Independence cop at center of overtime inquiry also got paid for 400 hours of vacation
The Independence police officer who earned $160,000 in overtime last year was also paid for more than 400 hours of vacation leave, raising even more questions about the city’s payroll policies.
Kevin Nightingale was among three Independence Police Department officers who received more than $100,000 in overtime pay last year. Nightingale was paid more than $160,000 for completing remodeling work on police facilities that city leaders say was not authorized.
That revelation has set off a citywide investigation.
But a city document obtained by The Star shows that Nightingale also received vacation pay for 416.5 hours — more than 10 work weeks — last year. Comparing vacation logs with his overtime slips, records show several instances where Nightingale simultaneously collected vacation benefits while earning overtime-scale pay to perform construction work for the police department.
Most employers will only award 1.5 times an employee’s hourly rate for overtime after that employee has worked 40 hours. But union-negotiated contracts in Independence are much more generous to workers.
The city has no rules that require employees to work 40 hours before qualifying for overtime, in essence allowing them to double dip overtime pay with vacation benefits. That means a worker could take an entire week off using accrued vacation time, come in to work over the weekend and be paid both vacation pay and overtime — even if they worked fewer than 40 hours that week.
Similarly, the city has no cap on overtime hours for its workers.
City Manager Zach Walker, who has come under fire from some council members for the overtime incident, said he wants to change that. But it will require approval from the council and cooperation from the unions.
Organized labor looms large in Independence government with seven unions covering about 70% of the city’s workforce. But even the other 30% of non-union employees can still earn overtime in weeks they take other time off.
Walker said he will ask the council to authorize two changes at its Tuesday meeting. The first is to take the issue to the city’s personnel board, which will consider a new standard for non-union employees. The city manager will also ask the council for authorization to reopen union contracts to negotiate a change on overtime policy.
“The unions have every right to tell us no,” Walker said. “I hope that current events will highlight why we’ve been recommending this for years.”
The Independence Fraternal Order of Police did not respond to multiple requests for comment this week.
The Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal employment law that governs much of the employee-employer relationship, requires that eligible workers are paid an overtime rate of 1.5 times their normal earnings for working more than 40 hours per week.
Walker wants the city to embrace that standard and not pay overtime until an employee has actually worked a full 40 hours in a work week. He said the change has been recommended before, but has not gained traction with the council and unions.
Asked about the finding that Nightingale was paid for more than ten weeks of vacation leave last year on top of his exorbitant overtime pay, the city manager said he was “sickened.”
“But it’s also one more reminder of why we need to amend our accrued leave policies which has also been brought up over the years.”
City records show Nightingale earned a significant portion of his $160,000 in overtime pay during weeks he took time off.
For example, during the month of November 2021, Nightingale cashed in 112 hours of vacation time. During the same time period, he spent some of his longest days working on projects around police headquarters, records show.
On Thanksgiving Day, he recorded 11 hours of overtime to finish second-floor hallway lighting and clean up work areas, among other tasks. He was also paid ten hours of holiday pay that day.
In September, Nightingale logged 50 total hours of vacation time. He was also paid time-and-a-half for more than 12 hours a day on 14 separate days that month.
On Sept. 28, he recorded 21.5 hours in one shift, lasting from 5 a.m. until 2:30 a.m. the following day, during which he described finishing up loose ends throughout the entire jail to prepare for its reopening.
Records also show Nightingale was not alone in collecting overtime for construction work. At least four other police department employees documented their participation in the project. They made trips for supplies, cleaned workspaces, hung drywall, painted walls and performed other project-related tasks.
Last week, the city announced it had hired Daniel Nelson from Kansas City law firm Spencer Fane LLP to head the investigation of overtime practices in the police department. Nelson is a former deputy chief prosecutor from the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office and previously worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of Missouri’s Kansas City office.
While that investigation could last several months, council members will begin considering policy changes as early as next week.
Councilman Mike Huff, who is running for reelection in April’s municipal elections, said he would not be in favor of reopening the entirety of the city’s contracts with the unions. But a letter of agreement could allow the city to negotiate only the overtime provision, while leaving other parts of the contracts intact.
“I don’t think the unions will agree,” Huff said.
A retired employee of the city’s electric utility, Huff noted that he was able to earn overtime pay during weeks that he took vacation leave.
“Does it make sense? No, but I did it,” he said. “It’s what the system allows and what’s built in whether it’s right or wrong.”
Councilman Dan Hobart said the policy may merit review, but he wants to ensure benefits are doled out equitably among various employees.
“I tend to be a little more methodical and not as reactive in making policy decisions so i would want to speak to the union representatives and get their take on that,” he said. “I don’t want to see overtime abuse and I don’t want to see different groups of employees in the city having different rules.”
This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
