Fort Wayne Police Union Suing for Overtime Pay

Fort Wayne, INAn interesting unpaid overtime case is unfolding in the state of Indiana involving police officers in Fort Wayne and a police department that's trying to save some money. In the process, the department might be shooting itself—figuratively—in the foot.

Here's the story. For the past number of years Fort Wayne police officers have been allowed to take their patrol cars home. Yes, it is a perk—given that the officers did not have to pay for gas, maintenance or insurance.

But Fort Wayne got something in return. The city, through the initiative, was able to magnify the police presence in the city by having all available cars out and about. Some were on duty, while others were not. However a passerby would not know if a passing police cruiser was technically on-duty or not. They just saw a police cruiser, which maximizes the apparent police presence.

A 1997 study determined the value of such a practice. When those numbers were extrapolated to present day for a lawsuit, it works out to the equivalent of having 47 additional officers.

As it is, off-duty officers are required by law to respond to serious crashes and crimes, if they come across a disabled motorist. Responding in a police cruiser, even if not in uniform, would further magnify police presence. And since the car-take-home service was initiated in 1994, the police union had an agreement whereby off-duty police officers responding to a need in a police cruiser, would work the first 29 minutes for free. After that, overtime pay would apply.

Then came the day when the department needed to shave $250,000 from its $1.6 million annual gas budget. To do it, the force tagged the car-take-home program with a user fee of sorts. Starting in January the force began charging officers $50 per month for unlimited use of off-duty police cruisers. Were an officer to reside outside of the metro Fort Wayne area, the charge would be $60.

The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association (PBA), Fort Wayne's largest police union with 350 of the department's 450 officers, cried foul. The union felt the introduction of fees was a violation of the union contract by requiring that officers decide individually on the fees, rather than allowing for a collective vote.

It has been reported that about 60 percent of those officers eligible have consented to paying the fees.

There has been give-and-take on both sides. At the time the fees were introduced in January, eligible officers could claim overtime pay after the first 7 minutes of an emergency response. However the union says that isn't enough.

The lawsuit, filed by the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association against the City of Fort Wayne and made available April 6th in Allen Superior Court, contends that the city should pay officers for all off-duty time handling calls in take-home cruisers.

In other words, according to the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, no free ride earns no free work.

This case could serve as a litmus test for other unions facing cutbacks at the behest of other municipal and public employers. Given the current state of the economy, many municipal employers have joined with corporate giants in the need to control costs and cut expenditures. However, such revisions have to be done within the confines of a union agreement, which is a legal document between a collective bargaining unit representing employees and the company.

Any violation of that contract without the requisite agreement from both sides can be subject to legal action. In the case of the Fort Wayne police officers who take home cruisers and pay for the privilege, all time spent working off-duty should be duly paid overtime, according to the union position.