Law enforcement agencies assess OT ruling

by Mindy Aguon

Guam - Law enforcement agencies are trying to get a handle on exactly how a Supreme Court decision issued Wednesday will impact operations.  The island's high court found that Guam's Minimum Wage and Hour Act was violated when the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency stopped paying its officers overtime until after they worked 43 hours. 

Customs Director Colonel Dennis Santo Tomas says he's working with the Attorney General's Office to figure out how much they'll have to pay.  He added, "We certainly want to bring closure to this issue, it doesn't affect just Customs, but all law enforcement agencies on Guam.  So I'm sure all the other directors and chief of the law enforcement agencies want to all bring closure to this."

The Customs officers' attorney, Daniel Sommerfleck, says it will be up to the superior court to determine just how much will be paid in overtime since the violations began back in 1998.  "It deals both with back wages and perceptively that with these employees, when they work more than 40 hours they get time-and-a-half," he explained.

Guam Police Department Police Chief Frank Ishizaki says his agency will also wait for the AG's advice on how to proceed, as well.