Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone

Tag Archives: small fire department

Small Fire Departments and Overtime

Today’s burning question: I work for a small town fire department as one of two paid firefighters. Everyone else is a volunteer. The town manager refuses to pay us overtime until we work 212 hours in 28 days. Everywhere else I have ever worked, overtime had to be paid after 40 hours in a week. Can the town manager get away with this?

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.

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