Bexar County is paying $2.1 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the county of unfairly withholding overtime pay from captains and lieutenants in the sheriff’s office.
The county settled the class-action lawsuit in early March and is handing over $1.2 million in back pay and penalties to 35 Bexar County Sheriff’s Department officers who joined the lawsuit, which was filed in February 2022. The county will also pay $840,000 for the plaintiffs’ attorneys fees.
The deputies accused the county of failing to pay them overtime compensation at 1.5 times their base rate. Instead, the county provided one hour of paid leave for each hour of overtime — but wouldn’t allow deputies to cash out their accrued time off when they retired or quit, said the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Melissa Moore…