TOLEDO POLICE

5 dispatchers sue city, allege denial of using accrued time

11/3/2013

Five Toledo police dispatchers and call takers are suing the city in federal court for denying use of compensatory time.

The suit, filed recently in U.S. District Court in Toledo, alleges that the communications employees are being told they cannot use their accrued time to take days off.

In a six-page complaint, the plaintiffs allege that when time off is requested, supervisors deny the requests even when there are sufficient staffing levels and when time off would require paying another employee overtime.

Employees “are routinely told that there is no point in requesting compensatory time because it will not be authorized,” according to the complaint.

The complaint also states that “the employer” had a “lame and lazy list” of communications employees who have used sick time.

The plaintiffs are Chris Rettig, Stephanie LaNoche, Haylee Kaiser, Melanie Young, and Dawn Dupree.

Jen Sorgenfrei, a city spokesman, said city leaders could not comment on pending litigation.