Lawsuit: Raleigh officer claims he was not paid for overtime

A former Raleigh police officer has filed a collective lawsuit against the city claiming he and others were not paid for the overtime hours they worked.

The lawsuit dated Nov. 29 claims the city failed to pay Raleigh Police Department employees for all hours worked, violating the Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires employers to compensate non-exempt, hourly employees at a rate no less than 1.5 times the regular rate of pay for work in excess of 40 hours in a single work week.

The former officer who filed the complaint joined the Raleigh Police Department in January 2020 as a police cadet. After completing Raleigh Police Academy training in September, the plaintiff worked as a Raleigh police officer for more than two years, until December 2022.

The plaintiff's lawsuit represents a "collective action," and other officers are expected to file similar grievances, according to the lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiff argues police officers are required to attend mandatory training, court appearances or other duties during their days off. Although police officers signed an attendance sheet, they were not paid for the overtime they worked, the lawsuit claims.

Police officers often have to arrive at work early and leave late after their scheduled shifts, the lawsuit states.

The plaintiff claimed he arrived 15 minutes early for every shift and left as late as 90 minutes after his scheduled shift after completing duties such as transporting suspects to jail, finishing reports and booking evidence.

"Although this time worked past the end of a scheduled shift was recorded ... it was not counted as overtime, but instead, banked as 'comp time,'" the lawsuit states, which was not paid at the required rate of 1.5 times the regular pay rate.

The plaintiff listed examples of two pay periods. In one two-week period, he said he is owed approximately $84.73 in unpaid overtime wages. In another, in which he attended mandatory four-hour training, he claims he is owed $129.42 in unpaid overtime wages.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff's regular hourly rate was $21.57 at the time. The Raleigh Police Department requires officers to work rotating schedules of five days on and two days off with 12 hours for each shift.

WRAL News reached out to the Raleigh Police Department for comment, but a spokesperson said, “The Raleigh Police Department does not comment on ongoing litigation.”

A trial was requested by the plaintiff, who will seek compensation for the hours he said he and others are owed.