Judge rules state owes $118 million in overtime to corrections officers

Missouri’s corrections department has to pay its officers $118 million in unpaid overtime, a judge has ordered.

Missouri House Democratic Minority Leader Crystal Quade says the state did not pay up after a class-action lawsuit judgement last August.

“This has been well over 10 years of underpaid funds to employees of the state,” Quade says to Missourinet. “We owe the money to them. We have to pay it. And we need to be having a conversation as a legislature [about] actually making that happen.”

The Daily Tribune reports the state will probably appeal the ruling. Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick says the state constitution keeps corrections from spending money that’s not in the budget.