Sheriff’s deputies sue county over overtime pay practices 

A federal lawsuit filed Feb. 5 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York accuses Putnam County of systematically underpaying members of the Sheriff’s Office by miscalculating their base and overtime rates for years. 

The case carries added political interest because one of the named plaintiffs, Deputy Kevin Osika, is married to Erin Crowley, a member of the Putnam County Legislature who also serves on the staff of U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler. Crowley is not a party to the lawsuit. 

Investigator Daniel Hunsberger, Sgt. Matthew Kraisky and Osika filed the 30-page complaint on behalf of themselves and an estimated 180 current and former deputies, sergeants, investigators, senior investigators and first sergeants employed within the past six years. The suit seeks to proceed as a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act and as a class action under New York Labor Law. 

The complaint alleges that the county improperly calculated officers’ hourly pay by dividing their annual salaries by 261 workdays in a standard year — and 262 in a leap year — rather than the 249 days, or 250 in a leap year, specified in collective bargaining agreements. 

By using a larger divisor, the lawsuit claims, the county reduced officers’ base hourly rates and, in turn, their overtime rates, which should be paid at time-and-a-half for hours worked beyond 40 in a week. 

The filing includes detailed examples. In 2024, a leap year, Hunsberger earned a total annual salary of $122,819. Dividing that figure by 2,000 hours — eight hours per day over 250 days — would yield an hourly rate of about $61.41 and an overtime rate of about $92.11, the complaint states. Instead, the county allegedly divided his salary by 2,096 hours, lowering his hourly rate to about $58.60 and his overtime rate to about $87.90. 

Similar calculations are laid out for Kraisky and Osika. The complaint details hundreds of overtime hours worked annually since at least 2019 that were allegedly paid at improperly reduced rates. 

Beyond the divisor dispute, the lawsuit alleges the county failed to compensate officers for a mandatory 15-minute pre-shift briefing before each tour of duty. For investigators, including Hunsberger, the suit further claims the county did not pay for extensive “on call” hours during which they were required to remain reachable and report within roughly 30 minutes if summoned. 

The plaintiffs also allege the county failed to provide compliant wage notices and accurate wage statements as required by state law and failed to maintain accurate records of hours worked. They seek back pay, liquidated damages, statutory penalties, and attorneys’ fees. 

Sheriff Brian Hess and a spokesperson for the county executive's office both said that due to pending litigation they could not comment on the lawsuit at this time.