Lockheed Martin Failed to Pay Firefighters Proper Overtime Wages, Lawsuit Alleges

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The Lockheed Martin Corporation faces a proposed collective action that alleges the defense contractor has failed to pay its private firefighters proper overtime wages.

The 13-page lawsuit notes that although the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes a different standard for overtime pay for firefighters, this standard applies only to employers who are a “public agency.” According to the suit, Lockheed Martin is a private, for-profit entity and is thus required to pay time-and-a-half overtime wages to the members of the fire department at its Marietta, Georgia facility.

“Despite Section 7(k) [of the Fair Labor Standards Act] unambiguously not applying, Lockheed Martin does not pay its private firefighters an overtime premium for all hours worked in excess of forty hours each work week,” the complaint states.

The four plaintiffs, who are currently employed as firefighters at the defendant’s Marietta campus, work what’s called a 24-48 schedule, the lawsuit says, which means they work 24 hours straight and then have 48 hours off. This arrangement results in a three-week rotating schedule that includes two 48-hour weeks followed by one 72-hour week, the suit relays.

The case claims that Lockheed Martin only pays workers an overtime premium for hours worked in excess of 48. Per the suit, the defendant still owes firefighters a time-and-a-half overtime premium for the hours they work between 40 and 48 each week.

The lawsuit adds that Lockheed Martin pays its firefighters on an hourly basis and has no agreement with them to exclude sleep or meal time from their hours worked. Per the case, Lockheed Martin firefighters remain under the defendant’s control during on-call time, except when they are required to attend an annual physical examination during their shift.

According to the suit, Lockheed Martin is not a “public agency” as defined under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and its firefighters are thus not subject to a different overtime standard than other non-exempt employees. Indeed, the FLSA specifies that the Section 7(k) standard for firefighters and law enforcement “does not apply to any private organization engaged in furnishing fire protection or law enforcement services,” even when those services “are provided under contract with a public agency.”

Per the suit, Lockheed Martin’s fire department is not funded by tax dollars or subject to budgeting and reporting requirements imposed by the local government. As such, the defendant’s firefighters should have been paid time-and-a-half overtime wages for all weekly hours worked in excess of 40 as required by the FLSA, the lawsuit argues.

The suit looks to cover all current and former non-exempt employees of Lockheed Martin who were instructed to work similarly to the plaintiffs.

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