State police union says members being cheated out of OT pay
BOSTON (AP) — The union representing almost 2,000 rank-and-file Massachusetts State Police troopers has sued the agency, alleging it broke state and federal labor law by intentionally miscalculating what qualifies as regular pay, costing members $2 million per year in overtime pay.
The State Police Association of Massachusetts’ lawsuit filed last week in Suffolk Superior Court is seeking at least $18 million in back pay and damages, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.
The union alleges the agency failed to include various stipends that troopers and sergeants already receive when they calculated their regular rate of compensation, and by not doing so, deflated what they should receive in overtime.
The union is seeking three years of back pay for its members.
David Procopio, a state police spokesperson, said the department would file its response in court and would be represented by the state attorney general’s office.
A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office said it is reviewing that request.
The Massachusetts State Police paid out nearly $56.6 million in overtime in 2020 and nearly $58 million the year before.
The department has been plagued by overtime scandals in recent years, including one in which numerous troopers were paid for overtime shifts they either did not work or left early.
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