AP and staff reports

JACKSON — Thirty-one Mississippi school districts — including the Natchez-Adams School District — are targeted in potentially costly lawsuits accusing them of not paying overtime to at least 800 workers.

The workers include bus drivers, teachers’ aides, janitors and cafeteria workers. A team of lawyers, including former U.S. Rep. Mike Espy, is heading up the litigation against districts across the state. They plan to sue 20 more districts in the coming weeks, bringing the total to more than third of Mississippi 149 districts.

The attorneys traveled the state Wednesday to explain the lawsuits which Espy said could result in millions of dollars in compensation.

”The evidence we’ve uncovered already is very disturbing,” Espy said. ”It’s pervasive and exists all across Mississippi.”

Sam Brand Jr., another Jackson attorney handling the case, said that in some workers haven’t received overtime in more than 20 years. He said they are going to try to recoup the last two, possibly three years of overtime pay. ”These are the guts of the school system,” Brand said. ”If the buses don’t run, the kids don’t get there. If the cafeteria workers don’t cook, there’s no food.”

State Superintendent of Education Richard Thompson said the lawsuits could be a huge financial blow to Mississippi’s school districts.

Brand acknowledged that is a possibility. ”It may very well break some school districts, but this law has been on the books since 1938,” he said.

Natchez-Adams School District superintendent Dr. Carl Davis said the district has already identified 40 employees who did not receive time and and a half during the past two years. The district plans to meet with all of these employees. Ten of them have already met with the district and agreed to settle.

They will get a separate check for the amount they are due, Davis said.

&uot;The district intends to finally make amends for the mistakes we made that we didn’t know we were making,&uot; Davis said. &uot;It’s good in a sense. No one wants to not pay someone for the time and work they’ve completed.&uot;

Figures on how much the district owes these employees have not yet been finalized but the money was not placed into the budget, Davis said.

&uot;I pray our employees will work with the school district,&uot; said Davis, who fears these case could lead to costly litigation.

In the future, district officials will pay closer attention to employee hours and employees may not be able to volunteer to work special events off the clock.

&uot;Even if you want to do it, there’s no such thing as volunteering any more per say,&uot; Davis said.

Last March, a 2-year-old overtime complaint filed in Oktibbeha County was settled and cost the school district $500,000.

The overtime issue involves school district employees such as teacher assistants, secretaries, cafeteria workers and custodians who may be getting a set salary for their jobs. These workers are also due time and a half overtime or compensatory time off if they work more than 40 hours a week.

Exempt are teachers, counselors, librarians or administrators, such as principals and central office administrators.

Thompson said the state Department of Education is assisting local school officials in complying with federal law.

Thompson said school districts are being urged to do a volunteer audit of employment practices for the last two years, if they have any questionable situations.

”We’re hopeful that for districts that do that, and identify their problems and work very conscientiously to solve these issues now, hopefully they can avoid a lawsuit,” said Judy Rhodes, director of educational accountability.

”It’s really a school district responsibility to ensure that this is taken care of,” she said.

Natchez-Adams School District superintendent Dr. Carl Davis said the district has already identified 40 employees who did not receive time and and a half during the past two years. The district plans to meet with all of these employees. Ten of them have already met with the district and agreed to settle.

They will get a separate check for the amount they are due, Davis said.

&uot;The district attends to finally make amends for the mistakes we made that we didn’t know we were making,&uot; Davis said. &uot;It’s good in a sense. No one wants to not pay someone for the time and work they’ve completed.&uot;

These people include such staff as bus drivers, janitors, teacher assistants and other hourly employees,

Figures on how much the district owes these employees have not yet been finalized but the money was not placed into the budget, he said

&uot;I pray our employees will work with the school district,&uot; said Davis, who fears these case could lead to costly litigation.

In the future, district officials will pay closer attention to employee hours and employees may not be able to volunteer to work special events off the clock.

&uot;Even if you want to do it, there’s no such thing as volunteering any more per say,&uot; Davis said.