City Considering Fewer Hours for Paramedic Heads

City officials plan to consider whether to cut back on the hours of 17 paramedic supervisors because of a recent legal ruling by the city attorney.

The decision involves $1 million to $1.5 million from the Los Angeles Fire Department’s $250-million budget.

“We are looking at all the options,” Assistant Fire Chief John Ware said. Cutting some positions is a possibility, he said. But the department is also considering hiring more paramedic district captains to cover overtime shifts, he added.

The city’s 17 paramedic captains are stationed in each of the city’s six fire districts, Ware said. Like many emergency workers, they work 56 hours per week, including overnight shifts. Their duties include handling complaints, training and communicating with hospitals, said Capt. Steve Ruda, a spokesman for the department.

Until recently, the captains, like firefighters, were considered exempt from federal laws that require employers to pay overtime to employees who work more than 40 hours in a week.

But in November, based on recent court rulings, the city attorney’s office told the Fire Department it could no longer schedule paramedic captains to work 56-hour weeks without paying overtime, Ware said.

The ruling has spawned fears and rumors inside and outside the department, said Diana Brueggemann, senior legislative aide to City Councilwoman Laura Chick, who has drafted a motion to discuss the issue at an upcoming meeting of the council’s Public Safety Committee.