2008-08-23 02:02:01 -
- The Petersen Law Firm, a Law Corporation announced that today it filed a class action grievance against the City of San Diego for failing to properly pay its police officers for pre- and post-shift activities, missed or interrupted meal periods and reimburse its officers for job related expenses. The grievances that are alleged are common to almost all of
the police officers covered under the Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU"), which governs the terms of employment between the police officers and the City of San Diego. The four San Diego Police Officers named in the complaint are alleging a class action grievance on their behalf and on behalf of similarly situated officers.
The four named officers, and those officers similarly situated, performed many hours of integral and indispensable pre- and post-shift duties per week that were not compensated, in violation of the MOU. These activities include but are not limited to the following: preparing for roll-call; shift wrap-up briefings; preparing for inspections; report writing; completing activity logs; loading and unloading patrol vehicles; preparing for court appearances; cleaning weapons and gear, collecting, returning and maintaining equipment; on-site donning and doffing of protective equipment and uniforms; traveling to and from court; and range certification.
The grievance also states that our clients, and other police officers similarly situated, were consistently interrupted during their code 7s or worked through their code 7s for which they were not paid or not paid premium pay for instances of missed code 7s, which is also a violation of the MOU. These were not isolated violations but occurred frequently, and continue to occur, given the nature of a police officer's duties and the need for prompt and immediate action. This is a problem that was known and recognized by the department but has been ignored.
Additionally, the officers, and other officers similarly situated, were not properly reimbursed for expenses associated with the maintenance and replacement of their uniforms. The City improperly included the expense reimbursement as part of the officers' wages and taxes the reimbursement, yet did not include the money in the calculation of officer's base pay.
Greg Petersen, Managing Partner the Petersen Law Firm, commented, "We look forward to the City's response to these issues. They come as no surprise to the City of San Diego since it has been involved in litigation on these very issues for more than two years."
About The Petersen Law Firm, a Law Corporation
The Petersen Law Firm specializes in litigating labor and employment law and business law matters. The firm's areas of focus within labor and employment include civil rights, labor relations, trade secrets, employee raiding, disciplinary actions, FLSA, California labor law, discrimination, retaliation, wage and hour issues, and wrongful termination. The firm has a history of success in recovering overtime wages from public and private employers through FLSA class action litigation, including recent cases against the City of Los Angeles, numerous other public entities and companies in the hospitality and fitness industries. Additionally, the Petersen Law Firm provides its clients counsel in the areas of construction defect, intellectual property, product liability and first and third party insurance litigation, as well as personal injury claims. The Petersen Law Firm has offices in Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, and Tustin, California. More information on the Petersen Law Firm, LLP can be found at www.PetersenLawFirm.com.
The Petersen Law Firm
Jeff Leonard, 949-335-1300
