CoreCivic Lawsuit Claims Correctional Officers Owed Overtime for Off-the-Clock Security Screenings

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CoreCivic of Tennessee faces a proposed class and collective action wherein two former employees claim the private prison operator failed to pay them and other correctional officers overtime wages for pre-shift security screenings.

Have you worked for CoreCivic as a correctional officer? Let us know here.

The 18-page CoreCivic unpaid wages lawsuit alleges the company, which operates more than 40 correctional and detention centers nationwide, has violated federal and state law by “willfully” failing to pay the plaintiffs and other employees proper time-and-a-half overtime despite instructing them to arrive early to undergo a mandatory security screening before clocking in for each shift.

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The plaintiffs, who worked in various positions at Arizona and New Mexico CoreCivic facilities, respectively, claim they and other correctional officers had to arrive before the start of their shifts each day in order to complete a security inspection. This process involved a worker emptying their pockets and bags; removing their shoes, belts and jackets and submitting their belongings for examination, the filing explains. At times, employees were also subjected to additional metal-detecting wand screenings, pat-downs or K-9 sniff searches, the suit says.

Only after they cleared security could the workers proceed to clock in for their shifts, the case relays.

As a result of the daily security screenings, which typically lasted between five and 10 minutes but sometimes took up to 25 minutes, correctional officers regularly worked more than 40 hours per workweek, the complaint asserts. However, the employees, despite performing “integral and indispensable” pre-shift duties, were not properly compensated for this off-the-clock work, the filing charges.

The case says that CoreCivic has faced previous lawsuits over “this exact conduct,” but the company allegedly “refuses” to revise its practices and continues to “openly defy” its  wage payment obligations under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and numerous state laws.

The proposed collective action lawsuit looks to represent any current or former hourly paid, non-exempt correctional officers in the United States who, in the past three years, worked for CoreCivic in a correctional and detention center facility, underwent its security screening procedures and worked more than 40 hours in at least one workweek. The lawsuit also looks to represent state-specific classes for New Mexico and Arizona CoreCivic correctional workers.

Have you worked for CoreCivic as a correctional officer? Let us know here.