The Palmerton Police Benevolent Association has filed a grievance against the Palmerton Borough Personnel Committee on behalf of an officer who it claims was denied overtime pay.

The benevolent association said the grievance is in reference to Palmerton Borough’s failure to pay an officer their overtime rate working overtime outside of their regular scheduled shift as defined in the collective bargaining agreement.

Palmerton Benevolent Association claims the grievance is in connection with a clear violation of the bargaining agreement effective from Jan. 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2026.

The grievance pertains to a specific incident involving officer Derek Koch, who was denied overtime pay contrary to the stipulations of the CBA.

The incident in question occurred on Jan. 6 when Koch was scheduled to work a regularly scheduled shift after previously working an extra shift on Dec. 31 (a holiday) out of the context of his normal work schedule.

According to the agreement, any hours worked in excess of the regular 10-hour shift 40-hour workweek, including attendance at required training sessions, participation in judicial, legislative, or administrative proceedings, and associated transportation times, must be compensated at a rate of one-and-a-half-times the officer’s hourly rate.

“Despite these clear contractual terms, officer Koch did not receive his lawfully earned overtime compensation for working 50 hours in a 40-hour work week,” the Palmerton Police Benevolent Association stated in the grievance. “It has come to our attention that the failure to pay the requisite overtime was due to a directive from the personnel committee, which erroneously interpreted “hours worked” in a manner inconsistent with both the letter and the spirit of the CBA as “hour worked” being specifically defined computing how you earn your overtime for job assignments.”

The association said the contractual language specifically defines “overtime,” which shall be work in excess of his regular 10-hour shift, or 40 hours per week.

The association maintains that officer Koch’s time worked on Jan. 6 beyond his regularly scheduled hours should have been computed as overtime, irrespective of any time off taken during the same pay week.

The association requests:

• Full payment of the owed overtime amount to officer Koch, including any additional compensation due as a result of the delay in the payment.

• A written acknowledgment of the mistake and assurance that future overtime calculations will adhere to the stipulations of the bargaining to prevent similar occurrences.

“We expect the Palmerton Borough Personnel Committee to address this grievance promptly and to comply fully with the terms of the CBA,” the police association stated. “Failure to resolve this mater in a timely and satisfactory manner will compel the Palmerton Police Benevolent Association to consider further action to protect the rights of our members.”

The grievance asked for a written response within the time frame specified in the bargaining agreement.

“We are prepared to engage in a constructive dialogue to ensure that officer Koch and all officers are treated fairly and that the terms of our agreement are respected.”

Borough Manager Autumn Canfield declined to comment Wednesday morning because she said she considers it a personnel issue.