Missouri Ordered to Pay $113 Million to Prison Guards For Unpaid Overtime

For years, the state of Missouri stiffed its prison guards on overtime — and now it has to pay them $113 million.

Earlier today, a Cole County jury announced the eye-popping award for the corrections officers in their long-running class-action lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Corrections.

According to the filings, guards were expected to undergo lengthy scans and security checks before they clocked in and after they clocked out each shift. That part of their daily routine was unpaid, although corrections officers had long argued it should be considered part of their work.

Jurors agreed.

"I hope the Department of Corrections takes this opportunity to pay this verdict and change its systems," attorney Gary Burger, who represented the corrections officers union, said in a prepared statement.

Read more: https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2018/08/15/missouri-ordered-to-pay-113-million-to-prison-guards-for-unpaid-overtime