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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND CHUCK KOELKER, ET AL. v. THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF CUMBERLAND (MARYLAND) * * * Civil No. JFM-07-2706 * * * * ***** OPINION On October 5, 2007, current and former members of the Cumberland Fire Department ("plaintiffs") filed this action against the Mayor and City Council of Cumberland ("defendant") for alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), the Maryland Wage and Hour Law, and the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Act. Plaintiffs request declaratory, injunctive, and monetary relief for defendant's alleged failure to pay wages for all hours worked and time-and-a-half for overtime wages.1 Plaintiffs and defendant have filed cross-motions for summary judgment. After defendant filed its response to plaintiffs' summary judgment motion and a cross-motion for summary judgment, plaintiffs filed a motion for leave to amend their complaint.

I. The facts in this case are largely undisputed. (See Pls.' S.J. Reply 2.) Plaintiffs are firefighters currently or formerly employed by the Fire Department of the City of Cumberland,

In their reply memorandum, plaintiffs allege violations of the record-keeping requirements of the FLSA and the notice and record-keeping requirements of the Maryland Wage and Hour Law. (Pls.' Reply Mem. in Supp. of Pls.' Mot. for Summ. J. and in Opp. to Def.'s Cross-Mot. for Summ. J. ["Pls.' S.J. Reply"] 12.) As these allegations appear for the first time in plaintiffs' reply memorandum, I do not consider them.

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Maryland. Defendant, the Mayor and City Council of Cumberland, operates the Fire Department. The employment terms for the firefighters are established in a collective bargaining agreement. The International Association of Firefighters, AFL-CIO, Local #1715 ("the Union"), is the exclusive bargaining agent for the plaintiff firefighters. (Def.'s Ex. 11, at 1, 3.) On July 15, 2003, defendant and the Union executed a collective bargaining agreement effective from July 1, 2002, through June 30, 2006. (Id. at 31.) A largely identical successor agreement was executed on August 8, 2006, for the employment period of July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007. (Def.'s Ex. 12, at 32.) The current agreement was executed on April 15, 2008, to cover the period July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2010. (Def.'s Ex. 18, at 1.) Under the Agreements, firefighters work one twenty-four hour "shift" followed by fortyeight hours off. After a certain number of shifts

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Maryland Law