If you searched "whats a Kelly day" after seeing a K on a station calendar, this page is the short version: what the term means, the federal hours rule behind it, the arithmetic on a 24/48, and how to see your own Kelly days on a calendar. For the full 24/48 rotation with a year of dates, use the 24/48 schedule with Kelly days page.
What is a Kelly day?
A Kelly day is a planned day off that replaces a duty tour you would otherwise work. It is not vacation, sick leave, or a shift trade. It is built into the rotation itself, so it repeats on a fixed interval, such as every seventh tour, and everyone on the platoon can see it coming months ahead.
Kelly days belong to 24-hour fire schedules. On a 24/48 rotation each platoon works one 24-hour tour and then has 48 hours off. That rotation averages 56 hours a week, which is more than the federal overtime threshold for firefighters. Skipping one tour on a regular interval pulls the average back down.
Kelly days meaning: what changes on your schedule
In plain terms, Kelly days mean that some tours on your rotation are crossed out in advance. Your platoon letter does not change, and your rotation does not shift. On the day your Kelly day falls, A shift (for example) is still on duty for the department, but you personally are off.
Three things stay the same:
- Your platoon. You are still on A, B or C.
- The cycle. The 24/48 still repeats every 3 days and the 48/96 every 6 days.
- The station. Kelly days are a scheduling rule, not a transfer.
What changes is your personal count of tours, and therefore your hours.
Why Kelly days exist: the FLSA 7(k) exemption
The Fair Labor Standards Act normally requires overtime pay after 40 hours in a workweek. The U.S. Department of Labor's Fact Sheet #8 explains that Section 7(k) gives public agencies a partial exemption for fire protection and law enforcement employees. Under 7(k), an agency can choose a work period of 7 to 28 consecutive days and owe overtime only after a proportional number of hours in that period. The statute itself is 29 U.S.C. 207(k).
For fire protection, the limit is in 29 CFR 553.230: 212 hours in a 28-day work period. Shorter periods scale down from there. The regulation's table lists, among others:
| Work period | Fire protection overtime threshold |
|---|---|
| 28 days | 212 hours |
| 21 days | 159 hours |
| 14 days | 106 hours |
| 7 days | 53 hours |
The same fact sheet notes that a public agency with fewer than 5 employees in fire protection activities is exempt from the overtime requirement under Section 13(b)(20).
The hours math on a 24/48 schedule
Here is the sum that creates Kelly days. On a 24/48 you work every third day, so over a 28-day work period:
- 28 ÷ 3 = 9⅓ tours on average
- 9⅓ × 24 hours = 224 hours
- 224 − 212 = 12 hours over the threshold
A 21-day work period makes it exact, because 21 days hold exactly 7 tours:
- 7 tours × 24 hours = 168 hours
- 168 − 159 = 9 hours over the threshold
Now give one of those 7 tours back as a Kelly day:
- 6 tours × 24 hours = 144 hours, which is 15 hours under 159
- 144 ÷ 3 weeks = 48 hours a week on average, down from 56
| 24/48, one platoon | No Kelly day | Kelly day every 7th tour |
|---|---|---|
| Tours in 21 days | 7 | 6 |
| Hours in 21 days (limit 159) | 168 | 144 |
| Average hours per 28 days (limit 212) | 224 | 192 |
| Average hours per week | 56 | 48 |
The law does not require the Kelly day. It requires overtime pay above the threshold. A Kelly day is how a department keeps scheduled hours below it instead of paying for them.
How often do Kelly days fall?
There is no standard interval. Your department or your union contract sets it, and the number you see in one city tells you nothing about the next.
One published example: Polk County, Florida announced on July 8, 2025 that its new firefighter agreement (October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2028) adds a 24-hour Kelly Day every seventh shift as part of a 21-day cycle, which the county describes as a paid 24-hour shift off every three weeks that does not affect annual salary. The county expected to have it in place by October 12, 2026, and said the goals were to reduce fatigue, support mental health, and improve work-life balance. That matches the 21-day math above: 7 tours, 1 off, 144 hours.
If you know your interval, you can work out your own average. On a 24/48 with a Kelly day every N tours, your average week is 56 × (N − 1) ÷ N hours. With N = 7 that is 48 hours. That formula is arithmetic, not a survey of what departments use.
