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A union representing Wisconsin State Patrol troopers and inspectors filed a lawsuit this week trying to reverse a 2003 policy that cut their meal benefits.
Until 2003, troopers had a choice. They could work an eight-hour shift with no lunch break and get a $4 "bag meal" lunch reimbursement. Or they could work an eight-and-a-half hour shift with a 30-minute unpaid lunch break and receive reimbursements of up to $9 for lunch if they were assigned duties more than 15 miles from their headquarters.
Patrol Superintendent David Collins changed the policy in 2003 by scheduling all troopers for eight hour shifts with no meal breaks. That meant they were eligible only for the $4 reimbursement no matter how far they worked from headquarters.
Collins made the change as a cost-saving move after a Dane County judge said lunch breaks for troopers must be paid since they essentially remain on duty during them. Rather than pay overtime, Collins limited their work days to eight hours.
The change hasn't gone over well with department veterans. More than 300 grievances have been filed alleging Collins violated a collective bargaining agreement when he cut the meal benefits.
An arbitrator rejected those claims in March and ruled in favor of the patrol. The Wisconsin Law Enforcement Association, Local 1, which represents more than 400 troopers and inspectors, filed suit in Dane County Circuit Court on Monday appealing that decision.
The association's lawyer, Sally Stix, said all troopers would like a paid half-hour meal break as part of their normal eight-hour shift. Those who work more than 15 miles from headquarters want the $9 reimbursement back, she said.
The current policy treats troopers and inspectors unfairly by not giving them any meal break, she said.
"They are basically eating in their squads or grabbing McDonald's, which is probably not healthy for anybody," she said. "It's a morale issue, especially for the longer term people who were treated differently for years and years and then all of a sudden things unilaterally changed."
One veteran trooper in northern Wisconsin filed a grievance almost every day he showed up to work, she said.
Arbitrator Christine Ver Ploeg ruled in March the department is not required to provide meal breaks since troopers only work eight-hour days. Employees can eat during their two 15-minute breaks, she wrote.
