THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 19, 1995 TAG: 9504190412
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
The labor battle between more than 200 police officers and their employer - the city of Portsmouth - will go to U.S. District Court next week, but some of the issues separating the two parties already have been resolved.
U.S. Magistrate William T. Prince issued a ruling last week that narrows what the two sides will start arguing on Monday. He granted requests from both sides.
For instance, Prince told the city that it can no longer order police officers to take time off so that backlogs of compensatory hours can be whittled down, saving the city from expensive overtime payments mandated by federal law.
On the other side, Prince ordered that police officers hired before 1986 would not be eligible for some compensation for which officers hired after 1986 might be eligible.
But attorneys for both parties said Tuesday that the major issues, including just how much the city owes police officers for alleged violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, won't be decided until they are argued in court.
``The situation isn't materially different than when we went into oral arguments last week,'' said George Wilson, assistant city attorney. ``We were not at all upset by the court's ruling. It did not change our position on the case at all.''
Michael A. Kernbach, one of the attorneys representing the police officers, said: ``The really big-money liability issue has yet to be determined.''
About 160 Portsmouth police officers filed a lawsuit in federal court Feb. 3, 1994, demanding that they be paid time-and-one-half for such duties as appearing in court, taking care of police dogs and working through lunch hours.
The number of officers joining the suit eventually climbed to more than 220. They made their claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a law passed in 1938 that was expanded to include municipal employees in 1986.
Since expansion of the law, overtime suits by policemen and other municipal employees like firefighters have become common nationwide.
In Hampton Roads, Newport News settled a Fair Labor Standards Act suit filed by police in the late 1980s. And Norfolk police officers have a suit pending against their city that demands overtime pay for supervisors, canine officers and others.
Wilson said Portsmouth can claim several other small victories in Prince's ruling. They include:
The city will not be required to pay officers for driving to and from work.
The city's formula for deciding overtime hours was approved.
The city will not have to pay overtime for time spent in state-mandated training courses.
More than 80 officers hired before 1980 will not be eligible for some pay that might be granted officers hired after that date.
Kernbach said the police officers won the magistrate's approval on the following matters:
The city must compensate officers for duties performed before shifts began and after they ended.
The city must compensate officers for hours spent maintaining police vehicles, maintaining shooting proficiency, completing paperwork and making police-related communications.
The city must compensate officers for testifying in court.
The city must compensate officers for working through lunch hours.
Still at issue are many matters, such as whether officers who worked for the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority in their off-hours should have been paid overtime by the city.
But the major point of contention is likely to be just how the city will compensate its officers. The court could allow the city to make amends by granting additional compensatory time.
But that won't satisfy the rank-and-file, said Detective Ronnie Davis, who has served on the force for more than 30 years. Davis said the city violated the law willfully, and should have to pay damages.
``The whole idea is to make the city obey the law,'' Davis said. ``They expect me to go out and enforce the law, and they don't want to obey the law themselves.''
KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH POLICE DEPARTMENT LAWSUIT by CNB