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Firefighters press to change callback, overtime and sick-pay rules; city to clarify policy and calculations
Summary
Union negotiators proposed changes to callback pay, minimum guarantees, sick-leave treatment and the overtime threshold for shift firefighters (proposing a 48-hour threshold). City staff agreed to clarify definitions, calculate cost impacts, and work with the union on policy language.
Union negotiators asked the city to revise rules that determine callback minimums, how sick leave affects overtime calculations, and the overtime threshold used to compute shift pay.
What was proposed: the association asked that employees called back to work receive a four-hour minimum pay and that multiple callbacks within a single window count as a continuation of the initial callback rather than separate guaranteed minima. The union also asked that when a firefighter calls in sick but then works an extra shift in that pay period, the sick day be returned to the employee’s sick bank and the worked shift be paid at regular straight time (not forfeited because the sick time was used), so the worker does not lose the day or the earned straight-time pay.
Overtime threshold: union representatives asked the city to consider lowering the overtime “productive time” threshold used to compute overtime from the department’s current effective level (based on a 53-hour/2-week model) down toward a 48-hour standard for operational personnel. Advocates argued that a lower threshold would increase built-in overtime pay and help recruitment and retention; city staff noted the changes would affect step calculations, administrative assignment pay offsets and budget forecasting.
Definitions, on-call vs callback: negotiators agreed to tighten language so “callback” covers employees who are at home and then asked to report to duty (or to be on-call and then called in for an event), and to spell out whether regular training, assigned training out of town, and emergency staffing are captured by the callback guarantees. Parties also discussed a 4-hour weekly on-call stipend that some fire marshal investigators currently receive, separate from callbacks.
Next steps: city staff (HR and payroll) and operations will: (1) clarify definitions (callback, on-call, emergency callback), (2) compute fiscal impacts from a 48-hour threshold and the sick-leave payout mechanics, and (3) draft precise contract language to avoid operational ambiguity. No vote or change was adopted at the session.
Ending: negotiators asked for clearer policy language and agreed to exchange follow-up drafts; the union and city will test proposed language against payroll models before settling contract text.
