DHS/COPS grants give police millions in taxpayer dollars to pay for overtime
COPS developed the Homeland Security Overtime Program (HSOP) to increase the amount of overtime funding law available to support community policing and homeland security efforts. As state, local, and tribal law enforcement embrace the challenges of securing our homeland, this is now
more important than ever. HSOP supported programs that increased community safety and security and reduced public fear. HSOP grants supplemented the selected agencies’ state- or locally-funded officer overtime budgets, increasing the amount of funding available for these critical functions.
Law enforcement agencies could apply for funding amounts based on the size of the population they served or the size of their budgeted sworn strength at the time of application, according to the table below.
Agencies serving populations: Or budgeted sworn force: Could apply for a federal share of up to:
less than 24,999 1-49 $25,000
from 25,000 to 49,999 50-99 $50,000
from 50,000 to 99,999 100-199 $100,000
from 100,000 to 249,999 200-499 $250,000
from 250,000 to 499,999 500-999 $500,000
from 500,000 to 999,999 1,000-1,999 $1,000,000
more than 1,000,000 above 2,000 $3,000,000
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Publications/e09061312.pdf
Massachusetts to use $2.1 million in taxpayer dollars to settle state trooper overtime suit:
The Patrick administration has agreed to pay $21.5 million to nearly 2,000 current and retired state troopers, and grant some of them extra time off, to settle a legal claim by the troopers who said they were shortchanged when they worked overtime from 2001 through 2013.
During those years, troopers who worked extra hours received, in some cases, compensatory time at a rate of one hour off for every hour of overtime worked.
The union that represents the troopers filed a grievance in 2005 saying they should receive 1.5 hours in compensatory time for every hour of overtime worked, based on federal labor law that mandates a higher rate of pay after employees work 40 hours in a one-week period.
“It was a long-standing practice that we stopped, as a matter of good fiscal management and public safety,” Colonel Timothy P. Alben, superintendent of the State Police, said in an interview. “This clearly is a lot of money and it’s taxpayers’ dollars,” he said. “I get that.”
Under the terms of an eight-page settlement, signed on Aug. 7, troopers are eligible to receive additional paid time off for work they performed before the date the grievance was filed and extra pay for work after that date.
The settlement provides an average of about two weeks of additional paid time off to 304 troopers included in the pregrievance period. It also provides some very large pay days for those who were denied the federal overtime rate after the grievance was filed.
The top five State Police troopers will receive $154,646, $121,052, $117,533, $114,614, and $112,149, State Police said. The average payout to approximately 1,800 recipients is $11,600, the state said.
The union representing the troopers declined comment. The state also agreed to pay the union’s $350,000 in legal expenses in the case, according to the settlement.
http://lris.com/2014/10/09/massachusetts-pay-2-1-million-settle-state-trooper-overtime-suit/