Some line firefighters in California make so much in overtime work that departments are having difficulty filling management positions, according to a report from McClatchy Newspapers (http://bit.ly/w9DUto).
Now the state is bringing back pay bonuses worth thousands of dollars in hopes of luring firefighters into supervisory roles.
The report cites how contracts negotiated over the last 10 years with firefighters in the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection increased overtime pay but didn’t consistently up supervisor’s wages. Assistant chiefs, as one example of a supervisory position, are exempt from receiving overtime; on the other hand, battalion chiefs, the top-tier line firefighters, are able to make overtime.
Thus firefighters are reluctant to take on greater responsibility and longer work hours while making less money, according to one official reporters talked to.
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