Firefighter overtime and shift differential

Typical Firefighter differentials

Ranges are the lowest and highest figures in the linked contracts, statutes and employer postings, not averages; your employer's rate is set by its own contract or policy. Figures reported only on Indeed or Reddit are described in the text as self-reported and never used in this table.

Price your own week

Preloaded with the national median wage and a mid-range differential from the table; change any field.

How overtime works for firefighters

Firefighters are the clearest case of section 7(k). Under 29 CFR 553.230 a public fire department may set a work period of 7 to 28 days and owes overtime only after 212 hours in 28 days, which scales to 106 hours in 14 days (DOL Fact Sheet #8) and 53 in 7. A 24/48 rotation is 240 hours per 28 days, so it carries 28 overtime hours a period, or 4 with one Kelly day cutting the period to 216. Federal firefighters paid under 5 U.S.C. 5545b are similar: overtime after 106 hours in a biweekly pay period, an hourly rate equal to annual salary divided by 2,756, and no other premium pay of any kind. Whichever body pays you, the overtime rate must be computed on the regular rate, and for firefighters that includes specialty pay, shift differentials and acting-out-of-rank pay, not the base scale alone.

Why 24-hour shifts have no night differential

Career firefighters mostly work 24-hour shifts on a 24/48, 48/96 or 24/72 rotation averaging 48 to 56 hours a week, and their contracts handle nights through the 24-hour pay divisor, not a differential. Of the six collective bargaining agreements we reviewed, none pays a per-hour night differential to 24-hour personnel. Miami-Dade's IAFF Local 1403 contract is explicit: Article 25 pays two pay steps above the normal rate for shifts worked mostly after 6 p.m., and then states that twenty-four hour shifts are ineligible for this pay differential. Hawaii's HFFA contract pays sixty cents an hour, but only to 40-hour staff; 24-hour personnel instead get a 25% Night Alarm Premium for alarm work between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Kennewick, Washington's contract has no night differential on a 48/96 averaging 49.8 hours a week; Coral Gables, Florida's has none on a 24/48 with a Kelly day at a 48-hour average. Federal firefighters are told in so many words by the DoD pay guide that they are not entitled to receive any type of premium pay except overtime pay. Weekend premiums are likewise absent from all six contracts. What a firefighter gets for nights, in practice, is the higher average-hours schedule and the overtime that comes with it.

Holidays and Kelly days

Holiday treatment is where contracts differ. Pasco County, Florida pays time and a half on hours worked on the holiday. Kennewick pays a lump sum of twelve hours of pay for each holiday whether or not you work it. Everett, Washington grants 132 hours of holiday pay a year plus time and a half on Christmas and Thanksgiving. Federal 5545b firefighters get no holiday premium at all. On a 24-hour shift the definition of which hours count as the holiday matters as much as the multiplier; ask for the clause.

Kelly days are a scheduled day off used to pull average hours down toward the 7(k) threshold. The FLSA does not require Kelly days to be paid or unpaid; that is a contract term. Whether your department pays them is worth a line in negotiations because a paid Kelly day is the equivalent of a raise on the hours you already work.

Negotiating and checking your paystub

Firefighter paystubs go wrong on the period, not the rate.

• —Confirm the work period length and the matching threshold: 212 hours for 28 days, 106 for 14, 53 for 7. A department that pays after 40 hours a week is paying more than the law requires; one that pays after 224 is paying less.
• —Count the hours in the period. On 24/48 that is 240 per 28 days, so 28 overtime hours; with one Kelly day, 216 and 4 overtime hours.
• —Check that specialty pay (paramedic, hazmat, acting officer) is inside the overtime rate. If overtime pays exactly 1.5× the base scale while you draw specialty pay, the regular rate is wrong.
• —For federal firefighters, verify the hourly rate is annual salary divided by 2,756 and that overtime starts at 106 hours in the biweekly period.

FAQ

Sources

1. BLS OES Firefighters (33-2011), May 2025 national median
2. Miami-Dade County / IAFF Local 1403 CBA, Art. 25
3. Hawaii Fire Fighters Association CBA 2021–25, sections 23–24
4. Kennewick WA / IAFF firefighters CBA 2024–26
5. Coral Gables FL / IAFF Local 1210 CBA 2020–26
6. DoD DCPAS federal firefighter pay guide
7. Pasco County FL / IAFF rank-and-file CBA, section 34.3
8. Everett WA / IAFF CBA
9. 29 CFR 553.230: section 7(k) work periods
10. DOL Fact Sheet #8: police and firefighters
11. Firehouse: firefighters, overtime and the FLSA (regular rate)
12. FirefighterOvertime.org: floating Kelly days and the FLSA
13. Fire Law Blog: are Kelly days paid or unpaid?
14. OPM: holidays, work schedules and pay

BLS medians are the May 2025 national OES estimates. Contract figures are as written in the linked agreements on the date above; check the current agreement for your employer. Last reviewed 2026-08-27.