Lee County Sheriff’s Office violated labor laws, jury finds

A Lee County jury has found that the Lee County Sheriff’s Office violated federal law when it failed to pay overtime to Deputy Joseph Caiazza.

Caiazza sought to recover unpaid overtime wages that were denied to him between a period from Dec. 2015 to Aug. 2017, according to a news release from Morgan & Morgan, the law firm that represented Caiazza.

The Fair Labor Standards Act established minimum wages and overtime pay in the private sector and across federal, state and local governments, according to the Department of Labor.

During Caiazza’s employment, the sheriff’s office enforced a policy that prevented deputies from reporting more than 84 hours worked during a two-week pay period despite the fact that deputies were required to work and be on call 24 hours per day, the news release states.

The jury awarded Caiazza the full amount he sought to recover, including damages based on the finding that the sheriff’s office “recklessly disregarded” whether its conduct violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to Morgan & Morgan.

“Every working person deserves fair pay for the hours they work,” Morgan & Morgan attorneys Andrew Frisch and Angeli Murthy, Caiazza’s attorneys. said in a news release. “We are pleased that the jury saw this egregious and willful wage violation and awarded former Deputy Caiazza, a decorated and respected Deputy, the compensation he earned serving the citizens of Lee County.”

Court documents indicate Caiazza is owed more than $12,000 for time worked.

The sheriff’s office legal department said in a statement:

“While disappointed with the jury’s verdict, we fully respect the civil trial process and the Court’s extraordinary precautions which allowed a jury trial to proceed safely in the current pandemic.

“This case involves an isolated circumstance in which a former deputy sheriff failed to record extra shift hours allegedly worked on time sheets used to compensate him, due to his erroneous belief that his assigned on call duty schedule should be treated as compensable hours worked under federal law.

“In assessing the jury’s verdict, the Sheriff is contemplating all available post-trial options, including if necessary, timely pursuing an appeal.”