Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 27, 1993 TAG: 9306270048
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
The 20 correctional officers at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Joint Security Complex contend in the federal lawsuit that the county has violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
Officers are unlawfully required to work an additional 15 minutes on every shift without compensation, the suit filed last week claimed.
The officers also contend they rarely get more than 10 minutes for lunch breaks, not long enough to finish a meal.
The suit does not specify the amount of back pay sought by officers.
A group of 11 Albemarle County police detectives has a similar collective suit pending in federal court. They are claiming back pay for lunch as well as for time they have been on call.
That suit came close to settlement but is now set for trial in October. The claims total nearly $680,000.
Charlottesville lawyer Steven D. Rosenfield, who filed the suits for both groups, said the morale at the jail and the police department has declined due to grievances over pay and other issues.
Rosenfield said the officers had complained about their lunch break schedules and the requirement that they clock in 15 minutes of unpaid time on every shift.
Jail Superintendent Al Tumminia said he has never received any complaints on either policy.
Tumminia said he had not seen the suit.
County Attorney George R. St. John Jr. declined to comment on the suit until he had a chance to review it.
Although the jail is jointly funded by the county, Charlottesville and the state, the county is the defendant in the suit because the county issues the officers' paychecks.
by CNB