The OU police officer contends the university violated a labor law that's been on the books for more than 70 years.
An Ohio University Police Lieutenant already suing OU in federal court has filed another lawsuit in the Ohio Court of Claims claiming the university owes him money earned while on paid leave.
Lt. Christopher Johnson, of Nelsonville, filed the second suit last week. The complaint makes two allegations, arguing that OU breached its contract with Johnson and defamed him in false light. In the state complaint, Johnson has asked OU to award him back pay and liquidated damages, as well as compensatory damages and any other relief deemed “just and fair” by the court.
Johnson filed a U.S. District Court lawsuit in June that also alleged OU violated the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and already asked for back pay with interest, plus reimbursement for court and attorney fees.
The two suits stem from Johnson’s paid administrative leave from August 2012 to July 2013 while OU investigated allegations of Johnson’s inappropriate on-duty misconduct, according to court documents.
Federal court documents show Johnson was paid for 40-hour weeks during that time and that he currently earns $32.84 per hour. During his leave, Johnson was required to be available by telephone during the university’s business hours — a total of 45 hours each week.
Each lawsuit points to that 5-hour buffer and alleges OU violated the 1938 statute by not ponying up the overtime compensation.
Daniel Klos, Johnson’s attorney, said the claims made in the two separate courts are different.
“One is a breach of contract claim and a specific action against the state, and the other is a violation of federal law, which is entirely different than the breach of contract claim,” Klos said, adding that he doesn’t expect both lawsuits to proceed at the same time.
The state lawsuit argues that Johnson was placed in an “undesirable false light” as he was kept on paid administrative leave despite “insufficient evidence against him for the violation.”
According to the suit, OU’s assistant director for civil rights compliance Inya Baiye found insufficient evidence to support the university’s investigation about a month after Johnson was placed on leave.
“It was highly objectionable to a reasonable man in the Plaintiff’s (Johnson’s) position as a police Lieutenant to be kept on administrative leave for nearly a year,” the lawsuit reads. “This created a false light of the seriousness of the policy allegations still remaining requiring him not to act as a police officer or report to the physical location of the police department.”
