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Waves aren’t the only ones making a splash in Los Angeles on July 4th. Lifeguard Skyguard’s salary is also turning his head.
At least one LA County lifeguard was raked over $500,000 last year, according to a new report from the Fiscal WatchDog Group Openthebooks. Meanwhile, 34 lifeguards brought in over $300,000 in 2024, while 134 brought in at least $200,000 in base salary, overtime and other benefits.
Taxpayers in Los Angeles County are used to getting soaked, but it may be “unsettling” for those who hear that lifeguards are being paid while the city is still facing a shortage of firefighters and police.
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The Los Angeles County Lifeguard is looking at the crowd of Hermosa Ironman on July 4, 2019 in Hermosa Beach, California. (Photo: Jay L. Clendenin/Getty Images)
“Lifeguards that risk lives that protect their citizens deserve adequate compensation, but paying more than $500,000 can make them unsettling for taxpayers who own their debt,” Hart told Fox News Digital. “One more, Los Angeles – a city struggling to put out fires and loot them – is leading the way with a luxurious salary that needs to be addressed.”
According to Openthebooks, LA County’s 134 top-paid lifeguards totaled $70.08 million last year. In addition to basic and overtime hours, the dollar amount also includes “other” payments, leave payments, health insurance payments, pension contributions, deferred contributions, long-term disability and life insurance payments.
Openthebooks, the best paid lifeguard found, brought in $523,351, “other pay” and benefits in 2024.
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Lifeguard keeps eye on the sands of Long Beach on Wednesday, July 8th, 2020.
The LA County Lifeguards Division is recognized as one of the nation’s largest professional lifeguard services. In addition to high-paying lifeguards whose duties range from monitoring swimmers to major maritime rescue and emergency response, there are plenty of low-paying lifeguards that bring the total number of Los Angeles area to 1,500.
Openthebooks, which tracks wasteful spending across the government, reported in 2021 that Los Angeles County’s finest lifeguards made up to $510,283. That year, 98 LA County lifeguards made at least $200,000.
In 2024, overtime salaries played a major role in boosting lifeguard revenue in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles County Lifeguards earned a massive salary in 2024, earning over $500,000.
Beyond Los Angeles, excessive overtime salaries have sparked debate in other cities, especially cities that are tackling major budget shortages.
In Seattle, police officers had to be disciplined for repeatedly violating the city’s overtime policy. Patrol officers earned more than the mayor, police chief or other city employees in 2019 after raising more than $414,000, according to the Seattle Times.
Overtime abuse has also become a problem in other major cities such as New York and Chicago. In Chicago, where cities face budget shortages, the records obtained by local news outlets have found that for the first six months of 2024, the city was already spending 30% more on police overtime salaries. In New York, the former NYPD department head is currently investigating allegations of overtime abuse and other crimes.
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Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Bill” is allegedly aiding overtime workers to take more home with a “no tax on tips” provision. Initially, the House version of the bill had no restrictions on how much exemptions would be from overtime salaries, but the Senate version of the bill concluded with $12,500.
Fox News Digital contacted the Los Angeles County Public Relations Office for comment, but did not respond to the reporting time.
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