KANSAS CITY — A group of Kansas City EMTs is once again taking its fight to receive all due wages to court after recently filing a class action unpaid overtime lawsuit against the city to compel the municipality to comply with a 2014 court mandate. The lawsuit claims the city attempted to circumvent a judge’s ruling on overtime pay for EMTs by putting emergency responders through a basic firefighting course to misclassify workers and pay these individuals less than they are owed.
Despite agreeing to a pair of settlements in 2014 and 2015 for a combined $3.75 million to resolve previous overtime pay lawsuits, the city is once again engaged in rampant wage theft, according to attorneys for the plaintiffs. This come despite a 2014 ruling declaring “static EMTs” with no firefighting training are not overtime exempt and must be paid one and a half times their average hourly wage.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), only dual purpose EMTs with both medical and firefighting training are exempt from overtime up to 49 hours per week. The Kansas City municipal government paid $1.9 million to settle claims from the 2014 lawsuit. However, it appears the city is once again ignoring federal wage and labor laws for EMT and other emergency responders.
City Allegedly Put EMTs Through Sham Firefighting Course
According to the complaint, the EMTs still have not seen a pay increase since the 2014 mandate or settlement and the city continues to skirt liability for overtime wages. To try and get around the mandates for single and dual purpose EMTs, the city put single purpose EMTs through a 40-hour training course to reclassify these workers as dual purpose even though these individuals carry no firefighting equipment with them while on shift.
Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges the newly trained “dual purpose” EMTs ride in standard ambulances on calls until workers approach the overtime threshold and then ride on fire engines for what should be overtime hours. Despite the optics of the situation, the city maintains it fully complies with federal pay laws.
EMT Overtime Pay Lawsuit
Call (855) 754-2795 or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form on the top right of this page if you feel that your wage rights are being violated under the FLSA. Our top-rated team of unpaid wage lawyers will evaluate your situation to determine your best course of action to help you seek justice.
Our office will also determine if it is in your best interest to file a lawsuit against your employer. Because strict time limitations apply for filing these types of claims, we advise you contact our experienced unpaid overtime wage attorneys at your earliest convenience and preserve your legal rights.