OKC police supervisors entitled to overtime

Arbitrator denies back pay

A union contract entitles deputy chiefs and majors in the Oklahoma City Police Department to overtime for hours worked outside their normal schedule, an arbitrator said this week. The arbitrator, though, denied their bid for back pay. The award resolves a yearold grievance that produced a divisive ethics complaint by the four deputy chiefs against Chief Bill Citty. The city auditor found their complaint was unsubstantiated. Departmental practice has for decades limited overtime eligibility to ranks below major. With the passage of time, that practice effectively became part of the contract, attorneys for the city said. However, arbitrator M. Zane Lumbley said he agreed with the union that higher-ranking officers were entitled, under the “clear language” of the contract, to the same overtime benefits as other officers. Officers authorized to work overtime are paid time-and-a-half for hours worked beyond their regular schedules. City Manager Craig Freeman did not comment, pending discussion of the

award with his staff. How much the award could cost the city going forward is unknown. Freeman is scheduled to present his 2019-20 budget recommendation to the city council April 30, and it will include the proposed police budget. The Police Department paid a total of $6,782,000 in overtime in 2018. John George, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 123, said the union still had questions about the award. “We are pleased that it addressed the overtime issue by saying majors and deputy chiefs should be paid overtime for any hours worked outside their normal shift," he said. But, he said, those highranking supervisors "in essence" are scheduled for nine-hour days but only paid for eight. George said the award "did not address" that part of the FOP's grievance. He said the union had asked the arbitrator to revisit it and make a ruling. The union's bid for back pay could have cost the city up to $2 million. The four deputy chiefs earned $129,000 to $158,000 in 2018. Among officers eligible for and authorized to work overtime, at least 16 earned more than the lowest-paid deputy chief last year. The FOP filed a grievance under terms of its contract on March 20, 2018. After former City Manager Jim Couch denied the grievance on April 19, the union took the dispute to arbitration. After the arbitration hearing, in October, the four deputy chiefs filed the ethics complaint, claiming they had been threatened with retaliation if they went ahead with the grievance.