Covers OT, 'Float' Days
$3M Pay Settlement In Juvenile Justice

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

Juvenile Justice Counselors who sued the Department of Juvenile Justice and the city for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act have won $3 million in a partial settlement, their union leader announced Feb. 2.

ALEX PARKER: 'A win for the little guy.'

Alex Parker, president of District Council 37 Local 1457 and lead plaintiff in the Federal lawsuit, called it "a win for the little guy."

Shorted on Benefits

He and 326 other juvenile justice system workers filed charges after discovering that a new payroll system installed by the DOJJ in November 2003 was incorrectly calculating overtime and extra shift work done by employees that was supposed to generate an extra floating day for them every 9-1/2 weeks.

When he brought his concerns to DOJJ management, Mr. Parker said, the officials refused to take him seriously. "They basically accused me of being 'Chicken Little' and went around telling everyone 'the sky isn't falling, it's not the end of the world,''' he recalled.

But it was the end of prompt receipt of overtime checks for Local 1457 Juvenile Justice workers. Some employees had to wait 26 days before getting a check. The union also discovered that due to a calculation error, the payroll system was deducting four hours from every floating day awarded to workers.

Local 1457 eventually sued the DOJJ for violating FLSA regulations covering Pre-Shift/Post-Shift Work; Float Day; Late Payment of Overtime; Flawed Compensatory Time System; Gap Time Violation; and Pay System Violation.

'Good-Faith' Deal

After discovery, the parties agreed to private mediation and reached a $3-million partial settlement. The agreement does not address the plaintiffs' claims of Flawed Compensatory Time System, Gap Time or Pay System. Those issues will be addressed through continuing litigation. But Mr. Parker saw the partial settlement as a sign of "good faith."

He credited Local 1457's win to the employees who, "despite fearing serious retaliation," stood up and testified at pre-trial hearings.

He also felt that bringing the claim to a Federal judge made a difference. "Those judges are appointed for life and so there's no chance that outside issues can influence things. What matters is the law," he said. "And when the city got in there and was confronted with the law, they saw they were in violation."

Since the settlement, Mr. Parker added, the city has reached out to DC 37's negotiating committee to try and address the problem of calculating floating days in the next round of contract bargaining.