A federal judge has ordered the city to pay paramedics, emergency medical technicians and their attorneys $1.16 million for unpaid and late-paid overtime in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
U.S. Magistrate Barry Kurren issued the order late Monday after reviewing a recommendation made by California-based Special Master David M. Breshears, who reviewed time sheets, payroll records and other documents for 10 representative “bellwether” cases, according to court documents.
Under the order, up to $890,677 is to be divided among 318 current and former paramedics and EMTs who opted into the collective-action lawsuit. Court documents said 436 current and former paramedics and EMTs had potential claims during the collective period, between Dec. 12, 2012, and June 1.
The remaining money is going to attorneys’ fees and other legal costs.
Carl Varady, attorney for the paramedics and EMTs, said a cumbersome payroll system that required people to input data at least three different times by two departments — Emergency Services and Budget and Fiscal Services — was at the core of much of the complaint brought by his clients.
“It was a very unwieldy bottleneck that led to people not getting paid for the hours they worked,” Varady said.
“Each step of the way, there was room for error,” he said, adding the problem was compounded when the EMTs and paramedics were working three eight-hour shifts a week, which led to a lot of overtime hours. (EMS has
since shifted to 12-hour shifts.)
“We’re hoping that the new electronic system that (the city) implemented will eliminate a lot of the human error that contributed to this problem,” Varady said.
City officials have not yet thoroughly reviewed the decision and could not comment, a city spokeswoman said.
