A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday in Texarkana accuses Hempstead County, Ark., of failing to pay detention officers and jailers time-and-a-half when they worked more than 40 hours a week.
The suit was filed on behalf of Gary Middleton, a Hempstead County resident who worked as a detention officer from July 2014 to May 2018, and others similarly situated, according to the complaint pending in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas. The complaint seeks certification as a class action seeking damages for detention officers and jailers working in the Hempstead County jail in Hope, Ark., during the three-year period prior to the filing of the suit.
Hempstead County Sheriff James Singleton said he has not seen a copy of the suit and declined to comment. Court records show Hempstead County has not yet been served with a copy of the complaint.
The complaint alleges violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and of state law under the Arkansas Minimum Wage Act. The suit alleges hourly employees like Middleton were required to work in excess of 40 hours per week but were not compensated in accordance with the law. The suit alleges that hourly employees were neither paid time-and-a-half nor given comp time at the rate of one-and-a-half hours for every overtime hour, as is permitted for some public employees.
If certified as a class and collective action, anyone who worked as a detention officer or jailer during the three years prior to the suit being filed Aug. 1 will have an opportunity to opt in as a class member and benefit from any judgment that might be reached in the case.
The suit was filed by Daniel Ford, Chris Burks and Josh Sanford of the Little Rock based Sanford Law Firm. The case is pending before U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey.