Labor Lawsuit Settled for $625,000

Tonawanda, NYThe town board of Tonawanda, New York decided on May 5, 2008 to settle a labor lawsuit for $625,000. The labor lawsuit had been filed by 120 of the town's former and current police officers, who alleged the city didn't pay them for overtime between the years of 2003 and 2005.

The decision to settle the suit was unanimous with all four board members voting to settle and one abstaining from the vote. The current and former police officers said that they were not paid overtime the way they should have been, so the lawsuit sought out the unpaid overtime that they said the city owed them. This resulted in the recommendation that the town settle the suit.

The officers were alleging that the town was in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. This particular piece of legislation has been considered to be quite complicated because there are certain circumstances in which the law requires overtime to be paid. The reason for this difficulty, according to Town Attorney Daniel Caravello, is because the shifts worked by the officers were nontraditional shifts.

Caravello has said that there have been several similar claims throughout the county. However, he said the town made a great effort to comply with the law. Their efforts included attending sessions with the officers in the presence of a court mediator and participating in meetings with officials from the U.S. Department of Labor. It was these meetings that resulted in the recommendation that a settlement would be in the best interest of all involved. One reason is because the town is not insured for this type of situation, so it is the town that has to pay. As part of the settlement, the town is taking the necessary steps to make sure claims such as these do not move forward.

However, Caravello feels that the town could have won the case if it had gone to trial. He also feels that the town had a good defense. Yet the number of officers involved in the suit is quite extensive and the suit was covering a period of three years. He said the numbers add up even when the overtime not paid may have been minimal in some cases.

A third of the settlement will cover the attorney fees accumulated in the case.

By: Ginger Gillenwater