Photo by Joselyn King Ohio County Humane Officer Doug McCroskey says goodbye to a feline friend at the animal shelter during his last day of work on Friday. McCroskey has retired after 36 years as a county employee, including the last 25 years as humane officer.

WHEELING – Former Ohio County Animal Shelter Director Doug McCroskey, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday, worked more than 40 hours a week every week during his 25 years at the job, and he never received overtime pay.

Counsel for McCroskey filed the suit Thursday in Ohio County Circuit Court seeking two times the amount of overtime wages owed him as of March 9, 2022, plus interest on that sum. An exact dollar figure was not provided.

He is being represented by Toriseva Law Offices in Wheeling.

Commission President Randy Wharton said late Thursday commissioners hadn’t seen the complaint, and that they could not comment on pending legal matters.

In addition to being animal shelter director, McCroskey also concurrently held the jobs of county humane officer and dog warden during his tenure. He retired Nov. 5, 2021.

At issue in the case is whether McCroskey’s position was “exempt” from overtime pay.

While working as humane officer, dog warden, and director of the Ohio County Animal Shelter, McCroskey was “on-call” at all times and regularly responded to emergency situations, according to the complaint. He often had his evenings, weekends, and holidays interrupted by work calls, with most of these requiring an in-person response.

McCroskey was not paid for his response to on call situations, nor was he paid any additional wage, stipend, or rate for being on-call, the complaint states.

McCroskey’s paystubs labeled his wages as “hourly.”

At times, McCroskey was provided an assistant, who received overtime pay for work completed over 40 hours per week, according to the complaint. The assistant also received a fixed daily on-call rate, according to the filing.

Ohio County classified McCroskey as an overtime “exempt” employee. Exempt employees are defined as those earning at least $684.00 a week, or $35,568 per year. In addition, payment is provided regularly and at a fixed rate proportionate to the annual salary regardless of the total hours worked.

McCroskey met these two requirements for being exempt, but did not meet a third requirement, the lawsuit continues.

An exempt employee’s task must be consistent with those performed in the administrative, professional, executive, computer or outside sales fields. McCroskey’s primary duties were physical in nature and were completed outside of the office, according to the complaint.

“The nature of Mr. McCroskey’s position required direct, manual labor daily,” the filing states. “Mr. McCroskey, although considered a department head, was rarely at his desk. Instead, he was in the field working to physically catch dogs and other animals that were loose, he was out picking up donated supplies for the animal shelter, he would work to unload those supplies, he worked to clean the cages and other facilities, or he was conducting investigations into animal cruelty reports.”

Exemptions to overtime do not apply to first responders, and the lawsuit suggests McCroskey was a first responder.

It states he acted as an investigator and inspector, worked to prevent or detect crimes, conducted investigations and/or inspections for violations of law, conducted surveillance and prepared investigative reports.

Following McCroskey’s retirement, county commissioners determined two people would be hired to fill his multiple positions.

The position of animal shelter manager was advertised as overtime exempt, and former deputy Nelson Croft has since been hired for the job.

The position of dog warden/humane officer, meanwhile, will be paid overtime. No one has yet been hired for the opening.

The case has been assigned to Judge David Sims, who served as Ohio County commissioner prior to taking the bench.