Kreeft

Plaintiffs are certified class representatives of firefighters who have retired under the Oakland Police and Fire Retirement System (retirees). Under the Oakland Police and Fire Retirement System (Fire Retirement System), a retiree’s pension is a fixed percentage of the current compensation “attach[ed] to the . . . rank” the retiree held upon retirement. Thus, as the salaries of active firefighters increase, so do the pensions Oakland (City) pays to its retired firefighters. This is a so-called “fluctuating” pension system.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) currently requires the City to pay firefighters time and one-half for every hour they work in *49 excess of 204 hours per 27-day pay period. The City must pay this “overtime” premium even though the firefighters work more than 204 hours as part of their “normal” schedule. The primary question in this case is whether such federally mandated overtime pay is “attached to the rank” the retirees held at the time they retired, and must therefore be included in calculating their pensions. We agree with the trial court that such premium pay is not “attached to the rank” the retirees held at retirement, but…