Kelly days on a 48/96 schedule
A 48/96 schedule works two 24-hour tours back to back and then has 96 hours off. It averages the same 56 hours a week as a 24/48, so the same FLSA arithmetic applies: 28 days hold 224 hours on average against a 212-hour limit.
On a 48/96, each 48 is two 24-hour shifts. When a Kelly day lands on one of them, you work a single 24 instead of a 48 that week. How your department counts the interval on a 48/96 is set locally, so read your contract or schedule memo for the exact rule.
Kelly day vs a regular day off
A regular day off is part of every cycle. On a 24/48 you get 48 hours off after each tour no matter what. A Kelly day is different: it replaces a tour you would otherwise work.
The practical effect on a 24/48 is a long break. Your normal 48 hours off, plus the 24-hour tour you skip, plus the next 48 hours off, add up to 48 + 24 + 48 = 120 hours, five full days between tours. Polk County's announcement frames that kind of break as a fatigue and mental-health measure, not as a perk. Plan around it: it is the easiest window for appointments and family travel.
Does every department use Kelly days?
No federal rule requires them. The FLSA sets an overtime threshold, and the DOL fact sheet describes the agency's choices in terms of work period and overtime pay, not days off. A department can stay under the threshold with Kelly days, pay overtime for the extra hours, pick a different work period, or run a different rotation. Your department's schedule and contract are the only reliable source for your own rotation.
See your Kelly days on a calendar
A Kelly day is easy to lose track of because it moves against the weekday: on a 24/48 your tours already rotate through the week every 21 days, and the Kelly interval shifts again on top of that.
- The fire shift calendar shows the A, B and C platoon grid for any year, with no download.
- The 24/48 schedule with Kelly days page has an interactive 2027 calendar with a Kelly box, so you can see every Kelly day for your platoon.
- The 2027 firefighter shift calendar lists platoon dates for 24/48, 48/96 and Kelly rotations.
Set Kelly days in the BoardSpy app
BoardSpy builds the calendar for you, so you never delete tours by hand.
- Add a 24-hour shift type and an Off type.
- On the rotation screen, tap 24/48 or 48/96 under Presets.
- Set the start date to the first tour after your last Kelly day.
- Type your number in the Kelly day every ___ shifts field. It takes 2 to 30, and 0 leaves Kelly days off. Off days are not counted, only working shifts, and the app counts a 48/96 tour as two working shifts.
That one setting marks every Nth working shift, counted from your start date, as a Kelly day, and the app fills the next 120 days. Each tour also gets a leave-by alarm: with your station saved, it rings at your shift start minus the live-traffic drive time plus a 5-minute buffer. Your chosen lead time is used only as a fallback when there is no drive time. During the 7-day trial you get 1 calendar alarm a day; on the free plan after the trial, alarms are paused while the calendar stays; Basic and above get unlimited alarms. The free plan includes one rotation and one shared calendar for 2 people, you included, so your partner can see your Kelly days too. A third person needs Pro.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Kelly day?
A Kelly day is an extra scheduled day off that a fire department builds into a 24-hour rotation to bring a firefighter's average hours under the FLSA overtime threshold of 212 hours in 28 days. You skip one tour on a fixed interval set by your department or contract.
What does a Kelly day mean for firefighters?
For a firefighter, a Kelly day means one tour on the rotation is crossed out in advance. Your platoon and cycle stay the same, but you are off that day. On a 24/48 it turns a normal 48 hours off into 120 hours between tours.
Is a Kelly day paid?
It depends on your contract. The FLSA only sets the overtime threshold. Polk County, Florida, for example, describes its Kelly Day as a paid 24-hour shift off every three weeks that does not affect annual salary. Check your own department's agreement for how yours is handled.
How often do firefighters get Kelly days?
There is no national standard. Each department or union contract sets its own interval. Polk County, Florida uses one Kelly Day every seventh shift on a 21-day cycle, which brings a 24/48 from 168 hours to 144 hours per 21 days.
How is a Kelly day different from a regular day off?
A regular day off is part of every cycle, like the 48 hours after each 24/48 tour. A Kelly day replaces a tour you would otherwise work, so it adds a full 24 hours to that break and lowers your average weekly hours.
How do I put Kelly days on my calendar?
In BoardSpy, tap the 24/48 or 48/96 preset, set your start date to the first tour after your last Kelly day, and type your interval in the Kelly day every ___ shifts field (2 to 30). The app marks every Kelly day for the next 120 days.