Dueling FLSA questions from two perspectives with the same answer. Fire Chief’s question: Our fire department began providing our firefighters with annual physicals several years ago. It was a tough sell in tough fiscal times but it was mandated by OSHA and we really had no choice. We try to schedule personnel while they are on duty, but one of ...
Read More »Tag Archives: overtime
Should you get paid for answering phone calls and responding to emails while “off-duty”?
The City of Philadelphia just agreed to pay police officer’s approximately $8 million dollars to do just that. The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 which represents Philadelphia police officers filed a complaint alleging the City required officers to frequently check phones and email while “off-duty”. The officers argued requiring them to regularly check and respond to department calls and ...
Read More »South Carolina Fire Department Struggles with Mandatory Overtime
Horry County Fire Rescue (HCFR) is hopeful 30 new recruits will alleviate a shortage of firefighters that dates to 2015. Hiring new firefighters to reduce overtime costs is not a new concept, however HCFR seems to be experiencing a chronic shortage of firefighters that dates back at least the last two years. In fact, the department has a mandatory overtime ...
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