A Richmond Fire Department firefighter will receive overtime payment for half of the hours he spends in a paramedicine course after his grievance was partially supported by the city’s Board of Public Works and Safety.
The board voted 3-0 after an hour-and-a-half discussion July 17 to award Michael Stolzfus half of the estimated $15,840 of overtime he would accrue attending in-person classes at the School of EMS in Winchester and performing clinicals. Fire Fighters Local 1408 union representative Jordan Price said the outcome would also apply to Jeremy Hodapp, who is attending the School of EMS, as well.
The board heard evidence in the case June 24. Board member Ken Paust said his motion was a compromise he intended would prevent similar issues in the future
New RFD hires sign a contract that stipulates they must complete paramedic training within five years and that the department will pay for all costs associated with the training. It does not mention that the fire chief must pre-approve class participation.
Paust’s motion that the board approved includes stipulations that the decision will not set any precedents or affect RFD union contract or policies. It also requires updating the pre-employment contract to specify that the fire chief must approve training classes in writing prior to enrollment.
Stolzfus was approached by the department’s EMS chief to gauge his interest in attending the School of EMS class. He then applied for and received a state grant to pay the course cost and was encouraged by a supervisor to enroll. After he did so, Chief Jeff Kinder told him that the department could not support his participation, and if he attended the hybrid class, it would be on a voluntary, unpaid basis.
Union representatives told the board that the procedure for enrolling in a class has been through the EMS chief; however, Kinder said only he has authority to approve enrollment and participation. During the July 17 discussion, Price said that Stolzfus should not be punished for the administration’s communication problem, saying the solution should be compensating Stolzfus then clarifying the procedure in the pre-employment contract.
RFD administration said the compromise solution becomes an amendment to the contract and sets precedents undermining the chief’s authority to determine firefighters’ training schedules and voiding the negotiated 10-day filing period in the department’s grievance process. The administration said the 10-day period should have begun when Kinder told Stolzfus he would not be paid, but the union said Stolzfus is continuously aggrieved each time he receives an overtime check that does not include overtime for paramedicine class coursework.
A version of this article appeared in the July 23 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.