Awful But Lawful

Today’s burning question: We are losing senior instructors from our fire academy because they are being promoted to Battalion Chiefs (or higher), at which point we cannot compensate them to teach on their days off… not even straight time. I am told this is because they are exempt under the FLSA but cannot find any legal clarification that explains what is going on. Why can’t we at least pay these officers straight time to come back and teach on their days off?

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Today’s burning question: Can I block someone from posting on our FD Facebook page, or at least hide the comments from public view, because they have been posting derogatory comments ? Answer: yes and no. Government cannot censor members of the public. Government censorship violates the 1st Amendment.

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A “culture of hostility”. That is a claim that more than a few fire chiefs can relate to. In the case of Brooklyn Park Fire Chief Kenneth Prillaman, that hostility came at the hands of a councilman who is also a firefighter

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A retired Fort Worth firefighter has been sued by the city based on claims he was overpaid $63,737 when he left four years ago. Fernando Gonzalez retired in 2013 and received a payment of $223,079 for unused sick and vacation time.

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Today’s burning question: Our firefighters have to take a physical ability test twice a year. The fire chief posts the results with names and times on bulletin boards in each fire station. We believe his intent is to shame those who do not perform well. Is this legal?

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The Borough of Deal, New Jersey has proposed eliminating its three full-time firefighters on May 1, 2017 in an effort to curb spending. However the firefighters believe there is a more ominous reason behind the cuts. The Borough settled an overtime pay dispute with firefighters less than a month ago.

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A Wisconsin fire chief has opted to resign rather than take certification classes required by his department. Brian Schmitt, formerly the fire chief in Wilson, is required by town bylaws to take 112 hours of training to meet the minimum requirements.

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Two candidates for the fire chief’s job in Omaha have filed suit claiming the mayor violated the city charter and city code by appointing Interim Fire Chief Dan Olsen as fire chief. BCs Robb Gottsch and Dan Stolinski filed the suit today seeking an order declaring the promotion to be void.

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A suit filed last week by the Atlantic City Firefighters, IAFF Local 198 against the City of Atlantic City and the State of New Jersey over proposed fire departments cutbacks has been removed to federal court.

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Why did the insurance company sue the fire department for $9 million? An unusual $9 million lawsuit filed by an insurer against a fire department in New York over a fire in its own fire station has sparked some questions in social media and among attorneys as well.

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A Spokane fire captain who pushed a belligerent patient after the patient spit at him, is challenging a three-shift disciplinary suspension. Captain Greg Borg got into the altercation on a medical run after waking a patient who was sleeping on a sidewalk surrounded by beer cans.

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A federal judge in Texas has issued a preliminary injunction against the implementation of new overtime rules for exempt white-collar employees that were set to take effect on December 1, 2016. What the ruling means to fire departments really depends on the department. For most fire departments, the ruling...

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Eyewitness News in Houston is investigating firefighters for selling shift-trades on a Facebook page aptly named HFD Extra Shifts. KTRK broke the story, interviewing firefighters and elected officials, and referencing a similar shift-swapping scandal in Cleveland in 2014 that resulted in criminal charges against 13 firefighters.

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The US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled against retired Chattanooga firefighters who sought to block the city’s pension reform that reduced their “guaranteed” cost of living allowance. When is a guarantee not a guarantee?

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