WHEELING – The Ohio County Commission and county sheriff’s deputies have reached an agreement in three pay lawsuits.
Attorneys for both sides issued a statement May 8 announcing the settlement of the issues in all three cases that were filed in December. A mediator helped broker the deal.
“After lengthy mediation, attorney Teresa Toriseva of the deputies and attorney Bill Wilmoth of the county are pleased to announce an agreement has been reached to all parties’ satisfaction,” the statement said. “The agreement resolves all issues raised in the lawsuits including pay issues.”
Toriseva
The statement also noted the deal includes “a significant raise for all law enforcement members and civilian members” retroactive to January 1.
“The settlement also provides for better processes accounting for time, will assure more law enforcement coverage at The Highlands, particularly the Sports Complex, and clarifies and clears up ongoing issues with overtime and other time off matters,” the parties state. “This resolution will not become final until it is approved by vote of all affected law enforcement and civilian employees of the Sheriff’s Department and a vote by the Ohio County Commission at its May 16, 2023, regular meeting. The parties will not comment further until final approval.”
The sheriff’s department employees, including deputies, filed three lawsuits in December in Ohio Circuit Court. Nine days later, they filed amended complaints alleging retaliation against them by the commission for filing the lawsuits by reducing the plaintiffs’ pay and benefits.
In one complaint, 29 sheriff’s deputies say they have been denied at least one week’s pay by the county switching the payroll to being paid ahead by two days to being paid entirely in arrears. In the second, 31 employees claim they should have been paid the same as other county employees during the COVID-19 pandemic who received full pay but worked half of the hours. In the third, 16 plaintiffs allege they were forced to use their own earned paid sick time to comply with the county COVID policy of quarantining or otherwise not coming into work when the reason they couldn’t come into work was caused by a work event.
Last April, several members of the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office had filed grievances with the Ohio County Commission about the matter.
Ohio Circuit Court case numbers 22-C-210 (weekly pay), 22-C-211 (COVID pay) and 22-C-212 (sick leave)