‘Scheme’ cheats Charlotte firefighters out of overtime pay, lawsuit claims

Across from a community garden and kitty corner from a relatively towering Family Dollar sits a modest, one-story fire department in northwest Charlotte.

Meager paychecks live inside, a lawsuit alleges.

The department’s firefighters have become collateral damage in a “common scheme” to deprive them of overtime pay, a captain alleged in a lawsuit filed Monday in Charlotte’s U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

In the last year, the department has lost 10 firefighters to frustration, Capt. Christopher Crump told The Charlotte Observer Tuesday afternoon. That’s a drop from 40 to 30 firefighters, he said. Over the last three years, few have been correctly compensated, he said.

Chief Jason Cook said he first learned of the issue on Tuesday — when the Observer called. He doesn’t handle payroll — H&R Block does, he said.

“It is what it is now,” he said, “but... this caught me off guard.”

Cook’s Community Volunteer Fire Department, 70 years standing and situated off Mt. Holly-Huntersville Road near Mountain Island Lake, is a non-profit corporation. It doesn’t make any money, Cook said. He’s not heard of any fire department being “profitable,” he said. He is the only salaried employee. All of its “volunteers” get paid as part-time employees.

The department only pays overtime for those who have worked 106 hours in two weeks, or more than 53 hours a week, according to Crump. Everyone else is left short.

That model abides by Fair Labor Standards Act’s rules for nonprofits, Cook said.

According to the lawsuit, the department is required to pay employees overtime.

Lawsuit alleges lack of overtime pay

Mecklenburg County previously expanded the department’s budget so it could bring on full-time staff, WBTV previously reported. That way, the department didn’t need to rely on volunteers to help the community.

Now, the lawsuit alleges, the department makes at least $500,000 off of commerce sold or produced by its employees. But that money doesn’t make it to the paychecks of those who work more than 40 hours a week, Crump alleges. His paychecks came up short at least 26 times in 2023, he told the Observer.

The fire department’s officers and board claim they are “properly” and “correctly” paying overtime, according to the complaint. Cook said, to his knowledge, that’s true.

Crump filed the 10-page complaint on behalf of fellow firefighters who have experienced the same issues over the last three years. He asked the District Court to allow others to opt into the lawsuit. He anticipates more than 20 firefighters will, he told the Observer.