United States Department of Labor Wage and Hour Investigation of Chester NH Fire Department (Case ID 1967711)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New Hampshire Right to Know Law, I hereby request the following records:

Records related to the United States Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division’s investigation into the Chester Fire Department. The start of this investigation was announced to Fire Department Members via a message sent by Fire Chief Gladu on or about June 23, 2022. The conclusion of this investigation was announced during the July 14, 2022 Board of Selectmen meeting by Town Administrator Doda. According to the approved Board of Selectmen’s meeting minutes dated July 14, 2022 Town Administrator Doda stated "the Department of Labor (DOL) audited the Fire Department. There were no enforcement issues or violations" (page 5, line 233). According to the attached documents sourced from https://enforcedata.dol.gov/, the Town of Chester Fire Department was found in violation of the of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) on one count. The United States Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division records indicate the violation began on June 12, 2020 and ended on June 9, 2022 with Case ID 1967711. In a conversation on October 13, 2022, Town Administrator Doda stated she had been informed that there were no violations found and she was unaware of any documents received from the DOL. Town Administrator Doda stated she would contact the DOL investigator in charge of the case for clarification.

The search period for all requests is between June 1, 2022 and October 13, 2022.

DOCUMENTS PERTAINING TO THE US DOL INVESTIGATION INCLUDING FINDINGS AND RESULTS
All documents and communications accepted by the municipality from the United States Department of Labor in relation to case 1967711, all documents and communications made to the US DOL in relation to case 1967711, and all other documents concerning the investigation including orders and notices. This includes notification of investigation, communications from the DOL, communications to the DOL, informational documents, informational pamphlets, and any documents describing the findings, conclusions or results of the investigation. This includes all records, no matter what form, including but not limited to, printed documents, electronic documents, e-mails, or any other form of records.

BOARD OF SELECTMEN MEETINGS MINUTES AND RECORDS
All Board of Selectmen records including any of the following: "1967711", “DOL”, “Department of Labor”, "Wage and Hour", “audit”, “investigation”, “independent training”, “independent learning”, “probation”, “probationary”, ""probi book", “training”, "violation", "fair labor standards act", "FLSA", "time tracking", "payroll", "hours worked". This includes all records, no matter what form, including but not limited to, printed documents, meeting minutes, electronic documents, electronic communications, e-mails, or any other form of records. This includes identification of minutes of any non-public sessions that meet the criteria as well as the stated reason for withholding the minutes from public disclosure if applicable.

EMAILS AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
All emails and electronic communication sent or received by any of the following individuals: Town Administration Doda, Fire Chief Gladu, Lieutenant Hodosi, Station Manager Ingalls including any of the following terms in the subject or body of the message: "1967711", “DOL”, “Department of Labor”, "Wage and Hour", “audit”, “investigation”, “independent training”, “independent learning”, “probation”, “probationary”, ""probi book", “training”, "violation", "fair labor standards act", "FLSA", "time tracking", "payroll", "hours worked". For any conversation matching one or more of the search terms the entire communication chain is requested.

CORRECTIVE ACTIONS
All records describing policy revisions and/or corrective actions implemented by the Town of Chester and the Chester Fire Department to mitigate violations of the FLSA identified by the US DOL.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Kevin J Dolan