NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A lawsuit filed by dozens of current and former Fulton County Sheriff's Office employees alleges the county has withheld millions of dollars in overtime pay from its employees.
Roswell-based attorney Clifford Hardwick filed the lawsuit Friday in Fulton County Superior Court.
“It’s a confusing mess that we’re trying to straighten out,” Hardwick told Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik, who broke the story.
Hardwick said he’s representing nearly 200 employees, including deputies and office staff.
“If you include the employees who already retired or left the county service over the last two years, you could be talking about millions of dollars the county has earned, unearned, in profit from these employees,” he said.
Hardwick said the county has a policy that forces employees to take comp time instead of vacation time for their days off.
He said unused vacation time then converts into sick leave, and county policy prohibits employees from being paid for unused sick leave.
"In essence, the employee is not paid for overtime hours worked," he said. "They're not paid vacation pay that they've earned."
Hardwick said he attempted to negotiate with the county before filing the suit, but got no response.
“As a taxpayer, I’d be concerned about unnecessary litigation,” said Hardwick. “Taxpayers will spend a lot of money prosecuting this case.”
Fulton County Sheriff's spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan e-mailed Petchenik the following statement about the lawsuit: "On the advice of legal counsel from the County Attorney's Office, the Sheriff's Office reserves comment on pending litigation."