Burger Law Secures a $113 Million Verdict for the Correctional Officers of the Missouri Department of Corrections

ST. LOUIS, May 16, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- On August 15, 2018, a Cole County jury awarded a class of the Correctional Officers of the Missouri Department of Corrections $113 Million in back pay for unpaid and mandatory pre and post-shift activities.

This lawsuit was helmed by Gary Burger of Burger Law who was chosen to represent the class of Correctional Officers in their lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Front Line Correctional Officers and Sergeants of the MDC(Missouri Department of Corrections) testified that they were required to perform pre and post-shift activities, but that the MDC refused to pay them for the activities.

The MDC claimed that they should not have to pay employees for pre or post-shift activities because the amount of time spent performing those activities was minimal and that the payment of those activities was not compensable under state law.

However, it was determined that the pre and post-shift activities that the MDC required the correctional officers to complete amounted to at least an additional two hours and thirty minutes per week of unpaid work.

Gary successfully argued that because the pre and post-shift activities were mandatory, and that the Correctional Officers were required to respond to any events during these activities that they should be properly compensated for these unpaid actions.

During the trial, Mr. Burger requested that the jury hold the MDC responsible for their actions stating, "When the Department of Corrections breached its agreement with its officers, it is responsible for all the harm it caused."

The Cole County Jury agreed with Gary's argument and rendered a verdict for the amount of $113,714,632.00 to compensate the 11 year class time period (August 14, 2007 to present) for the unpaid pre and post-shift activities performed by the 13,000 member class.

The MDC attempted a motion for a new trial in the civil lawsuit but Cole County Presiding Judge Pat Joyce denied the motion. Judge Joyce also approved a stipulation requiring that the MDC implement a system to track the amount of time that Correctional Officers spend performing the pre and post-shift activities.

Since this verdict last August, the award has grown at a rate of $1.5 million every month with the verdict now at $118 million.

The MDC and the state of Missouri have, however, refused to pay this award and have also failed to comply with the court order to implement the tracking system that would accurately track the pre and post-shift activities completed by the Correctional Officers.

In response, Gary has served two of the banks that the state of Missouri uses for business with a garnishment for the amount $118 million.

For more information on this case, here is a direct link to the Judgement with the case number 12AC-CC00518, as well a page here containing the entirety of the information regarding this case

Gary Burger of Burger Law is a Personal Injury Lawyer in St. Louis who prides himself on fighting for the rights and recoveries of those who are injured by reckless and negligent acts. If you have any questions about this case you can call or contact Burger Law now at 314-542-2222 or 618-272-2222.

SOURCE Burger Law