Chicago Paramedics Can Sue for Overtime Pay

(CN) - The 7th Circuit has given Chicago paramedics a second chance to sue the city for overtime pay.

Fifty-four paramedics with the Chicago Fire Department filed a two-count collective action accusing the city of miscalculating their overtime pay 10 different ways.

Paramedics are eligible for extra pay for staying fit, working a 24-hour shift, driving the ambulance and working extra shifts.

The federal complaint was dismissed as "hopelessly heterogenous," and the plaintiff paramedics, who now numbered in the hundreds, were directed to proceed through arbitration.

Their appeal was consolidated with a second lawsuit, and the Chicago-based appeals court ruled that the paramedics "have the right to proceed individually."

"Sifting through the subclaims of each of the myriad plaintiffs is an unenviable task," Judge Joel Flaum wrote for the three-judge panel. "But plaintiffs are nonetheless entitled to their day in court."

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