35-302 Paid fire departments; firefighters; hours of duty; alternating day schedule; agreement; restrictions. - Nebraska Statutes

35-302. Paid fire departments;firefighters; hours of duty; alternating day schedule; agreement; restrictions.Firefighters employed in the fire departments of cities having paidfire departments shall not be required to remain on duty for periods of timewhich will aggregate in each month more than an average of sixty hours perweek. Each single-duty shift shall consist of twenty-four consecutive hoursand shall be followed by an off-duty period as necessary to assure compliancewith the requirements of this section unless by voluntary agreement betweenthe city and the authorizedcollective-bargaining agent or, if there is no collective-bargaining unit, thefirefighter, any firefighter may be permitted to work an additional periodof consecutive time and may return to work after less than a twenty-four-houroff-duty period. Any firefighter may be assigned to work less than a twenty-four-hourshift, but in such event the firefighter shall not work in excess of fortyhours per week unless otherwiseprovided by voluntary agreement between the city and the authorized collective-bargainingagent or, if there is no collective-bargaining unit, the firefighter. No agreementunder this section shall allow a firefighter who is scheduled to work lessthan a twenty-four-hour shift and who holds the rank of fire chief or worksas an immediate subordinate to a fire chief to fill temporary vacancies createdby the absence of a firefighter who is assigned to work a twenty-four-hourshift and who holds a rank lower than fire chief. No firefightershall be required to perform any work or service as such firefighter duringany period in which he or she is off duty except in cases of extraordinaryconflagration or emergencies or job-related court appearances. SourceLaws 1953, c. 119, § 1(2), p. 377; Laws 1963, c. 196, § 1, p. 642; Laws 1971, LB 773, § 1; Laws 1979, LB 80, § 101; Laws 2009, LB537, § 1.AnnotationsThis section provides firefighters with statutory rights and permits firefighters to waive those rights by voluntary agreement, but does not alter the well-established principle that such a waiver must be clearly and expressly established. Hogelin v. City of Columbus, 274 Neb. 453, 741 N.W.2d 617 (2007).