Update - September 21, 2026

Tulsa Firefighters File FLSA Lawsuit Over Retroactive Pay and Underpaid Overtime

Tulsa firefighters have filed a federal lawsuit alleging the City of Tulsa failed to properly calculate their current and retroactive pay rates following the implementation of a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The lawsuit was filed September 15, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma by nine current or recently retired Tulsa firefighters.

At the center of the dispute is the City’s 2025-2026 collective bargaining agreement with IAFF Local 176. According to the lawsuit, the agreement was executed on April 8, 2026, with an effective date of April 30. It established new wage rates that were retroactive to July 13, 2025. The firefighters contend the city was required to recalculate and adjust . . . Continue Reading

Think the FLSA does not affect your fire department?

Think again... No other law impacts fire department operations nor costs local governments more than the FLSA.

Career, Combination, and even

Volunteer organizations are all

impacted by the FLSA.

FLSA for Fire Departments is a comprehensive overview of wage and hour issues in the fire and emergency services. This twenty-four hour (3-day) live seminar addresses the most important topics governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act, including overtime requirements, maximum hours, determining regular rate, payments made to volunteers, comp time, substitutions, record keeping and much, much more.

This program would benefit all fire and emergency service leaders, municipal finance, payroll, and HR personnel, as well as any other administrators responsible for paying firefighters. Additionally, union officials and attorneys responsible for collective bargaining would also benefit greatly from the program.

Experienced Firefighter Instructors:

Curt Varone, JD, EFO

Bill Maccarone, JD, MS

Brian Massatt, JD, MPA

Hayward CA Firefighter FLSA Lawsuit Ends in $600,000 Settlement

The City of Hayward, California, has finalized a $600,000 settlement with a group of current and former firefighters in a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) lawsuit involving proper calculation of the firefighters’ regular rate of pay. The settlement was recently approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and ratified by the Hayward City Council on September 15, 2026.

According to the complaint, the City of Hayward failed to properly calculate the regular rate used to determine overtime compensation earned by firefighters. The firefighters advanced two arguments. First, that the city improperly excluded cash payments made to employees in lieu of health benefits from the regular rate of pay. Second, the firefighters challenged the City’s method for calculating their regular rate from a salary. The city . . .Continue Reading

Texas Fire Department Turns to Lateral Hiring to Staff New Fourth Platoon

Lubbock Fire Rescue is turning to experienced firefighters to help fill new positions as the Texas fire department prepares to add a fourth platoon and transition to a 24/72 work schedule. As previously reported by FirefighterOvertime.org, Lubbock firefighters are moving away from the traditional three-platoon, 24/48 schedule as part of a recently approved meet-and-confer agreement. While the addition of a fourth platoon will significantly reduce firefighters’ regularly scheduled work hours, it also creates a substantial staffing need for the department.

According to KCBD, Lubbock Fire Rescue needs 133 additional firefighters to staff the fourth platoon across its 20 fire stations. Rather than attempting to fill all of those positions through traditional recruit academies, the department has created a new lateral hiring process designed to attract firefighters who are already trained, certified, and working in the fire service. “This is a way that firefighters that are already certified and trained can transfer . . .Continue Reading

FLSA for Fire Departments

October 13, 14, & 15, 2026

Kansas City, KS

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