The suit says that the county “requires the jailers come to work every day 30 minutes earlier than their shift, but the officers are not allowed to clock in at the time when they arrive at work.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Seven current and former jailers at the Pulaski County jail filed a federal lawsuit Friday saying they are required to arrive at work 30 minutes before their shifts begin without being paid for that extra time.
The jailers, represented by attorney John T. Holleman of Little Rock, are seeking class-action status for their complaint, which says that the county is violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. The class would include all employees of the sheriff’s office.
The jailers are hourly employees, working on a 40-hour week, and are not exempt from the law’s overtime requirements, the suit says.
They are Mae Wright, Gussie Parham, Debra Adams, Mildred Champion, Kelvin Johnson, Christine Smith and Gary Tyree.
The suit says that the county “requires the jailers come to work every day 30 minutes earlier than their shift. The officers are not allowed to clock in at the time when they arrive at work. Moreover, if they submit time sheets for overtime pay, they are only allowed to report their start time for the day at 7:00 a.m.” for those who had to arrive by 6:30 a.m.
“Further,” the lawsuit says, “if they arrive at 6:31 a.m., they receive disciplinary write-ups even though they are not being paid during the 30-minute time period.” The county attorney’s office had not seen a copy of the lawsuit Friday and declined to comment.
Copyright 2009 Little Rock Newspapers, Inc.