Luzerne County Government

April 9, 2010

County vans not running

Drivers may be staging sick-out due to conflict with overtime pay.

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter
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Some elderly and disabled Luzerne County residents who rely on county-run vans have been informed that they won’t get transportation today because of a disagreement between county Controller Walter Griffith and the administration.

County Chief Clerk/Administrator Doug Pape said he has heard talk that some of the van drivers are staging a sick-out, but the administration won’t know for sure until this morning.

Griffith and Pape blame each other for causing the disagreement to balloon out of control, with Pape describing Griffith’s stance as “moronic.”

Griffith said the conflict stems from his refusal to release overtime for part-time van drivers unless the additional pay is authorized by the county Salary Board. He said the part-time drivers are authorized to be paid for only 30 hours per week, and he needs to be ordered otherwise to pay more.

Van riders inundated the controller’s office Thursday, saying the transportation department had put the blame on him, Griffith said.

“They’re telling people you can’t have a ride because of Walter,” Griffith said. “I told the county over a month ago that all I want the administration to do is give me proper authorization.”

He said he warned the county administration five weeks ago that he needed Salary Board approval, and nobody has acted.

“The administration refused to take responsibility for the issues,” Griffith said.

Pape said the administration told Griffith that Salary Board approval is unnecessary because the federal Fair Labor Standards Act requires time-and-a-half pay for work over 40 hours, and the federal law would “trump” any action that was or wasn’t taken by the Salary Board.

Pape said the county had to repay $35,000 in back wages in 2007 because the Labor Department determined that the county had not complied with overtime pay requirements in the transportation department.

“We were told that if they ever have to come back here and address the issue again, that we’re going to get fined,” Pape said.

Overtime is necessary for part-timers, Pape said, because these employees must cover for full-time drivers on sick or vacation days and two drivers who are out on workers’ compensation.

The vans, operated jointly with Wyoming County, provide 1,200 trips per day, Pape said. Runs would be “jammed up” without part-timers willing to put in overtime, he said.

The county has a “gentlemen’s agreement” with the union governing full-time drivers to allow overtime for the non-union part-timers, Pape said. He said the union contract requires 75 percent of the work to be covered by full-timers, so he expects the county will now be forced to hire more full-time drivers because the matter has become a public disagreement.

“The only solution now is to hire more full-time drivers, which will cost the county taxpayers more money,” Pape said. “Walter opened up a Pandora’s box.”

Minority Commissioner Stephen A. Urban said he believes the controller has a right to demand official authorization to release public funds. Union workers who participate in a sick-out should be terminated, Urban said.

“If they are disrupting transportation services to get their way, they should be fired,” he said. “There are union grievance procedures in place that could be followed.”

Pape said he does not know if any of the 33 full-time union drivers will miss work. He said union drivers are upset because Griffith is challenging overtime pay for full-timers when they have used sick or vacation time during the same week.

“I’ll apologize to anyone who doesn’t get picked up because of this,” Pape said. “It would be a shame if we have to look at disciplinary action against the employees, but I understand why they’re upset because to not get what federal law requires is absurd.”

One van rider, who did not want to be identified by name, said she was contacted about the cancellation on Thursday afternoon. She said she needed the ride today to get blood work and a medical test kit.

“This delays me from getting blood work needed to get treatment for a problem and from getting diagnosis of another medical problem I may have,” the woman said.

Jennifer Learn-Andes, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7333.

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