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Deputy sheriff tells Legislature PERB ruled in favor of courthouse deputies but HR has not implemented back pay
Summary
A deputy sheriff told the Albany County Legislature that the Public Employment Relations Board found that paid holidays for courthouse deputies should be reinstated and made whole, but county human resources has not completed the back pay process.
A deputy sheriff who has served at the Albany County courthouse for more than 18 years told the county Legislature on March 10 that the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) ruled in the deputies’ favor but that the county’s human‑resources office has not followed through on making employees whole for lost wages and benefits.
The speaker, Tim Flynn, identified himself as one of the deputy sheriffs assigned to the courthouse and said he wrote to Commissioner Clement in Human Resources on Nov. 20 seeking reliable information and had not received a reply. He told the Legislature that a long‑standing practice of paid holidays for courthouse deputies was ended in 2022 and that PERB found that termination of the practice was improper, directing HR to reinstate paid holidays and to compensate employees for the resulting loss of pay and benefits.
Flynn said the reinstatement had been implemented but the retroactive compensation had not been delivered, and attempts to get timelines or status updates from HR produced no response. He urged the Legislature to seek clarity for affected deputies.
Why it matters: The issue concerns county payroll and employee rights under a PERB order. If back pay is owed and remains unprocessed, affected deputies could face financial hardship and the county may be exposed to further administrative enforcement or legal steps.
What was said: "We've been told that we would be made whole in the near future, but this is only rumor," Flynn said, summarizing his Nov. 20 email to HR. "PERB directed the HR to reinstitute paid holidays for the deputies assigned to the courthouse and to make us whole for the wages and benefits that we lost as a result of that 2 year period."
Action requested: Flynn asked for information from a reliable source about the timing of retroactive payments. The transcript records no formal motion by the Legislature at the meeting to compel HR to report on the status; the matter was raised during the public comment period.
