In Re Lower Merion Township Fire Department Labor Standards Litigation

MEMORANDUM

DALZELL, District Judge.

This is a dispute between fourteen firemen and the various volunteer fire departments in the Township of Lower Merion that employ them over the fire departments’ liability for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. (the “FLSA”).

Plaintiffs, paid firefighters employed by five defendant fire companies, originally filed five separate actions, each naming one of the fire departments as a defendant. Because the individually-filed cases involved common questions of law, we consolidated them under the above caption for all purposes,…