U.S. Supreme Court Declines To Review Decision Holding That Paramedics Are Entitled To Overtime

On December 15, the United States Supreme Court declined to take on an appeal by the City of Philadelphia from a ruling that paramedics employed by the fire department were not exempt from overtime under the FLSA’s “firefighter exemption.” Philadelphia had petitioned the Supreme Court to review the opinion of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Lawrence v. Philadelphia, which can be found here. The Third Circuit had ruled that the paramedics were not exempt from overtime because they were not cross-trained as firefighters, had no responsibility for “fire suppression activities,” and therefore did not meet the exemption. The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case lets stand the Third Circuit’s opinion.