steve Schuh admits the unintentional error spans the past 10 to 20 years. The error was recently discovered when the county changed payroll vendors. Initial estimates suggest the county may ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I have a question about FLSA comp time. Do the hours a firefighter does not work because he or she is using accrued FLSA compensatory time (comp time) need to be included when determining overtime for the work period? I don’t believe they need to be included, since the FLSA typically only requires counting hours worked by ...

The City of San Diego has settled a lawsuit filed by six helicopter rescue medics for a total of $307,000. The rescue medics work for the city’s fire and rescue department providing medical and logistical support for the city’s air ambulances. Historically, the city classified these medics as §207(k) firefighters. The medics claimed they did not have any “responsibility to ...

This is the sixth and final installment from FirefighterOvertime.org on the regular rate. Proper calculation of the regular rate is critical. All FLSA overtime must be at least time and one-half of the regular rate. The regular rate has been referred to as the “linchpin” of the FLSA. Not only is calculating the regular rate important, it can be difficult, ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a city HR manager. I am updating the city’s employment handbook. We are instituting a citywide time tracking and accountability system. Part of the system prohibits employees from working before their assigned shifts. The fire chief just informed me that firefighters arrive as much as one hour before their assigned shifts. The chief assured me ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I am a full-time firefighter in a midsize city. We work a 24/48 schedule with a 56-hour average workweek. We utilize a 14-day work period. Currently, I am assigned to B platoon. I am being transferred to C platoon, effective this Sunday. This means that I will be required to work my last 24-hour shift on B ...

This is the fourth installment in a six-part series from FirefighterOvertime.org on the regular rate. Proper calculation of the regular rate is critical. All FLSA overtime must be at least time and one-half of the regular rate. The regular rate has been referred to as the “linchpin” of the FLSA. Not only is calculating the regular rate important, it can ...

Another California fire department is facing allegations it failed to include all remuneration in firefighters’ regular rate of pay. Kevin Burris, a Petaluma firefighter, has filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of California against the city alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Specifically, Burris claims the city failed to include holiday “in-lieu” pay and money ...

Today’s FLSA Question: I just got hired as one of two paid firefighters who work weekdays for a volunteer fire department. My partner and I are the only employees. I have been a volunteer here since high school. Part of accepting the position required me to stop volunteering as a firefighter. I can still respond on major calls, but I ...

A former paramedic for the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) has filed an FLSA lawsuit against his former employer, seeking unpaid overtime and other money damages for the past three years. Douglas Patterson filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Patterson alleges that he and other paramedics did not receive all remuneration in their ...