Ex Sheriff sgt. sues County in federal court

Former Cowley County Sheriff Sgt. Bruce Hafenstein has filed a lawsuit against the county in federal court claiming he was, for years, not properly paid for all overtime hours he worked.

KSOK News previously reported that Hafenstein had abruptly left the department in January of this year. At the time, no reason was given for his departure.

He had worked with the department since 1996.

The suit was filed in mid February in U.S. District Court for the Dist. of Kansas.

In his suit, Hafenstein said the county failed to adequately pay him for all overtime hours worked for a period stretching from “since at least January 2009” until February 2013. At the time of his departure, Hafenstein was Sgt. in charge of investigations.

The suit does not provide a specific amount of money Hafenstein is seeking. Attorneys for the county have filed a response in which they denied the plaintiff’s allegations.

In the formal complaint, Hafenstein said he was regularly made to fill out two time sheets for the time he worked. One time sheet showed he worked 80 hours in a two-week period, the other sheet showed the hours he actually worked.

He was then paid for 80 hours for the two-week period, according to the suit, when he routinely worked more than 100 hours. Hafenstein is claiming the county violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Hafenstein also said he was often asked to assist deputies as he traveled to and from the job. Work for which he said he was not paid.

A jury trial has been requested in the matter.