A class action lawsuit has been filed against the Guam Government for allegedly failing to pay firefighters skills-based bonuses required by local law and a governor's executive order. The lawsuit claims payment of Emergency Medical Technicians bonuses to Guam Fire Department firefighters has been inconsistent, possibly because money was not budgeted.
The Guam government started to pay some firefighters 15 percent more because of a 1998 law that gave incentive pay to firefighters in the Guam Fire Department who are Emergency Medical Technician-Ambulance certified and who are assigned duties as emergency medical technicians. The extra pay was extended to other firefighters in a January 2001 executive order by Gov. Carl Gutierrez, including an 18 percent pay increase, plus $100 per pay period, for firefighters who work for the Guam Fire Department Advanced Life Support Unit.
