SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — A South Fulton police officer filed suit against the city, saying they owe thousands of dollars in retroactive pay and unpaid overtime.
The officer, Lt. Pserdia Dickerson, told Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes that he’s one of dozens of officers waiting on this money.
A city spokesperson told Fernandes they’re aware of the lawsuit, and because it is pending litigation, the city spokesperson can’t say much.
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However, the spokesperson said that in due time, city leaders will have a lot more to say.
The officer who filed the suit said he has a paper trail that goes back three years.
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Attorney Mario Williams told Channel 2 Action News that he had the City of South Fulton served with the lawsuit last week, saying that the city has “intentionally and willfully cheated Mr. Dickerson out of known overtime pay and correlated benefits such as his 401K contributions.”
“City Council is gonna have to step in and figure this out,” Williams said.
Williams told Fernandes that there were more than 30 officers in the same position.
“Dickerson is one of many lawsuits that are coming,” Williams said.
Dickerson first started emailing his supervisors about the money owed back in November 2022.
In an email, he told the payroll manger that “based on HR policy, myself and other officers are entitled to pay increases.”
The payroll manager replied to Dickerson, saying “payroll is preparing to have an update and resolution for this before next pay period.”
Three months later, Dickerson was still waiting, so he filed the grievance.
“This is earned money, there’s no way the chief doesn’t know about that,” Williams said. “Especially if a grievance is filed about it, because grievances go up the chain of command.”
The city wouldn’t comment on an open investigation but said “The city will present a full and factual response through the legal process. We look forward to issuing a more detailed statement at the appropriate time. However, our current focus remains on preserving the integrity of the ongoing legal review, and in accordance with what the law will allow.”
“They tried to pay a lump sum of money inaccurately to all the officers and everyone came back and said this doesn’t take into account my benefits,” Williams said. “It’s wrong as far as OT pay and it’s inaccurate completely. You can’t just do that to us, you gotta pay us according to policy.”
Williams went on to say calculating what each office is owed will take in-depth analysis, and he’s hoping all of his clients will be paid in full sooner, rather than later.
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