Tag Archives: FLSA

Fire Law Roundup for December 11, 2023

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for December 11, 2023, Brad and Curt discuss a lawsuit challenging the Cleveland Fire Department’s physical abilities test as discriminatory against women; an FLSA overtime suit in Brookline, Massachusetts; a locker search case ...

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Fire Law Roundup for November 20, 2023

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for November 20, 2023, Brad and Curt discuss charges brought against an Indiana firefighter accused with impersonating a police officer; an Alabama firefighter who pled guilty to charges of stealing fentanyl from the ...

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Fire Law Roundup for August 28, 2023

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for August 28, 2023, Brad and Curt discuss a lawsuit filed by Maui County against local utility companies over the recent wildfires; a suit by a former Alabama captain claiming he was passed ...

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Fire Law Roundup for July 24, 2023

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for July 24, 2023, Brad and Curt discuss the settlement of a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by a deaf North Carolina firefighter who sought an accommodation for an EMT exam; a rather unusual ...

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Fire Law Roundup for May 15, 2023

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for May 15, 2023, Brad and Curt discuss a suit seeking compensation for fire academy recruits in the Los Angeles County Fire Department who were quarantined in a hotel during the COVID19 pandemic; ...

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Fire Law Roundup for February 20, 2023

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for February 20, 2023, Bill Maccarone and Curt discuss a race discrimination suit brought by a battalion chief in Sacramento, California; the dismissal of a suit brought by a battalion chief in Florida ...

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Fire Law Roundup for August 15, 2022

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for August 15, 2022, Brad and Curt discuss an amended lawsuit claiming 91 Gadsden, Alabama firefighters were retaliated against for filing an FLSA suit; a suit by a Rochester, New York firefighter who ...

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Fire Law Roundup – April 25, 2022

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup, Brad and Curt discuss a decision reinstating a firefighter in New Orleans; an FLSA overtime suit by a captain in Louisiana; a suit challenging a union’s right to grieve the dismissal of a probationary firefighter; an award of $369k against FASNY; and a case refusing to invalidate a marriage between two Indiana firefighters.

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Burning Question on Different Rates Of Pay

Today’s burning question: Can a municipality change your pay rate depending on the job/situation? Answer: There is nothing in the Fair Labor Standards Act that prohibits an employer from playing employees different rates of pay when working in different jobs, or even working the same job at different times.

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Burning Question: FLSA, Overtime and Consecutive Hours

Today’s burning question: I work for a small department that relies heavily on overtime to fill shifts to meet minimum staffing levels. I heard there is a limit to how many consecutive hours a firefighter can work. The number 48 has been used and rumor has it that it is an FLSA issue. Is there a limit to the hours that a firefighter can work?

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Counting Vacation and Sick Time As Hours Worked

Today’s burning question: If a collective bargaining agreement requires a fire department to count vacation time and sick time as hours worked for overtime purposes, do these hours have to count toward hours worked for FLSA overtime purposes? Answer: No. The Fair Labor Standards Act only requires ...

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FLSA Retaliation – Why Go There?

Today’s burning question: I am a line battalion chief in a department that classifies all chief officers as white-collar exempt executives. As exempt executives we are not eligible for overtime. Our association obtained an opinion letter from a law firm that concluded line chiefs do not qualify as white-collar executives under either the traditional analysis nor under the 2004 First Responder Regulations.

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7th Circuit Rules on Compensation for Off-Duty Use Of Smartphones

In a long awaited decision the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Chicago in a case where police officers sought compensation for the off-duty use of their smartphones. Sergeant Jeffery Allen claimed he and his fellow officers in the Bureau of Organized Crime were required to use their smartphones to communicate while off-duty, but were not compensated for their time.

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