SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Court of Appeals has affirmed a ruling by Oregon’s labor commissioner in a case that directs the payment of more than $100,000 in back wages and overtime for firefighters in Grants Pass.
The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries says Local 3564 of the International Association of Fire Fighters asked the state agency in June 2011 for a ruling about whether the city of Grants Pass must include authorized vacation and sick leave time when calculating the overtime wages of its members.
Commissioner Brad Avakian agreed with the union that the Public Employees Collective Bargaining Act did not create a collective bargaining exception to the applicable overtime requirements. Wednesday’s appeals court ruling affirms Avakian’s interpretation of Oregon law.
Avakian says Grants Pass will have 35 days to petition the state Supreme Court or begin paying the deferred overtime payments. A call for comment left after business hours at the Grants Pass city attorney’s office was not immediately returned.
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