SEARCH SITE
VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL
- Code of Virginia
- Virginia Administrative Code
- Constitution of Virginia
- Charters
- Authorities
- Compacts
- Uncodified Acts
- RIS Users (account required)
SEARCHABLE DATABASES
- Bills & Resolutions
session legislation - Bill Summaries
session summaries - Reports to the General Assembly
House and Senate documents - Legislative Liaisons
State agency contacts
ACROSS SESSIONS
- Subject Index: Since 1995
- Bills & Resolutions: Since 1994
- Summaries: Since 1994
Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
2001 SESSION
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Title 2.1 a chapter numbered 10.1:3, consisting of sections numbered 2.1-116.9:7 through 2.1-116.9:13, as follows:
§ 2.1-116.9:7. Definitions.
As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Employer" means any political subdivision of the Commonwealth, including any county, city, town, authority, or special district that employs fire protection employees except any locality with five or fewer paid firefighters that is exempt from overtime rules by 29 U.S.C. § 207 (k).
"Fire protection employee" means any person, other than an employee who is exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, who is employed by an employer as a paid firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical technician, rescue worker, ambulance personnel, or hazardous materials worker who is (i) trained in fire suppression and has the legal authority and responsibility to engage in fire suppression, and is employed by a fire department of an employer, and (ii) engaged in the prevention, control, and extinguishment of fires or response to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk.
“Regularly scheduled work hours” means those hours that are recurring and fixed within the work period and for which an employee receives a salary or hourly compensation. “Regularly scheduled work hours” does not include on-call, extra duty assignments or any other nonrecurring and nonfixed hours.
§ 2.1-116.9:8. Overtime compensation rate.
A. Employers shall pay fire protection employees overtime compensation or leave, as under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 207 (o), at a rate of not less than one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours of work between the statutory maximum permitted under 29 U.S.C. § 207 (k) and the hours for which an employee receives his salary, or if paid on an hourly basis, the hours for which the employee receives hourly compensation. A fire protection employee who is paid on an hourly basis shall have paid leave counted as hours of work in an amount no greater than the numbers of hours counted for other fire protection employees working the same schedule who are paid on a salaried basis in that jurisdiction.
B. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to affect the right of any employer to provide overtime compensation to fire protection employees in an amount that exceeds the amounts required by this section.
§ 2.1-116.9:9. Work period.
Employers may adopt any work period to compute overtime compensation for fire protection employees between seven and twenty-eight days provided that the work period is recurring and fixed, and is not changed for purposes of denying overtime compensation to such employees to which they may be entitled under subsection A of § 2.1-116.9:8.
§ 2.1-116.9:10. Hours of work.
For purposes of computing fire protection employees' entitlement to overtime compensation, all hours that an employee works or is in a paid status during his regularly scheduled work hours shall be counted as hours of work.
§ 2.1-116.9:11. Employee's remedies; award of attorneys' fees and costs.
A. In an action brought under this chapter, an employer who violates the provisions of this chapter shall be liable to the fire protection employee affected in an amount of double the amount of the unpaid compensation due such employee. However, if the employer can prove that his violation was in good faith, he shall be liable only for the amount of the unpaid compensation plus interest at the rate of eight percent per year, commencing on the date the compensation was due to the employee.
B. Where the fire protection employee prevails, the court shall award him attorneys' fees and costs to be paid by the employer.
§ 2.1-116.9:12. Limitation of actions.
Actions brought under this chapter shall be commenced within two years of the date the unpaid compensation was due, or if the violation is willful, within three years of the date the unpaid compensation was due.
§ 2.1-116.9:13. Sovereign immunity.
The immunity of the Commonwealth and of any "agency" as defined in § 8.01-195.2 is hereby preserved.