Clarksburg Approves $1.25 Million Settlement With 44 Firefighters
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Clarksburg City Council has approved a $1.25 million settlement with approximately 44 members of the Clarksburg Fire Department, ending a two-year dispute over the calculation of the firefighters’ hourly wages and overtime compensation.
The agreement resolves claims contained in two pending lawsuits, one filed in Harrison County Circuit Court and the other in the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. The lawsuits are expected to be formally dismissed after the settlement terms are completed.
The city described the dispute as the result of an inadvertent error in the way firefighters’ hourly rates were calculated. In announcing the settlement, the city said it identified the miscalculation, brought the matter to the firefighters’ attention and corrected the error.
The settlement ends the legal dispute without a trial or a court ruling on the firefighters’ allegations.
The case began in June 2024, when 44 Clarksburg firefighters filed suit against the city. The firefighters alleged that an incorrect formula had reduced both their regular hourly rates and the overtime compensation calculated from those rates.
Although the firefighters receive annual salaries, their compensation must be converted into an hourly rate for payroll and overtime purposes.
That calculation is significant because Clarksburg firefighters work 24-hour shifts rather than a traditional 40-hour schedule. According to the original complaint, the department’s three shifts were scheduled to work an average of approximately 2,936 hours during 2024.
The firefighters alleged that the city had historically divided their annual compensation by 3,328 hours to establish an hourly rate, even though they were not scheduled to work that many hours. The complaint said the city later changed the calculation to 3,406 hours.
Using a larger number of annual hours to divide the same salary produces a lower hourly rate. The firefighters argued that the formula therefore reduced both their regular hourly compensation and the rate used to calculate overtime.
Those claims remained allegations and were not decided by a judge or jury. The city has characterized the underlying issue as an unintentional calculation error that was identified and corrected.
Council approved the settlement during a special meeting Thursday. The agreement resolves the disputed compensation claims and associated legal expenses without the additional cost and uncertainty of taking the case to trial.
The Clarksburg case follows several years of increased attention to firefighter compensation laws across West Virginia, particularly when those laws are applied to employees working extended shifts.
A separate case involving Morgantown firefighters centered on holiday compensation rather than the hourly-rate and overtime calculation disputed in Clarksburg.
Fifty-four current and former Morgantown firefighters challenged the city’s method of awarding holiday compensation. In 2023, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that the holiday compensation was protected under the state Wage Payment and Collection Act and returned the case to circuit court for further proceedings.
The West Virginia Legislature later passed Senate Bill 557, which took effect July 1, 2024. The law clarified that a paid municipal firefighter entitled to holiday compensation must receive time off or pay covering the firefighter’s entire shift, even when that shift extends across two calendar days.
That legislation addressed the holiday-pay issue raised in Morgantown. It did not decide or change the hourly-rate calculation at the center of the Clarksburg lawsuits.
Clarksburg City Council’s approval of the settlement concludes the pay dispute between the city and its firefighters. The city said it appreciates the professionalism of those involved in reaching the agreement and looks forward to maintaining a cooperative working relationship with members of the Clarksburg Fire Department.
