Here is a story from suburban Washington, D.C., about senior firefighters who are earning almost $200,000 a year in overtime hours. Some of the employees are logging 80 hours a week.
The auditors who found the startling numbers are not yelling "fraud." It might be that some workers take advantage of overtime rules, but another reason behind the overtime is that local governments sometimes cut full-time staff and then backfill with overtime. And even at $200,000, it might still be cheaper than adding a full-time employee with all the benefits.
The story points out other concerns:
And there is a safety question, an increase in occupational risk
because people are tired and overworked. Overtime needs to be managed
so employees don't burn out.
It is certainly worth checking to see what is happening in your town/county/state. Fire departments may have reduced full-time employees, but it would be interesting to see if the actual payroll in these departments has decreased.
Becky is comparing Forestry firefighters with Urban firefighters. They ARE...
