Missouri court sides with prison guards in suit over pay

wireready_10-09-2019-08-36-03_09798_prison

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A state appeals court has sided with Missouri prison guards who alleged they were shorted on their pay in a lawsuit that could cost taxpayers $125 million.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that a panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District on Tuesday denied the state’s objections to a Cole County jury’s 2018 verdict in favor of 13,000 current and past officers.

Spokesman Chris Nuelle said the attorney general’s office is reviewing the decision and weighing a possible appeal.

The 2012 lawsuit alleged that the Department of Corrections did not pay guards for time spent going through searches and metal detectors at the start of their shifts and during exit procedures at the end of them.

The jury verdict would give the average corrections officer at least $5,000.

WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI