Huff v. Dekalb County, Ga.

• Decision Date: 15 February 2008
• Docket Number: No. 07-10862.,07-10862.
• Citation: 516 F.3d 1273
• Parties: Sheryl L. HUFF, R. Scott Huff, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA, Defendant-Appellee, David A. Foster, individually and officially in his capacity as Fire Chief of the DeKalb County Fire & Rescue Services, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

516 F.3d 1273

Sheryl L. HUFF, R. Scott Huff, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA, Defendant-Appellee, David A. Foster, individually and officially in his capacity as Fire Chief of the DeKalb County Fire & Rescue Services, Defendant.

No. 07-10862.

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

February 15, 2008.

K. Prabhaker Reddy, The Reddy Law Firm, P.C., Karen Marie Patten, Law Offices of Karen M. Patten, LLC, Atlanta, GA, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Howard Walter Indermark, Jones & Indermark, Duluth, GA, for Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Before TJOFLAT, ANDERSON and COX, Circuit Judges.

COX, Circuit Judge:

I. INTRODUCTION

The primary issue in this case is whether a group of paramedics, who are employed by a county fire department and trained in fire suppression, have the "responsibility to engage in fire suppression" under 29 U.S.C. § 203(y), and are accordingly partially exempt from the normal forty-hour overtime schedule established by the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 201 et seq. We conclude that the district court properly determined that the paramedics have the "responsibility to engage in fire suppression" within the meaning of the FLSA.

II. FACTS

Plaintiffs Sheryl Huff, Scott Huff, Jackie Craig, Timothy Guinn, Mary Martin, and David Miles are paramedics currently or formerly employed by the DeKalb County (Georgia) Fire & Rescue Services ("DCFRS"). All Plaintiffs were employed as dual-function or cross-trained Firefighters/Paramedics or Fire Medics, and were fully trained and certified in both fire suppression skills and advanced life support. The Plaintiffs were previously employed as paramedics by the Emergency Medical Services Bureau ("EMSB"). On November 20, 2001, the EMSB merged with the Bureau of Fire Services to form the DCFRS. All DCFRS paramedics, including the Plaintiffs, were initially provided overtime compensation for work exceeding forty hours per week, which was consistent with their pay schedule at the EMSB.

Defendant David Foster ("Foster") became Chief of the DCFRS on January 2, 2003. He encouraged paramedics, including the Plaintiffs, to receive National Professional Qualification I ("NPQI") firefighting training, which represents a higher level of training than the minimum required to be a firefighter in Georgia. (R.1-28, Stanley-Chase Aff. 4-5.) All Plaintiffs received the NPQI certification. Plaintiffs Miles, Sheryl Huff, and Scott Huff later received NPQII certification in advanced firefighting (which the DCFRS did not require), a higher level of training than NPQI certification.

Beginning on May 24, 2003, the DCFRS classified the NPQI Plaintiffs as "Firefighter/Paramedics" and the NPQII Plaintiffs as "Fire Medics." These new titles carried new job descriptions, which included fire suppression duties. On May 24, all paramedics, including the Plaintiffs, were assigned to a 212 hour, 28 day work schedule, and were no longer paid overtime for work exceeding forty hours per week. They typically worked one 24-hour shift, followed by 48 hours off.¹

Both Firefighter/Paramedics and Fire Medics can be assigned to fire apparatuses, which include Rescues, Trucks, Squads, Ladders, Technical Rescue Trucks, or Engines. Rescue apparatuses are staffed by two Fire & Rescue personnel and may include two Firefighter/Paramedics, two Fire Medics, one EMT/Firefighter and a Fire Medic or Firefighter/Paramedic, or two EMT/Firefighters. All Fire & Rescue personnel at a fire scene are required to wear fire protection gear, called "turn-out" gear, which includes protective clothing, air masks for breathing, firefighting boots, and a fire helmet.

At a fire scene, an incident commander assigns duties to all personnel available. According to Foster, all Fire & Rescue personnel, including all Plaintiffs, have the legal authority and responsibility to engage at any time in the prevention, control, and extinguishment of a fire. (R.1-28, Foster Aff. 20.) If the Plaintiffs fail to follow orders from an incident commander at a fire scene, including orders to engage in fire suppression, they would be subject to discipline. (R.1-28, Foster Aff. 21-22.)

All Plaintiffs were assigned to fire stations. The Unit Dispatch Criteria outlines what type of fire apparatus responds to a specific kind of emergency call. The requisite fire apparatus is obligated to respond.

NPQI Plaintiffs (Firefighter/Paramedics)

Martin, Craig, and Guinn ("the NPQI Plaintiffs") are "Firefighter/Paramedics," and they have Paramedic and NPQI certifications. The job descriptions of Firefighter/Paramedics include performing basic firefighting and life rescue duties, in addition to responding to medical emergencies, disasters, multi-casualty incidents, and other types of emergencies. (R.1-28, Stanley-Chase Aff. Ex. L.) NPQI-certified employees are routinely assigned to rescue vehicles, and while they are regularly dispatched to fire calls, they are not assigned to fire engines. Rescue vehicles carry fire-protective "turn-out" gear for fighting fires, but no other fire suppression equipment. Each NPQI Plaintiff received "turn-out" gear in 2003.

According to testimony from DCFRS Fire Captains, employees with only NPQI certification are not assigned fire suppression activities. NPQI employees cannot engage in suppressing a house fire, but are authorized to extinguish small fires, such as a brush fire. Captain McKinley testified that NPQI employees can be required to suppress an exterior structure fire. Captain Brooks testified that he has never assigned an NPQI employee to extinguish a fire. The NPQI Plaintiffs have never engaged in or been ordered to extinguish, fight, or suppress a fire.

NPQII Plaintiffs (Fire Medics)

Scott and Sheryl Huff are classified as "Fire Medic III," and they have Paramedic, NPQI, and NPQII certifications. David Miles is a "Fire Medic HIM" (or "Interim," which means he is in training to become a Fire Medic III) and has Paramedic, NPQI and NPQII certification. We refer collectively to the Huffs and Miles as "the NPQII Plaintiffs." Fire Medics are responsible for firefighting, extrication, life rescue, and providing advanced emergency medical care for the sick and injured. They are required to perform firefighting and "to improve knowledge and skill in all areas related to fire fighting and life rescue." (R.1-28, Stanley-Chase Aff. Ex. M at 7499.) Their job description indicates that they are to operate the apparatus to perform fire control and suppression, and inspect fire hydrants and fire station equipment. (R.1-28, Stanley-Chase Aff. Ex. M at 7499.)

Miles is usually assigned to a rescue vehicle, but has been assigned to a fire engine a few times since January 2005. Sheryl Huff was assigned to a fire engine at least four times between August and December 2005. The Huffs both testified by affidavit that "[w]henever I am assigned to a rescue unit, my assigned duties are almost exclusively medical care duties." (R.3-43, Ex, 3 21; R.3-43, Ex. 4 22.) Scott Huff said that he had asked several times to be the supervising officer in a fire engine, but his requests were denied.

Beginning around January 2005, Miles has occasionally been assigned the duty, to engage in fire suppression. (R.2-29, Ex. 15 7.)

III. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The Plaintiffs filed suit on June 29, 2005, against DeKalb County and Chief Foster in his official capacity, alleging both FLSA and Equal Protection violations. Specifically, the Plaintiffs allege that the Defendants violated the FLSA by failing to pay them overtime based on a forty-hour workweek.

The Plaintiffs filed a motion for class certification, which the district court denied. The Defendants then moved for summary judgment on all claims. Miles, Martin, Craig, and Guinn moved for partial summary judgment on their FLSA claims. The district court denied the Plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment, granted the Defendants' motion for summary judgment, dismissed all of the Plaintiffs' claims, and entered judgment in favor of the Defendants on all counts.²

The Plaintiffs appeal both the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the Defendants and its denial of their motion for partial summary judgment.³

IV. ISSUES ON APPEAL AND CONTENTIONS OF THE PARTIES

The primary issue on appeal is whether the Plaintiffs have the "responsibility to engage in fire suppression" under an FLSA partial exemption to the normal overtime schedule. The Plaintiffs contend that the district court erred in granting summary judgment, to DeKalb County on this' issue (and should have granted them summary judgment instead) because it ignored undisputed evidence that they were not responsible for engaging in fire suppression and devoted their time to emergency medical duties—not firefighting. They also argue that 29 U.S.C. § 203(y), which provided a new definition of "employee in fire protection activities," did not abrogate the Department of Labor's definition. The Defendants contend that summary judgment in their favor was proper because they met their burden of demonstrating that the Plaintiffs had a "responsibility to engage in fire suppression."⁴

V. STANDARD OF REVIEW

This court reviews de novo a district court's grant or denial of summary judgment. Holloman v. Mail-Well Corp., 443 F.3d 832, 836 (11th Cir.2006). Summary judgment is appropriate when the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, presents no genuine issue of material fact and compels judgment as a matter of law. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

VI. DISCUSSION

The FLSA provides: "Except as otherwise provided in this section, no employer shall employ any of his employees ... for a workweek longer than forty hours unless such employee receives compensation for his employment in excess of the hours above specified at a...