The Associated Press
CINCINNATI, Ohio (AP) - The city of Cleveland cannot deny a police officer’s request for compensatory time off solely to avoid paying overtime to substitute officers, a federal appeals court ruled Friday in a dispute between Cleveland and its police union.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a claim by the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, which challenged the city’s refusal to grant what the union said were appropriate requests by officers for compensatory time off that they had accrued. The police union said the city’s actions violated the rights of officers under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
A three-judge appeals panel returned the case to U.S. Magistrate Jack Streepy in Cleveland for further review.
The appeals court reversed Streepy’s pretrial ruling in favor of Cleveland.
The judges said courts must defer to the U.S. Department of Labor’s position that payment of overtime to grant an officer’s request for compensatory time off would not unduly disrupt the city’s police services. Cleveland officials contended that paying such overtime would be a financial burden.