CSLEA Recoups Unpaid Overtime for DDS Peace Officers
Unit 7 Members to Split Nearly One-Half Million Dollar Settlement
The recent settlement was triggered by a grievance initially filed on November 8, 2006, by CSLEA Sr. Legal Counsel Dave De La Riva on behalf of Peace Officers employed at Canyon Springs Developmental Center for failure to pay overtime in violation of Article 7.6 of the Unit 7 Contract. Article 7.6k requires that Unit 7 employees who work more than forty (40 ) hours in a work week be paid in cash or compensated in CTO at time and a half.
Peace Officers at Canyon Springs had been placed on a work schedule of 7 seven 12 hour shifts, (i.e. 84 hours) every two weeks. Therefore, officers were working four overtime hours every other week. However, instead of compensating the officers at an overtime premium rate, the time was considered "extra hours" and was banked as excess hours at a straight time rate.
As a result of the Canyon Springs grievance, in January 2007, DDS initiated an audit of all of its facilities to determine whether the payment practices were in compliance with the Unit 7 Contract as well as the Fair Labor Standards Act.
On February 23, 2007, CSLEA Legal Counsel Ryan Navarre and I met with DDS representatives in Sacramento to discuss the alternate work schedules at DDS Developmental Centers and how DDS should address centers which were not properly compensating employees for overtime. CSLEA and DDS agreed that practices which were out of compliance had to be corrected and employees needed to be fairly compensated. CSLEA also made it clear that it wanted to work with DDS to find a solution which would allow DDS Peace Officers to maintain their alternative work schedules.
Initially, DDS claimed Peace Officers at Porterville Developmental Center (PDC) were working a Fair Labor Standards Act 7(k) schedule because a 7(k) exemption had been established at PDC. The effect of a 7(k) exemption would have significantly affected the amount of overtime that would have been owed to officers because it permits the calculation of hours worked over a 28 day period rather than a 7 day period.
In order to assess the legitimacy of DDS' claimed 7(k) exemption, CSLEA requested any and all documents that would prove a 7(k) exemption was established. DDS failed to provide such documents and claimed a “defective 7(k)” had been established.
Because federal law requires a clear demonstration a 7(k) schedule has been established via a inclusion in a collective bargaining agreement or through a consistent practice, CSLEA refused to concede DDS had created a 7(k) exemption. CSLEA pressed DDS to conduct an audit dating back to 2004 in order to compute overtime on a 40 hour work week basis.
In March 2007, DDS began compiling all relevant paperwork dating back to 2004. There was a great volume of paperwork and many hours were dedicated by DDS staff to gather relevant documents and audit hours worked.
On April 20, 2007, CSLEA and DDS met for settlement conference. DDS attempted to convince CSLEA that despite the fact that there was no evidence of a 7(k) exemption at PDC, there was an understanding it had been a past practice. DDS offered settlement in the amount of $81,885.53. CSLEA requested and was provided all the documents DDS had compiled so that an independent review could be conducted by CSLEA. Our review again confirmed a 7(k) schedule had not been created and the offer was insufficient.
On July 25, 2007, CSLEA and DDS met for further a settlement discussions in an attempt to agree on how to compute the overtime compensation owed to the officers. The parties reached agreement on the formula to be applied in calculating unpaid overtime. An agreement was made that all hours would be converted to CTO and then paid out in cash according to the equivalent hourly rate of the employee at the time the settlement proceeds were paid (as opposed to when the hours were actually worked).
DDS increased its total settlement offer to $152,788.33.
On August 14, 2007 and September 20, 2007, additional meetings were conducted at DDS Headquarters to clarify the audit and methodology of calculating Peace Officers overtime entitlement.
On September 27, 2007, I sent a letter to DDS proposing settlement which required the inclusion of liquidated (or penalty) damages to be paid for both hours worked before and after the filing of the initial grievance. After several months of waiting for a response from DDS, in February 2008, CSLEA informed DDS if they did not promptly settle the dispute, a complaint would be filed with the Department of Labor.
On March 7, 2008, CSLEA and DDS agreed to a settlement in principle. The settlement agreement included damages for all unpaid overtime hours for the two (2) year period preceding the filing of the grievance, plus 50% of such hours as liquidated damages for the period November 2004 through November 2006, plus 7% interest on the hours worked from the date of the filing of the grievance to the date of settlement payout.
On March 25, 2008, CSLEA and DDS executed the formal settlement agreement. From April 16, 2008 – April 29, 2008, DDS provided additional supporting documents to CSLEA indicating that the settlement agreement would provide officers at PDC with payments amounting to more than $460,000.00.
On April 22-23, 2008, HPAC President Karen Meredith and Board Member Lorenzo Indick, Dave De La Riva, Ryan Navarre and myself, met with PDC Peace Officers to explain the terms of settlement and to sign releases entitling the officers to the proceeds. Most of the officers are entitled to payments in the amount of $7,500 - $15,000 as a result of the settlement.
It is ironic that a grievance for a handful of employees at one location blossomed into a huge recoupment for a significant number of Unit 7 peace officers. Dave De La Riva should be commended for initially identifying the problem, and Ryan Navarre for his dedication in reviewing a vast amount of documents to confirm the methodology for settlement. DDS should also be credited for recognizing its mistake and taking appropriate steps to correct the mistake without resort to litigation.
