By Adam Ferrise
cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cuyahoga County has agreed to pay $450,000 to settle two lawsuits that accused officials of failing to pay overtime to jail officers and employees of juvenile court.
Cuyahoga County Council on Tuesday approved $300,000 for the juvenile court case, which involves the detention center, and $150,000 in the jail lawsuit.
The accusations in both filings are similar: The county did not properly pay employees in both facilities for time spent working more than 40 hours a week.
Cuyahoga County spokeswoman Jennifer Ciaccia said in a statement that accusations in the corrections officers’ lawsuit “are no longer an issue and haven’t been for some time.”
She did not say if the county has changed its policies.
Juvenile court spokeswoman Elizabeth Roberto said in a statement that the court is “committed to achieving a mutually favorable result for its employees and the taxpayers of Cuyahoga County” but did not say if the court changed its policies.
The juvenile detention center employees — including custodial workers, detention officers and others — filed the lawsuit in federal court in Cleveland in 2019. It said the county did not keep accurate records of time worked and didn’t pay the employees time-and-a-half for working more than 40 hours.
Jail employees filed their lawsuit in 2022, also in federal court. It said the county did not pay trainees for work they did on homework assignments required during the first eight weeks of employment.
If the trainees did not complete their assignments after their shifts, they would be subject to discipline, according to the lawsuit.
In 2017, the county paid a $290,000 settlement to county jail officers over accusations that the county failed to pay overtime for a variety of tasks officers are required to perform before and after their shifts.
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