District Court of Arizona, Case No. CV-23-68-PHX-DGC
On January 11, 2023, an employee of Maricopa County working as a Patrol Lieutenant for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona to recover unpaid overtime for hours he alleges to have been required to work over forty in a workweek without receiving time and a half.
In the Complaint, the Patrol Lieutenant alleges that after he received his promotion to Lieutenant, Maricopa County began improperly classifying him as exempt from overtime and not paying him time and a half for hours he is required to work over forty in a workweek. Specifically, the Patrol Lieutenant alleges that his primary duty remains law enforcement first responder duties, monitoring the police radio for patrol activity and responding to calls as required by Maricopa County. To the extent that he also has supervisor or administrative duties in the office, the Patrol Lieutenant alleges that he does not have discretion in how he performs those duties and law enforcement remains his primary duty. As a result, the Patrol Lieutenant alleges that he and the other Patrol Lieutenants like him should be getting paid overtime for hours they work over forty in a workweek.
Through this lawsuit, the Patrol Lieutenant alleges that the case should be certified as a collective action to recover unpaid overtime on behalf of lieutenants employed by Maricopa County in the Patrol Division from January 11, 2020 to the present.
If you worked as a Patrol Lieutenant for Maricopa County within the past three years, you may be impacted by the claims in this case. If you wish to learn more about your legal rights, you can contact Ty Frankel or Patti Syverson the attorneys at Yen Pilch Robaina & Kresin PLC who are representing the Plaintiff in this case, to discuss your specific legal situation and whether you may be eligible to pursue your claims as a class member in this action. They can be reached by calling 602-682-6450.