THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 20, 1994 TAG: 9408200238
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SARAH HUNTLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Man's best friend or no, caring for a dog takes time, say 24 K-9 officers who have filed a federal lawsuit against the city and the Police Department demanding three years' worth of overtime compensation.
In their complaint, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, the officers argue they are owed time-and-a-half pay for training, transporting and caring for their animal partners. The city already provides financial support for dog food and other supplies.
``The K-9 officer is responsible for proper care - grooming, feeding, exercise - and the general well-being of the dog. That kind of responsibility takes place well beyond the time they are actually on site on duty,'' said the officers' attorney, Andrew M. Sacks.
``The animal's well-being is particularly important because the dog might be in a lifesaving position,'' Sacks added.
The plaintiffs cite the Fair Labor Standards Act, a 1985 opinion by the Labor Department that recognizes K-9 care as covered under the law and recent federal-court decisions.
But the city says it has already compensated the officers. ``The city's position is that all the money legally due to the K-9 officers has been paid,'' City Attorney Philip R. Trapani said.
During the first week of July, the city paid K-9 officers some overtime wages, which Sacks said amounted to about an hour a day in pay for two years, from February 1992 to February 1994. The amount varied from officer to officer, Sacks said, but the exact figure paid by the city was not immediately available.
``We think this was an absolute admission by the city that this is compensable time,'' Sacks said. ``(But) it is not sufficient. One hour is probably the bare minimum for any K-9 officer, and that would be just going through the motions.''
Not only was the paid overtime inadequate, Sacks said, but the department also owes the officers for three years, not two. The Fair Labor Standards Act calls for a third year of reimbursement if it can be proven that the employer knew the law existed and had reason to believe it applied, he said.
Sacks said evidence will show that the city was aware of the Fair Labor Standards Act's provisions. Trapani disagreed.
``The city had no knowledge the amounts were due and not paying them was not willful,'' Trapani said.
The law also mandates that an agency in violation of fair labor standards pay damages that match the amount owed in unpaid overtime wages. If a court determines the city willfully failed to pay overtime, the K-9 officers will be awarded twice what they are owed.
``Congress placed that in the act as an incentive to make sure people are paid overtime in the first place,'' Sacks said.
The Norfolk K-9 officers are also members of the department's Emergency Response Team, the unit that is called in for especially dangerous missions. Sacks said this double duty puts his clients in a frequent on-call pattern.
``In effect, that is work. If you are on call, it limits your ability to go places and do things,'' Sacks said. ``We think there is some compensation that has to be factored in for that.''
Sacks said he would not be able to determine the exact amount of overtime owed until the city releases its work records and each officer's situation is reviewed.
The officers, none of whom would comment on the case, have requested a jury trial.
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK POLICE DEPARTMENT K-9 CORPS OVERTIME COMPENSATION
FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT by CNB