Be careful what you ask for

Former Port Barrington police chief Lawrence Benner is suing the Village of Port Barrington. That was in the paper last week.

How did that come about? Benner had asked the Village to pay for his health insurance. The cost? $7,200/year.

Instead, the Village disbanded the police department and now contracts with the McHenry County Sheriff's Department for services.

When that happened, I filed a FOIA request with the sheriff's department for a copy of the contract for services with Port Barrington. That's the only FOIA request I've filed with MCSD that was not responded to. And I let it slide through the cracks. Normally, I pounce and appeal but, in that case, I didn't.

According to the article, Benner claims he worked 86-104 hours of overtime per a 13-16 day pay period, for which he was not paid.

He acknowledges that the Village told him he would be a salaried employee. That seems logical for the position as Police Chief. Salaried employees don't get overtime pay. So, was he salaried or hourly?

If hourly, is there something wrong with my calculator? Overtime wouldn't kick in until he had worked 40 hours in a week. How did he work 40-50 hours in a week over his first 40 hours? Is the crime rate that high in Port Barrington?

Is the lawsuit only for earned, but unused, vacation and sick days? I can understand getting paid for unused vacation days, unless the Village had a written, use-it-or-lose-it policy in place. Did he have an employment contract that provided for payment for unused sick days?

When did employees start expecting to get paid for unused sick days? That's a safety net that, if you don't use it, you don't get it.

How many years will that case in U.S. District Court drag? July 13 is the first hearing in Chicago.