EMTs file federal class action suit against Page County for three years of unpaid overtime

Dozen plaintiffs listed, but suit claims number could grow to 50

By Randy Arrington

HARRISONBURG — At least a dozen EMTs who served Page County over the last three years signed on to a class action lawsuit filed June 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia. The federal court filing in Harrisonburg claims the number of class action plaintiffs could grow to 50 current and former Emergency Medical Service Technicians (EMTs), who seek damages for the county’s “systemic policy of failing to pay its employees for all hours worked and for overtime hours worked at the appropriate overtime rate, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)… the Virginia Overtime Wage Act (VOWA)… and the Virginia Wage Payment Act (VWPA)…”.

Since July 1, 2021, the group of EMTs claim in the lawsuit that the defendants — County of Page, Virginia and Page County Fire & EMS — never paid overtime rates for 62 hours per month, even though they were regularly scheduled to work 212 hours per month; deducted 24 hours of overtime from an employee’s paycheck for every day of leave taken; and due to staffing shortages, some plaintiffs, “at times,” would work shifts as long as 96 hours.

“Class members have been harmed by the Defendant’s failure to lawfully compensate them,” the suit claims. The Plaintiffs plan to show that the “…Defendant failed to compensate [plaintiffs] at the statutorily required overtime rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 each week and whether Defendant’s conduct was willful, reckless or done knowingly.”

According to the suit, employees notified the county of the issue on numerous occasions, stating: “Defendant was on notice, both actual and constructive, of its violations of the FSLA and VOWA.” However, no action was taken by the department or county staff.

“Employers in the Commonwealth of Virginia violate employment and labor laws every day,” the federal filing states. “Current employees are often afraid to assert their rights out of fear of direct or indirect retaliation. Former employees are fearful of bringing actions because they believe their former employers might damage their future endeavors through negative references and/or other means. Class actions provide the class members who are not named in the complaint with a type of anonymity that allows for the vindication of their rights at the same time as affording them privacy protections.”

Below are the dozen EMTs listed as plaintiffs in the federal class action seeking “declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and to recover unpaid or improperly withheld wages, overtime compensation, liquidated damages under the FLSA, as well as attorneys fees, and costs…”

Under the VOWA Cause for Action, employees would be entitled to triple the amount of the wages due. A separate cause for action was listed for each of the three acts mentioned above for the following listed plaintiffs (including time they worked for Page County):

• Madison Whitfield — May 2017 to March 2022 as an EMT; July 2019 to March 2022 full-time.
• Morgan Coffman — December 2019 to present as an EMT.
• Angela Wampler — March 2022 to January 2024 as an EMT.
• Allisha Shifflett — January 2020 to September 2022 as an EMT.
• Nathan Stillman — February 2020 to August 2023 as an EMT.
• Michael Selby — February 2021 to present as an EMT.
• Brandon Reifsnyder — 2010 to June 2013 part-time EMT; July 2013 to present full-time EMT.
• Maeghan Kisling — December 2020 to October 2021 and April 2022 to present full-time EMT; October 2021 to March 2022 part-time EMT.
• Dale Housden — October 2021 to May 2023 full-time EMT; June 2023 to present part-time EMT.
• Terry Chapman — August 2021 to August 2022 EMT.
• Derek Franks — October 2019 to present EMT.
• Jaeger Schutt — September 2022 to May 2024 full-time EMT; May 20245 to present part-time EMT.

“While the exact number of class members is unknown to Plaintiffs at this time, upon information and belief, the class comprises at least 50 individuals,” the suit states. “The identities of the class members are readily ascertainable by inspection of Defendant’s employment and payroll records.”

In what the federal class action refers to as a “payment scheme”, Page County EMTs were routinely scheduled to work “at least 106 hours during each two-week period…or 212 hours per month.” For the first check of each month, EMTs were paid “straight time” regardless of the hours worked during the period. The second check included “straight time” hourly rates for up to 212 hours worked during the month, and only paid overtime rates for anything over 212 hours during the month “in certain circumstances,” the suit claims. Hours worked between totals of 160 and 212 for the month were paid at the regular hourly rate.

In what the lawsuit labeled “an illegal scheme to recoup leave hours”, the EMTs claim Page County deducted 24 hours of overtime from their paycheck for each day of leave they took, for any reason, rather than simply adjusting their “personal day” allotment accordingly and paying them for the overtime worked — at a rate of one and one-half times the regularly hourly rate.

When Plaintiffs “used leave of any sort, rather than subtracting those hours from that individual’s accrued leave, Defendant would deduct those hours from the overtime hours worked … for example, if employee took three days leave during the month, Defendant would reduce that individual’s overtime hours by 24 hours per day of leave, or a total of 72 hours…”, the suit claims.

The federal court filing goes on to state that the Plaintiffs were “employed as… EMTS… who did not engage in fire protection activities….” The distinction that these individuals were not firefighters is important, because, as the filing states: “Pursuant of FLSA, a governmental employer may elect to pay employees engaged in fire protection activities overtime according to a sliding scale… and need not adhere to the otherwise applicable 7-day/40-hour standard work week.”

The “non-exempt employees” claim the county failed “to pay employees for all pre- and/or post-shift work” as well.

In defense of its request to handle the issue as a class action suit, the filing highlights the “systemic” nature of the offenses, the number of employees affected all in the same way, the additional cost and time to plaintiffs (and the court) to handle these issues individually, and the protection it provides for additional plaintiffs to join the effort to gain back wages and damages.

The Plaintiffs have also requested a jury trial in Harrisonburg’s federal court.

An initial report from a Harrisonburg-based news outlet incorrectly stated last week that the federal suit was filed against the Page County Fire Department — an entity that doesn’t exist. The report was later corrected, but caused initial confusion when many residents thought the class action suit was filed against one or more of the county’s three volunteer firefighting agencies. While Page County employs EMTs in its Fire & EMS department, it does not employ professional (paid) firefighters. The county is entirely served by volunteer firefighters.

For more information about Page County Fire & EMS,

CLICK HERE.

•••

RELATED ARTICLES

Economic Development and Tourism director returns to work 10 weeks after resignation with $8,000 raise

County adds three positions to EMS

County recognizes EMS staff and volunteers for two life-saving incidents

Felony against former finance director dismissed after evidence shows county approved expenses

Former finance director indicted for taking money from county coffers

Page County’s former finance director being investigated for embezzling thousands from county coffers

Inmate’s mother sues county, sheriff, deputies for $1.85M over ‘wrongful death’

Sheriff walks out on supervisors during questions about budget overages