In this episode, Curt discusses drone law with Dr. Thomas Abbott and Civil Air Patrol Commander Daniel Leclair from the University of Maine’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems program. Tom is the director of the university’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems program and Dan is one of the instructors in the program.

In this episode, Curt and Linda Willing discuss the cultural and legal challenges associated with hazing, pranks and bullying in the fire service. Linda is a retired fire officer from the Boulder (CO) Fire Department, and is now a noted author, columnist and lecturer. She is the author of On the Line: Women Firefighters Tell Their Stories, and is a monthly columnist for FireRescue1 and Fire Chief.

In this episode, Curt and attorney Brian Bregman discuss the complicated legal issues associated with disciplinary investigations where the accused firefighters are potentially subject to criminal liability – and may have a 5th Amendment Right to remain silent.

Brian represented one of two Prince George’s County volunteer firefighters who were recently acquitted of assaulting two female career firefighters at the scene of a structure fire in 2015. In the case important Garrity issues arose in terms of whether the volunteers could be compelled to answer questions, thereby giving up their 5th Amendment Right to remain silent. The question also arose as to whether the county or the members’ volunteer fire company was legally able to compel the answers.

In this episode, Curt discusses the recent acquittal of two Prince George’s County volunteer firefighters with Attorney Brian Bregman. Brian represented one of the firefighters accused of assaulting two female career firefighters at the scene of a structure fire in 2015.

In this episode, Curt and attorney Matt Dolan discuss the leadership challenge of dealing with the toxic employee. Approximately 60 percent of fire service litigation are HR-types of suits, and many of those lawsuits involve the 1% who make everyone’s lives more difficult: the toxic employee.

Curt and Matt will be presenting a program on Fire Service Leadership in Grand Rapids, Michigan on May 15-16, 2017. Click here for more details.

In this episode Curt and retired Battalion Chief John Cagno discuss cyberbullying in the fire service. The discussion ranges from legal considerations to leadership responsibilities.

Are fire officers eligible for overtime? Does rank matter? In this episode Curt and Bill Maccarone discuss overtime issues associated with fire officers. Many fire departments consider some or all of their officers to be exempt from the overtime requirements of the FLSA under the “white collar” exemption. Court cases between 1985 and 2003 were all over the board. In 2004, the US Department of Labor implemented the First Responder Regulations in an effort to clarify the difficult issues.

In this episode, Curt and Bill Maccarone continue their discussion about FLSA overtime issues in the fire service with an introduction to the so-called white-collar exemptions that allow employees classified as executives, administrative or professionals to be exempt from minimum wage and maximum hours requirements. Also discussed is the small fire department exemption.

This is the fourth in a series of podcasts about how the FLSA impacts the fire service.

In this episode, Curt and Bill Maccarone continue their discussion about overtime issues in the fire service with an overview of "regular rate". Regular rate refers to the amount of hourly compensation that must be multiplied by 1.5 to determine the overtime rate. While that may seem simple, its application is anything but.

In this episode, Curt and Bill Maccarone continue their discussion about overtime issues in the fire service with an overview of the 207k partial exemption. The 207k, or 7k, exemption extends the maximum hours for firefighters from 40 to 53 hours per week and extends the 7 day work week to a possible 28 day work period.

Curt and Bill Maccarone discuss the Fair Labor Standards Act, and how the FLSA impacts fire departments ranging from career to volunteer.