Tag Archives: 20% Rule

Court Rules Volunteer Compensation Makes Them Employees

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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Volunteers, Day Time Help and the FLSA

Today’s burning question: Our volunteer fire department is struggling to get enough help weekdays. We are thinking about paying some of our folks to be available during these hours. Can we pay our folks $4/hour to be available? Answer: Volunteer fire departments have to be very careful when it comes to compensating their personnel in any way.

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2012 Precedent Nothing To Speak Of

2012 has been a relatively quiet fire law year from the perspective of major legal rulings being handed down. In fact, in my annual review for Firehouse which I submitted today, I opted to not even discuss 2012 precedent setting ...

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Key Largo Volunteer Not an Employee under FLSA

At what point does a volunteer firefighter who receives some nominal compensation for his services become an underpaid employee entitled to at least minimum wage? That question was recently put to the test in Key Largo, Florida when Corey Freeman ...

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FLSA 20% Rule

Today’s Burning Question: How does the FLSA 20% rule with regard to volunteers work? We are having a debate over this at our department and our Firehouse Lawyers seem to disagree. Answer: The FLSA’s 20% rule with regard to volunteers ...

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