Can an employer not pay their employees overtime, even if it is for training purposes?

Question:  I work for a non-profit fire department in Wake County. Full time firefighters are required to work a 43 hour work week, but are not paid overtime for those three hours. The three extra hours are intended to complete training requirements that the state has set forth. However, several of our staff would like to volunteer at other places, but cannot, since we are required to be at training three, sometimes four Thursdays in a row. If they were allowed to volunteer, they could complete their training at whatever department they volunteer with. We are curious...Can an employer not pay their employees overtime, even if it is for training purposes? Does the not for profit status of our department have anything to do with it? If you can provide some answers, we would be appreciative. Thanks.

Answer: There are special rules related to firefighting under the FLSA. Please see http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs8.htm for additional information. If that page does not answer your specific question, I recommend that you call the NC Department of Labor for further information. Their phone number is 919 807-2796 or 1-800-NC-Labor. I hope this helps.