{"id":9214,"date":"2026-07-02T08:35:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T12:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=9214"},"modified":"2026-08-07T09:51:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T13:51:59","slug":"pef-secures-millions-in-covid-overtime-compensation-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-6\/pef-secures-millions-in-covid-overtime-compensation-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"PEF secures millions in unlawfully calculated OT during Covid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-9224 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Covid-Overtime-Web.jpg\" alt=\"COVID Overtime\" width=\"289\" height=\"289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Covid-Overtime-Web.jpg 400w, https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Covid-Overtime-Web-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Covid-Overtime-Web-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Covid-Overtime-Web-125x125.jpg 125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 289px) 100vw, 289px\" \/>August 7, 2026 &#8212;<\/em> Nearly 2,000 members and former members who answered New York State Department of Health COVID-19 Hotline calls and helped the Department of Labor manage increased unemployment insurance claims will receive compensation after PEF resolved its lawsuit challenging the state\u2019s handling of COVID-19 overtime pay.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In December 2023, the state made\u00a0about $3 million in\u00a0principal payments. It will now make\u00a0roughly $845,000\u00a0in interest payments. The average\u00a0payment is about $490, with the highest\u00a0totaling\u00a0$10,197.27 and at least 60 members receiving\u00a0thousands of dollars.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The lawsuit argued that the state unlawfully calculated overtime at one-and-one-half times either the average of employees\u2019 regular hourly rate and a lower-graded rate, or only the lower-graded rate, instead of one-and-one-half times their regular rate of pay.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cWhen people\u00a0go\u00a0to work, they expect, at a minimum, to\u00a0be\u00a0paid what they are\u00a0owed,\u201d said\u00a0PEF\u00a0Assistant General Counsel David Friedman. \u201cUnion involvement allowed us to\u00a0seek\u00a0redress for all underpaid individuals as a group of represented employees. Because\u00a0of PEF and President Spence\u2019s involvement, we were able to\u00a0move\u00a0quickly in court without naming every impacted individual.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The win was a collaborative effort.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">PEF\u00a0Field Services staff provided the Legal Department\u00a0with\u00a0documents, emails, and contact information\u00a0for\u00a0members willing to speak out, while\u00a0Contract\u00a0Administration\u00a0monitored\u00a0the issue and filed grievances to preserve members\u2019 contractual rights.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In July 2020,\u00a0President Spence and\u00a0three PEF members\u00a0filed the lawsuit\u00a0against\u00a0then\u00a0Governor\u00a0Andrew Cuomo,\u00a0several Executive Branch\u00a0offices\u00a0and agencies, and\u00a0their respective heads.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The settlement resolves the\u00a0contract\u00a0grievances and\u00a0creates\u00a0a process for PEF to address any remaining disputes over\u00a0payment\u00a0amounts. PEF has until Dec.\u00a030, 2026, to present disputes. If\u00a0you believe you were paid incorrectly, contact PEF and provide supporting\u00a0documentation\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"mailto:covidot@pef.org\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">COVIDOT@pef.org<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0as soon as possible.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">PEF\u00a0has\u00a0notified\u00a0impacted individuals and\u00a0provided\u00a0details, including the amount\u00a0each person\u00a0should receive. Some may\u00a0also hear\u00a0directly\u00a0from\u00a0their employer,\u00a0and\u00a0those\u00a0receiving\u00a0$2,000 or more\u00a0will\u00a0need to complete\u00a0an IRS W-9 form before payment can be issued.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cThis case\u00a0remains\u00a0a multi-department effort at PEF,\u201d Friedman\u00a0said.\u00a0\u201cField Services continues to gather information and answer questions from impacted individuals. We recently sent letters to everyone receiving an interest payment, with general information\u00a0and\u00a0the specific\u00a0amount\u00a0owed.\u00a0After Legal drafted\u00a0the\u00a0letters, we\u00a0worked\u00a0with Field Services, Contract Administration, MIS, and Statewide Facilities to\u00a0finalize\u00a0and mail them.\u00a0We\u00a0truly appreciate\u00a0their help.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>August 7, 2026 &#8212; Nearly 2,000 members and former members who answered New York State Department of Health COVID-19 Hotline calls and helped the Department of Labor manage increased unemployment&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"division":[],"allowed_regions":[],"allowed_divisions":[],"class_list":["post-9214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","issue-volume-44-no-6"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>PEF secures millions in unlawfully calculated OT during Covid - PEF Communicator<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-44-no-6\/pef-secures-millions-in-covid-overtime-compensation-lawsuit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PEF secures millions in unlawfully calculated OT during Covid\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"August 7, 2026 &#8212; 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