Wage and Hour

Today’s burning question: I am a town manager and we have a small volunteer fire department with a part-time paid fire chief. The chief receives a stipend and is expected to put in 20 hours a week. Can he qualify as an exempt executive like our police chief, even though he is a part-time employee?

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In this edition of Fire Law VLOG, Curt and Bill Maccarone discuss three recent settlements involving fire officers and overtime. The three settlements involve lawsuits filed under the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) – and in particular whether these officers ...

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A battalion chief who recently left the Lumpkin County Fire Department has filed suit claiming she was improperly categorized as an exempt employee, and improperly denied overtime. Sharon Booth filed suit November 30, 2022 against seeking back wages for the past three years.

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In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for November 28, 2022, Brad and Curt discuss a federal court ruling that two believed-to-be volunteer firefighters who received shift stipends and point-based bonuses were actually employees entitled to minimum wage and overtime ...

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The US District Court for the Western District of Washington has ruled that two believed-to-be volunteer firefighters who received shift stipends and point-based bonuses were actually employees entitled to minimum wage and overtime for the 3,000 hours per year they claim they worked. Luis Aponte and Jennifer Self served with Mason County Fire Protection District No. 16.

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The City of Warwick has filed suit against Warwick Firefighters, IAFF Local 2748 claiming that certain current and retired firefighters owe the city $385,000 in overpayments that the city allegedly made back in 2013. The payments were reportedly made pursuant to a memorandum of understanding that was never duly ratified by the city council and signed by the mayor.

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Ten per-diem firefighters with the Pascoag Fire District have filed suit claiming they are entitled to compensation for all of the hours they provided services to the district, including hours they volunteered.

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A West Virginia court has ruled that the City of Parkersburg violated the state’s Wage Payment Collection Act in the way it calculated the pay of firefighters. The suit was filed by Chief Fire Inspector Wayne White, who claimed he was being retaliated against and obstructed in carrying out his duties.

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A Jamaica firefighter who held a one-man protest over a change in shifts has been suspended. Sergeant Leo Bennett held the protest yesterday, claiming that most of the firefighters in Jamaica prefer to continue working the 24-hour shifts they have been working since COVID began.

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A Louisiana fire captain has filed suit claiming he and his colleagues were not paid overtime for the hours they worked that were in excess of the statutory maximum under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Brian Jackson filed suit in US District Court naming the Livingston Parish Fire Protection District 5

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The settlement of an overtime lawsuit brought by three battalion chiefs with the Coronado Fire Department, has been approved by the US District Court for the Southern District of California. The suit was filed last April by BC Perry Peake as a class action alleging the city improperly classified BCs as exempt executives.

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Four Florida firefighters have filed suit claiming their department required them to attend job-related training and failed to compensate them for the time. David Garner, Brian Ostos, Alejandro Osorio, and Joseph Quinn filed suit this week in US District Court for the Northern District of Florida naming the Destin Fire Control District.

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A District of Columbia firefighter has filed a class action lawsuit alleging the city failed to include COVID premium pay in his overtime, as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Jason Collins filed suit today in US District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of himself and all similarly situated DC firefighters.

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A lawsuit filed last year by 31 Chickasha, Oklahoma firefighters contending the city violated the Fair Labor Standards Act has been settled for $141,710.91. The firefighters claimed that the city failed to include longevity pay in their regular rate when calculating overtime compensation.

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