The IAFF has secured over $1 million in damages to members wrongly denied overtime payments by their municipalities. “These outcomes highlight the IAFF’s commitment and care to defending fair labor practices and protecting its members’ rights,” said IAFF General Counsel Peter Leff.
Read more about some of these significant victories below:
IAFF Local 5190 (Argyle, TX)
Members of IAFF Local 5190 received over $800,000 in damages after IAFF Legal Counsel determined that fire fighters with the Argyle Volunteer Fire Department were working for a private – not a public – entity and, therefore, the department was not eligible to apply the partial overtime exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act. Instead, as employees of a private sector employer, these fire fighters were entitled to receive overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek.
The IAFF helped the Local prepare a demand to the city, which led to settlement negotiations and payment of damages to the affected fire fighters.
These outcomes highlight the IAFF’s commitment and care to defending fair labor practices and protecting its members’ rights.
IAFF General Counsel Peter Leff
Local 1590 (Wilmington, DE)
Battalion Chief members of IAFF Local 1590 received $460,000 in damages for being misclassified as employees exempt from overtime. IAFF Legal Counsel established that the Battalion Chiefs were involved in fire suppression activities and, therefore, were not exempt employees but entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
As a result of the arguments and evidence presented, the department entered into settlement negotiations with the Local. Those negotiations resulted in an agreement to resolve the Battalion Chiefs’ overtime claims, payment of damages to the affected fire fighters, and the department’s conversion of the Battalion Chief classification status to non-exempt, with all of the benefits and rights that accrue as a result of that classification.
Local 4361 (El Mirage, AZ)
A lawsuit filed to vindicate the rights of El Mirage, AZ Local 4361 Vice President Shannon Glynn was favorably settled in March 2024.
Local 4361 applied for IAFF Guardian Policy assistance after Glynn was discharged by the city for engaging in protected union activities, including speaking out against the city’s pay practices.
In April 2023, IAFF Legal Counsel filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona against the City of El Mirage and three city officials. The defendants filed a partial motion to dismiss the amended complaint on June 5, 2023, which was denied.
On March 26, 2024, the parties reached an amicable settlement of Glynn’s claims. As Glynn had successfully moved on to work at another department, the settlement included: (1) conversion of Glynn’s termination to reflect a resignation in his personnel file, (2) a neutral job reference going forward, (3) payment of $50,000 to Glynn to cover his lost back pay and benefits damages, and (4) payment of the attorneys’ fees expended by the IAFF.
