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>This is generally about 1.5 times their normal pay. >Lieutenant Timothy Dolan, a 26-year veteran who leads the traffic unit and serves as vice president of th

>This is generally about 1.5 times their normal pay. >Lieutenant Timothy Dolan, a 26-year veteran who leads the traffic unit and serves as vice president of the OPOA police union, was paid $493,247 in overtime in 2024. Combined with his salary and other pay, this netted him a $711,000 paycheck, making him OPD’s highest-paid employee Well I'm just going to have to guess his OT is actually 2x and not 1.5x, as otherwise he's working more than 80 hours a week. Or maybe he's only expected to work something like 20 hours a week? >On July 9, Dolan reported he worked 23 hours. The next day, he worked 16 hours, and for the following three days, he worked 15 hours each. It just looks like the attorney general in this area has been asleep at the wheel.

faidit 2mo ago
Union rules cause double time (2x pay) to kick in at lower daily and weekly thesholds than at non union jobs.
- QuercusMax 2mo ago
  You really think he was working 23 hours one day and then 15-16 for the rest of the week? That sounds like timecard padding to me. No way he's not spending a significant portion of the job asleep, unless he's severely abusing stimulants.
  - blackjack_ 2mo ago
    Yeah this is “butt on chair” definition of working at best. I’ve worked 80 hour weeks, doing 15-16 hour days consecutively will obliterate you, and also hopefully you live upstairs because commute times start eating into your sleep time quickly
    - cucumber3732842 2mo ago
      This. And his position of seniority in the union likely gets him close to first pick of the shifts and jobs that lend themselves best to this.
      - QuercusMax 2mo ago
        Somebody's gotta man the night shift at the empty lockup!
  - a2tech 2mo ago
    I agree that in this case its VERY likely to be fraud. However, there are many jobs where you might be stuck at work. Being at work == getting paid. Thats not really that shocking of a thing. My wife's dad worked at a children's 'training school' (kid jail) and they often had lock downs or were legally required to have certain number of people on site for certain operations. So he might be there and simply couldn't leave, but might not be 'working'. He was paid for those hours, which I think is pretty reasonable.
  - tzs 2mo ago
    Doing the job asleep is actually possible in some cities. There's a book called "Rough Justice: Days and Nights of a Young D.A." by David Heilbroner about his 3 years starting in 1985 as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney's office fresh out of law school. The new ADAs were started working on the vast number of minor crimes that occur daily in NY that result in an arrest but that will almost certainly end up resolved with just a fine after a short (a few minutes often) bench trial. The courts that handle these run 24 hours a day. The ADAs operate in shifts. He describes how when arriving for his shift he'd have to step over a large number of sleeping police officers in the hall. The officers are there either to give a statement to the ADA or to give a statement in court when the case of the person they arrested comes up. It can take many hours between arrest and an ADA starting to work on the case or it getting called in court so as soon as the officer finishes their regular work shift they come and wait at the ADAs office. That waiting time is on the clock and all overtime. He would often arrive for a morning shift and there would be officers who had been waiting since the end of the day shift the day before, or longer, if I remember correctly. Two or three of those in a week and an office could get a lot of overtime, most of it spent sleeping.
- datsci_est_2015 2mo ago
  The issue seems to be what's defined as "work", given the amount of time he claimed to work, and not necessarily how much he is paid per hour. Sitting in a cruiser playing candy crush counting as "work" is funny when you compare it to the fact that flight attendants only get paid for the time when the door is closed on a plane.
  - SlightlyLeftPad 2mo ago
    Flock will eventually be there to take that job too.
    - Eddy_Viscosity2 2mo ago
      The police officers will still get paid though, even if the machines are doing the work.
xp84 2mo ago
> It just looks like the attorney general in this area has been asleep at the wheel. Whoever it is, that's always the case in government. It's not their money and any accountability like this is so rare, that there's no need to do things like audit the books or to ask that there be a documented reason why this particular cop needed to do all that OT. The chain of responsibility just abruptly terminates with someone who has the prerogative to approve things without explanation, and that person doesn't (legally or department-policy-wise) owe anyone an explanation, and he won't give one. (Because usually the answer is "Because he's in on the scam himself") Note: I'm not saying that every civil servant scams. Far from it. I'm saying that conditions are nearly always ripe for this type of thing because those in charge won't be held responsible, and those at the very top are elected officials, who are in more and more areas only vulnerable to primary challenges. So if you have a good enough rep for "supporting team blue/red" you can cruise past plenty of oopsie-daisies like this by just scoring cheap political points.
