Chicago Cop Sues City, Wants Overtime Pay For Off-Duty Blackberry Use

By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 8, 2013 8:45PM

ABC 7 has a story on a Chicago police officer who is suing the city for overtime pay he believes he's owed because he uses his department-provided Blackberry for official business when he's not on duty.

The lawsuit filed by Sgt. Jeffrey Allen contends he and other members of the Police Department's Bureau of Organized Crime are very frequently required to use their Blackberries and smartphones when not on duty, but aren't compensated for doing so.

Before you start saying, "First cops want money to live in the city, now this," Allen may have a case. He and nearly 200 other members of the Bureau of Organized Crime are hourly wage employees of the Police Department unlike Police Department brass, who also aren't compensated for their official smartphone use.

Allen's attorney told ABC 7 that if his client and other members of the bureau have to conduct official business while off duty, they should be compensated for it. A judge apparently sees some merit in the argument and allowed the lawsuit to move forward as a class-action lawsuit.

University of Illinois-Chicago labor expert Prof. Robert Bruno told ABC 7 that the off-duty use of smartphones for official business could be a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and is another example of how American labor laws are antiquated in the Information Age.

"It would seem to me that every one of those phone calls is a work-related call and it will add up," said Bruno.

The Police Department calls this "a union grievance, at best."