Firefighters Near Overtime Pay Settlement of $1.5M

A group of firefighters filed a lawsuit against the city of Palo Alto, alleging that they were not given proper overtime pay for their work.

The firefighters are now reaching an overtime pay settlement with the city which may be worth as much as $1.5 million. More might be added for other eligible employees of the city who opt-in to the overtime pay settlement.

According to the firefighters’ lawsuit, the firefighters involved in the lawsuit had opted-out of the city’s health insurance plan.  As a result of opting-out, the employees were given that health care plan’s cash value.

The city reportedly treated the cash value payments in lieu of the health care plan as part of the workers’ wages for applicable tax withholdings. However, this money was not figured back into the hourly wage when it came to calculating the firefighters’ overtime rate of pay, which ended up being lower than it would have been had the cash value been included.

An initial overtime pay settlement was reached with the group of Palo Alto firefighters, with each named plaintiff set to receive up to $169,595 each. These firefighters are not the only ones eligible for a substantial payment from the overtime pay settlement. The city also notified other current and former city employees in similar circumstances of the agreed-upon overtime pay settlement with the firefighters, opening up the settlement to these workers as well. Workers had until May 2017 to opt-in to the overtime pay settlement.

While it has not been announced how many city employees have opted-in to the overtime pay settlement agreement, the lawsuit noted that the number of eligible city employees was in excess of 40.

Wage and Hour Regulations

There are a series of both federal and state wage and hour laws put in place to protect workers and ensure they are treated fairly. However, many workers across the country do not know about the protections that the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) offers, which can lead to employers taking advantage of them. In some cases, employers may be requiring unpaid overtime work or even failing to pay minimum wage at all.

Some workers may find themselves unable to file wage and hour complaints like this unpaid overtime lawsuit because they are not aware of FLSA rules. Others may be afraid that their employers will retaliate or even fire them if they speak up about these kinds of FLSA violations. To protect workers who help to enforce FLSA rules, laws also exist to protect workers from discrimination based on wage and hour complaints.

Pursuing a Wage and Hour Lawsuit

If you have worked for an employer, or even a city like Palo Alto, that may have failed to follow the Fair Labor Standards Act or state labor laws, such as minimum wage or overtime requirements, you may be able to either join a wage and hour class action lawsuit or file an unpaid overtime lawsuit of your own. An overtime pay settlement can help make up for unpaid wages or overtime work, whether you are a current or former employee.

Join a Free California Wage & Hour Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were forced to work off the clock or without overtime pay within the past 3 years in California, you have rights – and you don’t have to take on the company alone.

Get a Free Case Evaluation Now