Court Sides With Police Union in Comp Time Feud

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Mar 28, 2009 9:45PM

The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has sided with Chicago Police officers who have been denied comp time by the city and now it could force the city to pony up more cash in another settlement.

Per WBBM:

[The Court ruled] the Police Department can no longer cite manpower shortages to indefinitely deny requests from rank-and-file officers to use comp time awarded in lieu of overtime pay.

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires the city to grant comp time requests made with sufficient notice, even if it means calling other officers in on their days off to fill the void. The act applies to time earned above and beyond 11 overtime hours in a four-week period.

Fraternal Order of Police President Mark Donahue said, "Our members have been harmed by not being able to use their comp time because it's at the discretion of the commander to approve or deny. There are a myriad of reasons they give. None are acceptable to a member refused the ability to use comp time to attend a family wedding even though the request was put in months in advance."