Virginia police officers settle overtime lawsuit

A city in Virginia, along with its police department, has settled a time and attendance lawsuit with law enforcement officers related to unpaid overtime, according to The Associated Press. The news outlet wrote that police officers in the department were made to perform a number of different work-related tasks, such as attending court hearings and cleaning their service weapons, all of which they were not compensated for.

According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, as long as an employee is not working under an exempt status, then all hours worked above 40 in a standard week must be paid at time-and-one-half of the workers hourly pay rate.

Although the department and the city admitted no wrongdoing, a decision was made to settle so as not be embroiled in a lengthy court battle that would have put a strain on municipal functions. Although the settlement has yet to be approved by the court, the city agreed to award the nearly 900 officers participating in the class-action litigation $3 million. This amount was set to satisfy any back payments with respect to the unpaid overtime claim.


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