I'm not going to pretend for a second that I have law degree, or that I can be considered an expert on labor law, but I want to bring up a very confusing and sometimes controversial subject. Pay. There is one thing I can safely say to the masses. When it comes to labor law, there is no such thing as a "paid volunteer". If you pay you people to do work, they are an employee. People can be on-call and get paid for calls. They can can be paid a stipend. I could share dozens of examples I have been exposed to, but here is the simple list to keep it legal, ethical and to keep peeps happy.
  1. Pay, pay, pay... If your person works, pay them. Anything that can be "interpreted as work. Pay.
  2. If they max out hours, send them home. Overtime doesn't have to be complicated, ask a finance officer, but if they work 3x 12hour shifts, kick them out before 40 hours. If they work OT pay them OT. If you can't support OT then make a schedule that works. If people are schedule for 40 hours don't be offended if there is always a few extra hours for reports and long calls. Pay those too.
  3. If you schedule a sleep time, Pay... Check it out: EMS can very easily have scheduled and paid sleep time. Make sure to justify the pay chart upon hire. One place I worked offered sleep pay at my regular wages, but since I did 2x 24hr shifts with 2x 8hr sleep periods I would have to work an additional 8 hours or have interrupted sleep (less than 5 hours) for hours to count toward regular pay. See chart below.
  4. If you utilize volunteers... make sure they are volunteers. Do not force, coerce, or harass someone to do anything. If you have a membership or a district, that does NOT qualify as an employee. I volunteer for my district, I am a member of several organizations, I get paid as a Paramedic.
  5. Remember EMS is used to lower pay, don't feel like they need top dollar, but pay them a decent living wage. Consider asking what is fair and consult with state and local agencies. - Check realistic websites... I did a job search for jobs in my area then checked out INDEED.com I was shocked at what I got paid and what some others got paid. consider experience, education, and work ethic. One example is $16/hr for 48 hours or earning $20/hr for 36 hours but both annuals were in the mid 40,000's. Just one was 48hrs and the other was 36hrs... think about it... My suggestion is to offer competitive wages and if someone knocks at your door and shows you a giant resume or CV with a ton of alphabet soup behind their name, don’t assume they have the expirence to go with it. Have them bring copies of rosters and class reviews. Make sure if you hire someone with expirence, that that expirence is real and not really good sounding.
  6. Do not, I repeat to not, forget that Labor Laws see EMTs and Paramedics as the same "business" or “entity”. Do not assume because a paid EMT goes and gets their AEMT or their Paramedic that you can change their status. They remain paid, unless they're employment status ends. Do not terminate an employee just so you don't have to pay for orientation when they are done with training. This can be a harassment case waiting to happen.
  7. Take the time to educate yourself with benefits and retirement. Many EMS persons would gladly give up some hourly rate for benefits and retirement. Offer decent options for staff. Be prepared to negotiate family benefits and paid leave.
  8. Stipends are very successful ways of bringing high quality EMS professionals to rural areas. A common practice is to pay $120 per 12 hours. Then pay normal EMS wages during calls or offer a “call back option”.
  9. If you have meetings, trainings, and classes run by one of your own. Pay them to prepare and present them. Practice negotiating with paid persons about time spent at work/home/or off regular scheduled hours to work on course work. -One example. I worked a very slow EMS service, that allowed me to work on personal projects - that were work related - while at work.
  10. EMS hours are Emergency Medical Hours. If you have a Paramedic that works a hospital, remember that if you pay different rates for ER and for Transfers or 911 time, If you pay more for Night shift, remember all of it has to be calculated for OT.
  11. Lastly read and re-read labor laws and consult a labor lawyer if you have questions. Never asssume you know enough.

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We have a combined total of thousands of calls from many locations and any likeness is strictly coincidence. We take HIPPA, FISSA and company policies very seriously.