WARREN COUNTY, Iowa — A group of 911 dispatchers in Warren County claim in a newly filed lawsuit they were wrongfully denied overtime pay over the course of three years.
Eleven current and former dispatchers, all employed by Warren County, believe they have been improperly classified as exempt from overtime provisions, as laid out in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Iowa Wage Payment Collection Law (IWPCL), since at least January 2020.
Court documents filed in early August state that as hourly employees, the dispatchers "are required to be paid overtime for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week" under the FLSA and the IWPCL.
Although the dispatchers should have been classified as non-exempt hourly employees, Warren County allegedly "failed and refused" to pay time and a half overtime wages, even as the dispatchers regularly worked more than 40 hours a week.
"[Warren County] knew that this overtime was continuing in nature and the duties being performed were an integral and indispensable part of the employee's principal work activity," the lawsuit states.
Now, the dispatchers are asking the county to compensate them for their unpaid overtime wages and interest, as well as liquidated damages, attorney fees and other assorted costs.
The dispatchers have requested a jury trial to secure those damages and ensure Warren County complies with the law in the future.
