Fri, 01/29/2021
MSE recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of the correctional workers at the Federal Correctional Institution in Elkton, Ohio to recover hazardous duty pay related to the COVID-19 pandemic. MSE Partner Megan Mechak discusses the lawsuit in WKBN First News’ recent article, which can be found here.
In the article, Partner Mechak notes that “the point of this is that these workers are coming to work in a very dangerous situation. The law provides that when you have to do that, you should be getting paid for it and they’re not… We can’t take away the dangerousness of the situation, but we wanted to make sure that they were getting the compensation that they were entitled to for that time period.”
The lawsuit makes several claims against the federal government. FCI Elkton, like all federal correctional institutions, failed to provide this hazard pay and failed to correctly calculate the officers’ overtime rates. The lawsuit attempts to collect that pay, going back to the beginning of the pandemic plus interest, as well as attorneys’ fees and liquidated damages.
For more information on the rights of correctional officers in the workplace, see https://www.mselaborlaw.com/resources/resources-correctional-officers.
For more information on recovering hazardous duty pay in your federal workplace, see https://www.mselaborlaw.com/resources/federal-employees.
If you believe you have not been receiving the full pay you are entitled to, email us at info@mselaborlaw.com.
