BERKELEY COUNTY, SC — A lawsuit filed by multiple former detention officers last month has moved from state court to the federal court system.
They are speaking out against their former employers, saying that former sheriff Wayne Dewitt and Berkeley County Government broke the law by not paying them and other employees for overtime.
The five former employees and their attorney originally filed a class action lawsuit in early February in the South Carolina Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Common Pleas. It was transferred this week to federal court.
The plaintiffs are listed as Candice Carroll, Thomas Mims, Dimitar Stoilov, Stephen Gaskins, and Christopher Brasseaux. All worked as detention officers at the Hill-Finklea Detention Center, the court papers say. The complaint says the plaintiffs want a jury trial, and they allege that they were forced to work off the clock by their employer, and they were wrongfully deducted wages from their pay.
The former detention officers say that they were entitled to be paid their hourly rate and a half for overtime hours. Court papers say some employees worked as many as 145 hours in a two-week period. Specifically, they say that they 
were not paid for time they spent at the beginning of their shifts in briefing, and at the end of their shifts they couldn’t leave their posts while the employees set to take over were in briefing.
The lawsuit says they want to be paid their unpaid wages, for unlawful deductions that were taken from their wages, extra in treble damages, attorney fees, and further relief that the court sees as fit.
Attorneys say the sheriff and county violated laws from South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure for Unpaid Wages and South Carolina Payment of Wages Act.
Berkeley County has filed a six-page response to the US District Court, District of South Carolina Charleston Division. The County is denying the allegations, and attorneys answered with multiple defenses.
Attorneys say the former detention officers have made no claim for which they should receive relief. They say the former detention officers knew the pay practices and sat on their rights. They say there was a statute of limitations. They say that that plaintiffs have already accepted funds in settlement.
The County believes it acted in good faith, and that it was in compliance with state and federal laws, specifically the Fair Labor Standards Act. The County has asked the courts that the lawsuit be dismissed.
No additional information has been released on a possible trial date.
To view the lawsuit, click here.
- Grinch, Villain Friends Help Others This Christmas With Funny Photoshoot In Berkeley County - December 7, 2020
- Goose Creek Firefighters Help Family In Their Fight Against Breast Cancer - November 29, 2020
- Moncks Corner Christmas Light Show, Family Tradition Not Broken By Pandemic - November 22, 2020
Recent Comments