- cyanydeez 2mo ago
  >Whoever it is, that's always the case in government. "government" here can be replaced with any sufficiently large organization. There's nothing special about corruption in overly sized organizations. We've just decided businesses get to do whatever they want because their grift is primary.
  - xnx 2mo ago
    There's a counteracting force in non-government organizations though: competition and bankruptcy. Also, waste in non-government organizations hardly matters because they only get your money if you choose to give it to them.
    - jjk166 2mo ago
      Excluding of course corporate bailouts.
      - xp84 2mo ago
zer00eyz 2mo ago
> It just looks like the attorney general in this area has been asleep at the wheel. Oakland mayor and progressive DA ousted amid crime complaints: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/09/oakland-mayor-progressive-da-ousted-00187549 https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/09/oakland-mayor-progr... As a Bay Area resident and someone who leans very far left - I was not surprised by the impact, and outcome of "policy by slogan".
- etc-hosts 2mo ago
  It looked like the mayor was getting railroaded at the time. Look up her current scandal and FBI case involving the local garbage company.
- xnx 2mo ago
  Not just ousted, former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao goes to trial for federal criminal corruption and bribery charges in October.
  - 2PqboPPmKegvanx 2mo ago
    no kidding. >The Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with agents from the Internal Revenue Service and United States Postal Inspection Service, raided Thao's home on June 20, 2024 as part of a corruption investigation that's a nightmare group of people to be after you.
legitster 2mo ago
If you work 40 hours in two days, everything except 16 hours that week is overtime.
dogsgobork 2mo ago
He'll be investigated by other thin blue line cops who also nap in their squad cars and be found innocent of any wrong doing.
- lostmsu 2mo ago
  It sounds way worse than just napping.
dylan604 2mo ago
>On July 9, Dolan reported he worked 23 hours. The next day, he worked 16 hours, and for the following three days, he worked 15 hours each That sounds like one of the jobs I've had. One job was so bad that when they were designing their new offices, I asked if they could add a shower since I was pretty much living there. (Came back as a no because of insurance/liability costs.) The shit of it was that I was a salary employee so I never saw a dime of overtime. It did not take long for me to look for a new job. Worst experience ever for me.
- josefritzishere 2mo ago
  This is assuming the work hours are real which they are surely not. More likely this is fraud.
  - dylan604 2mo ago
    I can assure you, I was in the office every one of the hours I claimed. How you can suggest they are fraud is wildly libelous on your part.
    - zparky 2mo ago
      They're definitely talking about the police officer from this story, not you!
  - paleotrope 2mo ago
    Police overtime is quite complicated. Assuming 23 hours of work represent actually 23 hours of work will lead to confusion. Alot of these overtime jobs are where the government mandates that a police officer simply be on site. Regardless if they are sleeping or actually doing any police work.
OkayPhysicist 2mo ago
California base overtime schedule is 1x for 8 hours in a day, 1.5x for the next 4 hours in a day, then 2x for any time after that. Additionally, any time above 40 hrs in a workweek or on a 7th day of consecutive work in a workweek gets 1.5x, and any time after 8 on that 7th day gets 2x. Thus, it's possible to only get paid your base rate for 16 hours in a workweek, if you work more than 40 hours in the first 2 days of the week. For example, if I worked 24 hours on Monday, and 16 hours on Tuesday, I'd be making 1x * 8hrs on Monday + 1.5x*4hrs on Monday + 2x*12 hours on Monday, then 1x*8hrs on Tuesday + 1.5x*4hrs on Tuesday + 2x*4hrs on Tuesday. On every subsequent day of that week, my standard workday would be paid at 1.5x for the first 12 hours, then 2x for any time after that, until the seventh consecutive day, where I'd get 1.5x for 8hrs, then 2x after that. All together, in California, if you work 24/7 for a week, you end up with 16hrs@1x + 64hrs@1.5x + 88hrs at 2x, netting out to an effective 188hrs per week. IMO, this whole system is a little busted owing to the fixed workweek (it's not "any 7 day period", it's "over the course of a recurring 7 day schedule")

