Do you work 24 Hour Shifts? EMTs and Ambulance Drivers May get overtime!
In the labor laws of California, the overtime rules for the attendants & ambulance drivers who work in 24 hour shifts are different than the other work force in California. According to the rule, in some situations, employers can schedule the drivers of ambulance for a 24 hour’s work without any overtime payment.
The California law states:
“The daily overtime provision of subsection (A) above shall not apply to ambulance drivers and attendants scheduled for 24-hour shifts of duty who have agreed in writing to exclude from daily time worked not more than three (3) meal periods of not more than one (1) hour each and a regularly scheduled uninterrupted sleeping period of not more than eight (8) hours. The employer shall provide adequate dormitory and kitchen facilities for employees on such a schedule.”
You can also say that the ambulance drivers only need to be paid for 13 hours, if the below mentioned situations exist:
Cannot take periods of meal for more than three hours.
Not exceeding more than eight hours of sleep scheduled on a daily basis without any interruptions what so ever.to this effect.
Agreement in a written form to let everyone know about it.
It is necessary to bring in your notice that the exemption on overtime is applicable to California daily overtime (if exceeds eight hours of work in a day) but, not for the California weekly overtime (exceeding forty hours of work in a week)
If an employer is looking to save some money by saving the hours of overtime, it is important for the employer to meet the terms of 24 hours shift rule, for example:
-if the time of sleep is “on-call” rather than being scheduled without causing any kind of an interruption, then the employer doesn’t come under compliance.
-If there hasn’t been any agreement in a written form in between the two parties, then the employer doesn’t come under compliance.
-If the employer doesn’t come under compliance, it is important for them to pay overtime on a daily basis to the drivers of their ambulances for a complete shift of 24 hours.
Aguilar v. Association for Retarded Citizens is of the best examples of what exactly happens when any employer does not follow the 24 hours shift rules. In this case, the drivers of ambulances used were required to work in 24 hour of a shifts, but the employer allowed them a temporarily release of a few hours on a daily basis so that they can solve their personal matters. In actuality, they weren’t working for exactly 24 hours in a shift. It is necessary for an employer to make a payment of all the working hours, with an inclusion of the pay of overtime.
Reasoning of the court (Rephrased):
According to the IWC Wage Order, there is a difference between people who do not complete 24 hours on the clock and the drivers of ambulances who complete 24 hours of a shift; furthermore, they can only afford an exemption on the compensation of sleeping hours, for the drivers of ambulances that work on a 24 hour shift. It makes it clear that the drivers of ambulances don’t actually work for the entire 24 hours.
So, if you are also an ambulance attendant, an ambulance driver or EMT and you are facing similar issues that are written above, you can contact our experienced San Jose Labor Law attorneys for a free and confidential case review, whether you still work for the company in question or did work for them in the past four years.
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