In the case of Barrows v. City of Chattanooga, Tenn., Ronald Barrows, a fire captain, filed a lawsuit against the City of Chattanooga for not providing him with overtime compensation. Barrows worked for the City of Chattanooga Fire Department (CFD) and claimed to work 24-hour shifts for about 9 days per month. Barrows also claimed that there would sometimes be holdovers, which meant working additional minutes or hours past his shift in emergencies.
The court found that Barrows did not have any work records or proof of overtime requests for his estimation of holdover hours. Despite that, the court applied the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and examined the exemptions for executive and administrative positions. The court determined that the first responder regulation under the FLSA specifically excludes firefighters from these exemptions.
Based on the FLSA exemption application, the court concluded that Barrows did not meet exemption requirements and was, therefore, entitled to overtime pay. However, since Barrows did not provide enough evidence for his damages (burden of proof), his recovery amount was only limited to reasonable attorney’s fees and the costs of the action.
Key lessons from this case:
- The employee must bear the burden of proof to establish damages for overtime violations.
- Although there was a lack of evidence, state or federal laws can still be relied on to determine an employee’s eligibility for claiming overtime back wages.
- The FLSA specifically states that exemptions do not apply to firefighters and similar personnel.
If you want to know more about overtime regulations, read our guide on Tennessee Overtime Laws.
