Corrections Officer Trainee Files Wage and Hour Suit Against Pennsylvania Dept. of Corrections

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The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is on the receiving end of a proposed collective and class action filed by a former corrections officer trainee who claims he performed approximately 45 minutes of unpaid post-shift work each day.

According to the case, the plaintiff was employed at SCI Chester prison from October 2017 to October 2018 and tasked with monitoring inmate activity, among other responsibilities. The suit alleges that corrections officers and trainees are never freed of their responsibilities at the end of their scheduled shifts, in part because the employees who will relieve them have to complete various pre-shift tasks such as passing through a security check and receiving their assignments from a lieutenant. Additionally, the complaint says employees must turn in their equipment and pass through security again after their shifts, further delaying their departures. The result, according to the complaint, is that employees typically work 45 minutes past their scheduled departure times without additional pay.

The case notes that the plaintiff and other corrections officers complained about this practice several times per week to a lieutenant who allegedly responded, “We’re doing the best we can.”