Federal appeals court rules against Alexandria fire chiefs in overtime pay dispute
Fourth Circuit affirms city's win despite finding lower court used wrong legal test
A federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, ruled Wednesday that battalion chiefs for the Alexandria Fire Department are not entitled to overtime pay, affirming a lower court decision in favor of the city despite finding that the trial judge applied the wrong legal standard.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the 10 current and former battalion chiefs qualify as “highly compensated employees” exempt from overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act because they are paid on a salary basis.
“We hold that the district court applied the incorrect salary basis test,” Chief Judge Albert Diaz wrote for the three-judge panel. “But we nonetheless agree that the chiefs were paid on a salary basis. So we affirm.”
Battalion chiefs are among the fire department’s highest-paid personnel, earning annual salaries ranging from approximately $95,000 to $168,000 depending on seniority, according to city pay scales. Unlike rank-and-file firefighters represented by IAFF Local 2141, battalion chiefs are not part of the union.
The chiefs had sued the city seeking time-and-a-half pay for hours worked beyond their regular schedules. Under federal law, fire protection employees with 28-day work periods are generally entitled to overtime pay when they work more than 212 hours in that period.
The case hinged on whether the chiefs’ compensation arrangement met the legal definition of a “salary basis” — a requirement for the highly compensated employee exemption to apply.
The city’s pay system assigns battalion chiefs an annual base salary, which is then converted into hourly rates for payroll purposes. Chiefs on operational schedules, who work 24-hour shifts, are guaranteed payment for at least 106 hours per two-week pay period. Those on administrative schedules are guaranteed 80 hours.
Diaz acknowledged the complexity of the pay structure, quoting Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” in describing it: “Confusion now hath made his masterpiece.”
The chiefs argued their pay was calculated hourly, pointing to payroll records showing hourly rates. But the court rejected that argument, finding that the appearance of an hourly rate on a paystub does not automatically make someone an hourly worker.
“An hourly-rate worker ... by definition is paid for each hour he works and no others,” Diaz wrote, citing a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision. “That’s not true for the chiefs.”
The court noted that even when chiefs work fewer than their guaranteed hours, they still receive their full predetermined pay, with the city using paid leave to make up any difference.
Robert Wesley Thayer Tucci of Zipin, Amster & Greenberg LLC in Silver Spring, Maryland, argued for the chiefs. David F. Dabbs of McGuireWoods LLP in Richmond represented the city.
The case originated in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, where Senior District Judge Claude M. Hilton granted summary judgment to the city in June 2023.
Judge Robert B. King and U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, sitting by designation from the District of Maryland, joined Diaz’s opinion.