Former police official sues Port Barrington, claiming unpaid OT

A former Port Barrington police commander laid off last year when town officials dissolved their police force is suing the village in federal court, claiming he still is owed tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime, sick leave and vacation pay.

The suit, filed this month in U.S. District Court, alleges the village would not pay Lawrence Benner any overtime for his extra work between May 2007 and July 2009 and refused to pay him for about 235 sick and vacation days he had accrued before his release last year.

Benner, of Cary, is seeking payment for those overtime hours and accrued days, a figure that totals to more than $60,000, his attorney, Andrew Haber, said Wednesday.

Neither an attorney for the village nor Village President Michael Head could be reached for comment.

Village officials disbanded the police department in July amid financial disputes with Benner and police Chief Ron Chan. Haber said Wednesday he could not say what role Benner's requests for overtime pay played in the decision, but officials at the time admitted that there were overtime issues at play.

The 1.1-square-mile village of about 1,600 residents now receives its law enforcement services from the Lake and McHenry county sheriff's departments.

Benner began working for the village police department in 1994 as a part-time patrol officer, according to the lawsuit. By the time the department disbanded last year, he was its only full-time officer, making an annual salary of $77,625, the suit states.

According to the suit, Benner received overtime pay until 2007, when village officials placed him on a $75,000-a-year salary. Last year, the suit alleges, village leaders agreed to give him a $2,625 raise, but only after making him sign a document acknowledging the village owed him no further compensation for 2007 or 2008.

Haber said that contrary to what many believe, being placed on salary does not make one ineligible for overtime pay.

"The law is that employees are entitled to overtime unless they are specifically exempt," he said. "We believe (Benner) was not exempt."

The case is scheduled to make its first court appearance July 13.