Unit 7 Members to Split Nearly One-Half Million Dollar Settlement
Source: Kasey Christopher Clark, General Manager/Chief Counsel
Date: 5/8/2008
The recent settlement was triggered by a grievance initially filed on November 8, 2006, by CSLEA Sr. Legal Counsel Dave De La Riva on behalf of Peace Officers employed at Canyon Springs Developmental Center for failure to pay overtime in violation of Article 7.6 of the Unit 7 Contract. Article 7.6k requires that Unit 7 employees who work more than forty (40 ) hours in a work week be paid in cash or compensated in CTO at time and a half.
Peace Officers at Canyon Springs had been placed on a work schedule of 7 seven 12 hour shifts, (i.e. 84 hours) every two weeks. Therefore, officers were working four overtime hours every other week. However, instead of compensating the officers at an overtime premium rate, the time was considered "extra hours" and was banked as excess hours at a straight time rate.
As a result of the Canyon Springs grievance, in January 2007, DDS initiated an audit of all of its facilities to determine whether the payment practices were in compliance with the Unit 7 Contract as well as the Fair Labor Standards Act.
On February 23, 2007, CSLEA Legal Counsel Ryan Navarre and I met with DDS representatives in Sacramento to discuss the alternate work schedules at DDS Developmental Centers and how DDS should address centers which were not properly compensating employees for overtime. CSLEA and DDS agreed that practices which were out of compliance had to be corrected and employees needed to be fairly compensated. CSLEA also made it clear that it wanted to work with DDS to find a solution which would allow DDS Peace Officers to maintain their alternative work schedules.
Initially, DDS claimed Peace Officers at Porterville Developmental Center (PDC) were working a Fair Labor Standards Act 7(k) schedule because a 7(k) exemption had been established at PDC. The effect of a 7(k) exemption would have significantly affected the amount of overtime that would have been owed to officers because it permits the calculation of hours worked over a 28 day period rather than a 7 day period.
In order to assess the legitimacy of DDS' claimed 7(k) exemption, CSLEA requested any and all documents that would prove a 7(k) exemption was established. DDS failed to provide such documents and claimed a “defective 7(k)” had been established.
Because federal law requires a clear demonstration a 7(k) schedule has been established via a inclusion in a collective bargaining agreement or through a consistent practice, CSLEA refused to concede DDS had created a 7(k) exemption. CSLEA pressed DDS to conduct an audit dating back to 2004 in order to compute overtime on a 40 hour work week basis.
In March 2007, DDS began compiling all relevant paperwork dating back to 2004. There was a great volume of paperwork and many hours were dedicated by DDS staff to gather relevant documents and audit hours worked.
On April 20, 2007, CSLEA and DDS met for settlement conference. DDS attempted to convince CSLEA that despite the fact that there was no evidence of a 7(k) exemption at PDC, there was an understanding it had been a past practice. DDS offered settlement in the amount of $81,885.53. CSLEA requested and was provided all the documents DDS had compiled so that an independent review could be conducted by CSLEA. Our review again confirmed a 7(k) schedule had not been created and the offer was insufficient.
On July 25, 2007, CSLEA and DDS met for further a settlement discussions in an attempt to agree on how to compute the overtime compensation owed to the officers. The parties reached agreement on the formula to be applied in calculating unpaid overtime. An agreement was made that all hours would be converted to CTO and then paid out in cash according to the equivalent hourly rate of the employee at the time the settlement proceeds were paid (as opposed to when the hours were actually worked).
DDS increased its total settlement offer to $152,788.33.
On August 14, 2007 and September 20, 2007, additional meetings were conducted at DDS Headquarters to clarify the audit and methodology of calculating Peace Officers overtime entitlement.
On September 27, 2007, I sent a letter to DDS proposing settlement which required the inclusion of liquidated (or penalty) damages to be paid for both hours worked before and after the filing of the initial grievance. After several months of waiting for a response from DDS, in February 2008, CSLEA informed DDS if they did not promptly settle the dispute, a complaint would be filed with the Department of Labor.
On March 7, 2008, CSLEA and DDS agreed to a settlement in principle. The settlement agreement included damages for all unpaid overtime hours for the two (2) year period preceding the filing of the grievance, plus 50% of such hours as liquidated damages for the period November 2004 through November 2006, plus 7% interest on the hours worked from the date of the filing of the grievance to the date of settlement payout.
On March 25, 2008, CSLEA and DDS executed the formal settlement agreement. From April 16, 2008 – April 29, 2008, DDS provided additional supporting documents to CSLEA indicating that the settlement agreement would provide officers at PDC with payments amounting to more than $460,000.00.
On April 22-23, 2008, HPAC President Karen Meredith and Board Member Lorenzo Indick, Dave De La Riva, Ryan Navarre and myself, met with PDC Peace Officers to explain the terms of settlement and to sign releases entitling the officers to the proceeds. Most of the officers are entitled to payments in the amount of $7,500 - $15,000 as a result of the settlement.
It is ironic that a grievance for a handful of employees at one location blossomed into a huge recoupment for a significant number of Unit 7 peace officers. Dave De La Riva should be commended for initially identifying the problem, and Ryan Navarre for his dedication in reviewing a vast amount of documents to confirm the methodology for settlement. DDS should also be credited for recognizing its mistake and taking appropriate steps to correct the mistake without resort to litigation.
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