Did APD Short Officers Overtime?

Jermaine Hopkins (photo by John Anderson)

The U.S. Department of Labor launched an investigation last week into the Austin Police Department's methods of compensating for overtime hours worked. The investigation, spurred by complaints filed by since-terminated Officer Jermaine Hopkins (see "House Arrest," Dec. 19, 2014), pertains in large part to the time officers spend getting their vehicles and themselves ready before their actual shifts begin. According to a memo sent to officers by Austin Police Associa­tion President Ken Casaday, a lawsuit "will be likely."

Hopkins' concerns about his compensation for overtime hours worked first surfaced in Jan. 2014, when he filed a complaint with the city about 13 different instances in which he worked more than 40 hours in a week yet did not receive additional pay. The city's Human Resources Department ruled that Hopkins was owed three hours of overtime pay, 15.25 hours of regular pay, and 11.5 hours of sick leave adjustment. It also "recommended APD conduct information sessions or awareness training for all personnel to ensure work performed is properly recorded."

Casaday told APA members that he met with the city's Labor Relations Office about the issue. He reasoned that "a lot of officers feel that [the pre-shift prep work] is just part of being your brother's keeper." However, he acknowledged: "FLSA is law and must be followed." He said that officers will have the opportunity to meet with legal advisers in the coming weeks to determine if they would like to be part of the pending lawsuit.

Hopkins was terminated from his job last October for insubordination, acts bringing discredit upon the department, and unreasonable disruption. He's currently awaiting an arbiter's decision on the appeal of his indefinite suspension. In January, his initial eight-day suspension (for Responsibility to Know and Comply, and Neglect of Duty, stemming from a May 2013 arrest) was overturned.