John Lamb, a bus driver in the Pulaski County Special School District, has sued the district in federal court for overtime pay that he says is due to him and to as many as 400 other drivers and substitute drivers in the district.
"Plaintiff and similarly situated bus drivers were not paid a lawful overtime premium for all hours that the bus drivers worked over forty hours per week in any work week," states the lawsuit filed on Lamb's behalf by attorneys with the Dodds, Kidd, Ryan & Rowan law firm and the Thrash Law Firm. Both firms are in Little Rock.
Additionally, the lawsuit states the school district bus drivers were not paid their contractually agreed hourly rates for hours they worked in excess of six hours per day.
The lawsuit contends that the district knew or should have known of its obligation to pay drivers 1 1/2 times their regular rate for all hours over 40 hours per week. Similarly, the suit argues, the district should have known that it was obligated to pay drivers their full contractual hourly wages for all hours worked, including hours worked in excess of 6 hours per day.
According to Lamb's 2017-18 contract with the district, which is attached as an exhibit to the lawsuit, his pay rate is $21.60 an hour for an estimated six hours a day for a projected annual salary of $23,068.80.
In the suit he contends he was paid only $9 an hour for the time he worked over six hours a day during the pay period that ended March 16. In the same pay period, he was paid $18.39 per hour for 2.5 hours over 40 hours he worked in a week, an amount short of 1 1/2 times his regular hourly rate.
"[The district] has not received this lawsuit and was unaware of its filing," Deborah Roush, a spokesman for the district, said Tuesday. "We expect that we will have it tomorrow, and our superintendent and attorney will be able to review it."
The lawsuit has been assigned to U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr.
NW News on 05/17/2018