faidit 2mo ago

Union rules cause double time (2x pay) to kick in at lower daily and weekly thesholds than at non union jobs.

QuercusMax 2mo ago
You really think he was working 23 hours one day and then 15-16 for the rest of the week? That sounds like timecard padding to me. No way he's not spending a significant portion of the job asleep, unless he's severely abusing stimulants.
- blackjack_ 2mo ago
  Yeah this is “butt on chair” definition of working at best. I’ve worked 80 hour weeks, doing 15-16 hour days consecutively will obliterate you, and also hopefully you live upstairs because commute times start eating into your sleep time quickly
  - cucumber3732842 2mo ago
    This. And his position of seniority in the union likely gets him close to first pick of the shifts and jobs that lend themselves best to this.
    - QuercusMax 2mo ago
      Somebody's gotta man the night shift at the empty lockup!
- a2tech 2mo ago
  I agree that in this case its VERY likely to be fraud. However, there are many jobs where you might be stuck at work. Being at work == getting paid. Thats not really that shocking of a thing. My wife's dad worked at a children's 'training school' (kid jail) and they often had lock downs or were legally required to have certain number of people on site for certain operations. So he might be there and simply couldn't leave, but might not be 'working'. He was paid for those hours, which I think is pretty reasonable.
- tzs 2mo ago
  Doing the job asleep is actually possible in some cities. There's a book called "Rough Justice: Days and Nights of a Young D.A." by David Heilbroner about his 3 years starting in 1985 as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney's office fresh out of law school. The new ADAs were started working on the vast number of minor crimes that occur daily in NY that result in an arrest but that will almost certainly end up resolved with just a fine after a short (a few minutes often) bench trial. The courts that handle these run 24 hours a day. The ADAs operate in shifts. He describes how when arriving for his shift he'd have to step over a large number of sleeping police officers in the hall. The officers are there either to give a statement to the ADA or to give a statement in court when the case of the person they arrested comes up. It can take many hours between arrest and an ADA starting to work on the case or it getting called in court so as soon as the officer finishes their regular work shift they come and wait at the ADAs office. That waiting time is on the clock and all overtime. He would often arrive for a morning shift and there would be officers who had been waiting since the end of the day shift the day before, or longer, if I remember correctly. Two or three of those in a week and an office could get a lot of overtime, most of it spent sleeping.
datsci_est_2015 2mo ago
The issue seems to be what's defined as "work", given the amount of time he claimed to work, and not necessarily how much he is paid per hour. Sitting in a cruiser playing candy crush counting as "work" is funny when you compare it to the fact that flight attendants only get paid for the time when the door is closed on a plane.
- SlightlyLeftPad 2mo ago
  Flock will eventually be there to take that job too.
  - Eddy_Viscosity2 2mo ago
    The police officers will still get paid though, even if the machines are doing the work.

xp84 2mo ago

> It just looks like the attorney general in this area has been asleep at the wheel. Whoever it is, that's always the case in government. It's not their money and any accountability like this is so rare, that there's no need to do things like audit the books or to ask that there be a documented reason why this particular cop needed to do all that OT. The chain of responsibility just abruptly terminates with someone who has the prerogative to approve things without explanation, and that person doesn't (legally or department-policy-wise) owe anyone an explanation, and he won't give one. (Because usually the answer is "Because he's in on the scam himself") Note: I'm not saying that every civil servant scams. Far from it. I'm saying that conditions are nearly always ripe for this type of thing because those in charge won't be held responsible, and those at the very top are elected officials, who are in more and more areas only vulnerable to primary challenges. So if you have a good enough rep for "supporting team blue/red" you can cruise past plenty of oopsie-daisies like this by just scoring cheap political points.

