Judge approves order that Puerto Rico Police Department pay $8.7M to 2,642 officers, take additional corrective action to comply with federal wage law

Date of Action: Nov. 15, 2016

Type of Action: Consent judgment

Name of Defendants: Puerto Rico Police Department
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

Background: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that, between June 2010 and August 2014, the commonwealth’s police department willfully committed a number of violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, most significantly regarding the failure to pay overtime properly.

The department requested on Oct. 19, 2016, that a federal judge approve a consent judgment requiring the police department to pay $8,732,386 in back wages and interest to 2,642 current and former police officers who did not receive all their overtime wages required under the FLSA.

Resolution: U.S. District Judge Gustavo A. Gelpí approved the consent judgement on Nov. 15, 2016. It requires the police department and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to pay the back wages and take additional corrective actions to pay employees properly, provide FLSA training, implement electronic recordkeeping and payroll systems and provide annual reports to the division. Details can be found in the approved consent judgment.

Quote: “This judgment ensures that that these public safety workers will be compensated properly for their important work, and that reforms are put into place to prevent such violations from occurring in the future,” said Jeffrey S. Rogoff, the department’s regional solicitor in New York, whose office litigated the case for the division.

Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.
Civil Action Number:  3:16-cv-02849-GAG

Read this news release in Spanish.