Allen v. City of Chicago

Jeffrey Allen (plaintiff) was a sergeant in the Chicago Police Department (CPD) assigned to the CPD’s Bureau of Organized Crime (BOC). Allen filed a lawsuit on behalf of himself and other BOC personnel (collectively, officers) against the City of Chicago (city) (defendant). The officers alleged that the CPD required them to use CPD-issued BlackBerry devices to engage in work-related communications while they were off duty without compensation. Official CPD policy pertaining to off-duty work, including use of the BlackBerrys, was that officers had to be on a call-back assignment or otherwise receive prior approval in order to be compensated for off-duty work. During the period relevant to the lawsuit, the CPD updated the policy to specify that officers should not use their CPD-issued BlackBerrys when off duty unless they were on a call-back assignment or were directed to do so by a supervisor. To receive compensation, officers who performed off-duty work had to submit time-due slips. Notwithstanding the official policy, officers routinely performed off-duty work on their BlackBerrys, often without prior approval, and often without submitting time-due slips. Some officers stated that they did not submit time-due slips because there was an understanding within the BOC that such work would not be compensated. Other officers did submit time-due slips and were compensated for off-duty work performed on their BlackBerrys, regardless of whether the work conformed to the policy. Supervisors were often unaware that officers were engaging in off-duty work activities on their BlackBerrys, and the officers did not complain to any supervisor about the uncompensated time. Some of the officers’ off-duty activities were not urgent and could have waited until they were on duty. Other activities, such as responding to confidential informants, had to be done immediately.