⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Ninth Circuit hears a dispute over San Jose firefighters' overtime pay. The firefighters worked rotating shifts, received paid leave, and could earn additional pay for extra shifts under their labor agreement. They sued the city, claiming that its payments sometimes fell short of federal overtime requirements, especially when paid leave and extra work occurred in the same pay period. After a trial based on stipulated facts and documents, a federal judge found underpayments. The city is appealing. These firefighters use a special federal rule: overtime is measured after 212 hours actually worked in a 28-day period, rather than the usual 40-hour week. The dispute is not whether firefighters can receive overtime. It is how to calculate it. One question concerns the regular rate, the hourly benchmark for federal overtime: should the salary be divided by fixed scheduled hours, or by hours actually worked? Another concerns credit: how much of the overtime already paid under the labor agreement counts toward what federal law requires? The city will defend its calculations. The firefighters will defend the trial court's method and its limits on those credits.

Barnett, et al. v. City of San Jose (No. 25-2280) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued October 21, 2026.