A Maine firefighter has filed suit against the Town of Mount Vernon alleging the town paid its part-time firefighters only once every six months and suspended him after he complained about unpaid wages.

Firefighter Justin Legendre filed the class-action type suit (officially referred to as a collective-action) in the US District Court for the District of Maine. The suit alleges violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and Maine wage-payment law, along with retaliation under the FLSA.

Legendre has served with the Mount Vernon Fire & Rescue Department since 2022. He claims the town agreed to pay him an hourly rate of more than $17, although he claims he does not know the exact rate because the town did not provide paystubs. Quoting from the complaint:

• The Town agreed to pay Plaintiff $17 and an unknown number of cents for each hour worked.
• The exact hourly amount is not known to the Plaintiff because the Town failed to issue paystubs.
• Plaintiff performed compensable work for the Town during the period relevant to this action.
• The Town required Plaintiff and other paid firefighters to record their compensable time and maintained records of the time they worked.
• The Town determined when and how Plaintiff and the other paid firefighters were paid.
• Until late November 2025, the Town paid Plaintiff’s wages only approximately once every six months.
• The Town used the same or substantially similar payment schedule for other paid firefighters.
• The Town has not paid Plaintiff for work performed from the last payment in late November through the present.
• The unpaid work time is estimated to be about ten hours per week, though it fluctuated.
• The Towns records will show the exact amount.
• More than eight days have elapsed since Plaintiff’s unpaid wages were due.

The relevance of the eight days is under Maine’s wage payment law, (Title 26, § 621-A. Timely and full payment of wages), which reads in part under subsection 1:

• At regular intervals not to exceed 16 days, every employer must pay in full all wages earned by each employee, except members of the family of the employer and salaried employees. Each payment must include all wages earned to within 8 days of the payment date.

The law goes on to state:

• 6. Volunteer firefighters. Notwithstanding subsection 1, a municipal fire department may make payments owed to a volunteer firefighter at regular intervals not to exceed 6 months. For purposes of this subsection, “municipal fire department” has the same meaning as in Title 30-A, section 3151, subsection 1 and “volunteer firefighter” has the same meaning as in Title 30-A, section 3151, subsection 4.

[Incidentally, once a person is paid an hourly wage – they no longer qualify as a volunteer. We will be discussing this more on August 12, 2026 in our Webinar: FLSA Bootcamp for Volunteer & Combination Fire Departments. Volunteers can receive expense reimbursements, reasonable benefits, and a nominal fee – but once they receive compensation, they become employees and eligible for at least minimum wage for all hours served – whether voluntary, volun-told, or scheduled.]

Legendre claims his last payment was issued in late November 2025 and that he has not been paid for work performed since then. He estimates that he worked approximately ten hours per week, although the complaint states that the amount fluctuated and the town’s records will show the exact total.

The collective action seeks to include all current and former paid firefighters who are/were similarly situated and by the Town during the past three years

The complaint also includes a retaliation claim arising from Legendre’s suspension.

According to the suit, Legendre complained to his battalion chief and fire chief during the second week of June 2026 that the town had paid him “zero dollars for approximately six months of work.” The complaint states that he raised the issue repeatedly and was among the most vocal firefighters objecting to the town’s pay practices.

On July 9, 2026, less than one month after those complaints, he was suspended without pay. The stated reason was a joke Legendre posted on Facebook while off duty, using his personal account, while not in uniform, and without representing the department.

Legendre alleges the person to whom the joke was directed was not offended and considered it funny. He also claims the suspension did not comply with the disciplinary procedures in the Mount Vernon Personnel Policy. The complaint states that Legendre later returned to the station to speak with other firefighters about their right to be paid and to again demand payment. He was then suspended indefinitely and ordered to return department equipment.

Firefighter Legendre contends the Facebook post was a pretext and that the town would not have suspended him had he not complained about the unpaid wages.

The four-count complaint seeks unpaid minimum wages and liquidated damages on behalf of Legendre and other paid firefighters who opt into the FLSA collective action. It also seeks relief under Maine law, including unpaid wages, interest, liquidated damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.

On the retaliation claim, he seeks lost wages and benefits, compensatory and liquidated damages, removal of the suspension from his discipline file and restoration of his position.

Here is a copy of the complaint.