San Francisco Judge Rules against Prison Officers in Overtime Pay Lawsuit

San Francisco, CAA judge in San Francisco, California, has ruled against prison officers in a class-action lawsuit that alleged that time worked during an unpaid furlough day should be figured into overtime pay, the Sacramento Bee reports.

The case was reportedly the first furlough litigation to be argued by state attorneys since newly elected Governor Jerry Brown took office on January 3, the news source said.

"We are disappointed in the court's ruling today and will be reviewing the decision to determine what steps to take next," said Ryan Sherman, spokesman for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA), which was backing the lawsuit.

The CCPOA argued that federal labor laws were violated when employee pay was cut while furlough time off was deferred. The association said that this was the case because the employees do not receive full pay during a given pay cycle, the state has not properly kept payroll records and that the time worked during the day of unpaid furlough should count when calculating overtime compensation.

According to the Web site of the California Department of Industrial Relations, "California law requires all non-exempt employees be paid overtime after eight hours per day or 40 hours per week."