Du Quoin firefighters get their work week in writing

The Du Quoin city council has given preliminary approval to putting the city's fire department work schedule in writing, a bit of housekeeping that has gone undone since 1985.

"It was never urgent, which is why it kept getting put on the back burner," Fire Chief Dave Durkota said.

The action changes nothing about how much firefighters work or how they are paid. But it does codify the work schedule in writing.

It clarifies that firefighters work an average 53-hour week, and are not eligible for overtime until after 53 hours. While most city employees are entitled to overtime after 40 hours, the unusual nature of firefighting means that the work experience and therefore the rules, are different.

The department's six full time firefighters are on 24 hours and off 48. Durkota is the seventh full-timer but does not follow the 24/48 rule.

The department also relies on 10 paid-on-call firefighters, who are paid for each event and do not fall under the work rules for full-timers.

In 1985 the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision and ruled that public safety workers have a right to earn overtime. Assessing municipal firefighters' hours became complicated, and the U.S. Labor Department gave cities a bit of a break: Instead of ruling that cities had to assess overtime every seven days, they could enlarge the scope of the work period to as much as 28 days.

Meaning, a firefighter who worked extra one week could be given comp time another week in that same period and lessen the municipality's likelihood of having to pay out overtime.

Du Quoin, said Durkota, chose a 21-day or three-week work period. Firefighters here work a 72-hour week, followed by a 48-hour week followed by another 48-hour week. Their schedules are staggered.

"The city is putting into writing what has long been an understood arrangement with Du Quoin firefighters, that their workweek can go as much as 53 hours before OT kicks in," Durkota said.

"We got all the benefits, but there were never spelled out, accounted for in writing," he added.

For example, a vacation day for a regular 40-hour employee is one 8-hour day. For a firefighter, however, a vacation day is 24 hours off.

"This should have been done 15-20 years ago," said Mayor Guy Alongi.

The Du Quoin Fire Department is the only full-time department in Perry County.

"Very few communities our size have the pleasure of a full-time fire department," Alongi added. "I would hope in the coming years we can keep a full-time fire department."