Paramedics Entitled to Overtime Compensation

    Paramedics are entitled to recover overtime compensation the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently ruled in Lawrence v. City of Philadelphia (No. 06-4564 decided May 28, 2008 and available at the Third Circuit website).  The paramedics, whose job titles were "fire service paramedics," were employed by the City of Philadelphia Fire Department.  Their eligibility for overtime turned on whether they had "legal authority and responsibility" for fire suppression activities.  The court ruled they were not for the following reasons: (1) their job descriptions did not mention any fire protection related examples of work to be performed; (2) a paramedic unit is not always dispatched to a fire scene; (3) they provide emergency medical services in all types of situations not just in response to fires; (4) there was no evidence of a paramedic engaging in active firefighting; and, (5) the paramedics were not trained in advanced firefighting techniques and were not certified firefighters.   

Robert L. Abell
www.robertabelllaw.com