Police Seek Overtime Pay
For Time Donning, Doffing gear
Last updated Saturday, May 10, 2008 5:35 PM CDT in News
By The Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK - A lawsuit by city police officers says being ready for a shift is no longer a matter of showing up on time and in uniform.
The suit filed Friday in U.S. District Court seeks overtime pay for as much as a half-hour prior to a shift and a half-hour afterward that the officers say can be needed to put on and take off gear, including bullet-resistant vests underneath uniform shirts.
The donning and doffing suit was filed by lawyers Clark Mason of Little Rock and James J. Thompson Jr. of Birmingham, Ala., on behalf of Thomas J. Rick Musticchi, a 13-year veteran of the Little Rock Police Department. The suit seeks class-action status, representing the city's police officers.
"Many of our police officers - men and women who place their lives on the line every day to keep the citizens of Little Rock safe and secure - are simply not being compensated appropriately under the law for their time," Mason said in a news release issued after the suit was filed.
The suit claims the city is violating the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, and seeks back overtime pay for the past three years.
Little Rock City Attorney Tom Carpenter said Friday he hadn't seen a copy of the suit, and declined comment.
Lt. Terry Hastings, spokesman for the police department, said he also couldn't comment on the suit because he hadn't seen it.
Mason said similar cases have been filed elsewhere, Mason said. Workers in other professions, including in the poultry industry, have also filed similar court actions.
Mark Knowles, Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police president, said he was aware of the suit and had scheduled a special meeting Tuesday of the full membership of the union to discuss the issue.
"I want to get together with the executive board and all the members, and we'll discuss the situation, Knowles said.
He said he had invited Police Chief Stuart Thomas to the meeting.
Knowles said he wants to make sure the membership is fully informed about the issue, so officers can make an informed decision about whether to join the suit.
The suit was assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Thomas Ray and U.S. District Judge J. Leon Holmes.
Reader Comments (4 comment(s))
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.
Kahuna wrote on May 10, 2008 6:51 PM:
My wife works at the cosmetic counter she spends a fare amount of time getting ready for work so she can look her best at presenting their products does she get overtime?
While I usually side with law enforcement this is just silly. "
riptide wrote on May 11, 2008 8:56 AM:
Not already registered?
sodapop wrote on May 10, 2008 6:02 PM:
I wish them luck and am very grateful for the job they do but I worked many years under some good Union contracts and we were required to be dressed for work when we clocked in. The part about "placing their lives on the line" is just part of the job they signed up for.
"