cyanydeez 2mo ago
>Whoever it is, that's always the case in government. "government" here can be replaced with any sufficiently large organization. There's nothing special about corruption in overly sized organizations. We've just decided businesses get to do whatever they want because their grift is primary.
- xnx 2mo ago
  There's a counteracting force in non-government organizations though: competition and bankruptcy. Also, waste in non-government organizations hardly matters because they only get your money if you choose to give it to them.
  - jjk166 2mo ago
    Excluding of course corporate bailouts.
    - xp84 2mo ago

zer00eyz 2mo ago

> It just looks like the attorney general in this area has been asleep at the wheel. Oakland mayor and progressive DA ousted amid crime complaints: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/09/oakland-mayor-progressive-da-ousted-00187549 https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/09/oakland-mayor-progr... As a Bay Area resident and someone who leans very far left - I was not surprised by the impact, and outcome of "policy by slogan".

etc-hosts 2mo ago
It looked like the mayor was getting railroaded at the time. Look up her current scandal and FBI case involving the local garbage company.
xnx 2mo ago
Not just ousted, former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao goes to trial for federal criminal corruption and bribery charges in October.
- 2PqboPPmKegvanx 2mo ago
  no kidding. >The Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with agents from the Internal Revenue Service and United States Postal Inspection Service, raided Thao's home on June 20, 2024 as part of a corruption investigation that's a nightmare group of people to be after you.

legitster 2mo ago

If you work 40 hours in two days, everything except 16 hours that week is overtime.

dogsgobork 2mo ago

He'll be investigated by other thin blue line cops who also nap in their squad cars and be found innocent of any wrong doing.

lostmsu 2mo ago
It sounds way worse than just napping.

dylan604 2mo ago

>On July 9, Dolan reported he worked 23 hours. The next day, he worked 16 hours, and for the following three days, he worked 15 hours each That sounds like one of the jobs I've had. One job was so bad that when they were designing their new offices, I asked if they could add a shower since I was pretty much living there. (Came back as a no because of insurance/liability costs.) The shit of it was that I was a salary employee so I never saw a dime of overtime. It did not take long for me to look for a new job. Worst experience ever for me.

josefritzishere 2mo ago
This is assuming the work hours are real which they are surely not. More likely this is fraud.
- dylan604 2mo ago
  I can assure you, I was in the office every one of the hours I claimed. How you can suggest they are fraud is wildly libelous on your part.
  - zparky 2mo ago
    They're definitely talking about the police officer from this story, not you!
- paleotrope 2mo ago
  Police overtime is quite complicated. Assuming 23 hours of work represent actually 23 hours of work will lead to confusion. Alot of these overtime jobs are where the government mandates that a police officer simply be on site. Regardless if they are sleeping or actually doing any police work.

OkayPhysicist 2mo ago

California base overtime schedule is 1x for 8 hours in a day, 1.5x for the next 4 hours in a day, then 2x for any time after that. Additionally, any time above 40 hrs in a workweek or on a 7th day of consecutive work in a workweek gets 1.5x, and any time after 8 on that 7th day gets 2x. Thus, it's possible to only get paid your base rate for 16 hours in a workweek, if you work more than 40 hours in the first 2 days of the week. For example, if I worked 24 hours on Monday, and 16 hours on Tuesday, I'd be making 1x * 8hrs on Monday + 1.5x*4hrs on Monday + 2x*12 hours on Monday, then 1x*8hrs on Tuesday + 1.5x*4hrs on Tuesday + 2x*4hrs on Tuesday. On every subsequent day of that week, my standard workday would be paid at 1.5x for the first 12 hours, then 2x for any time after that, until the seventh consecutive day, where I'd get 1.5x for 8hrs, then 2x after that. All together, in California, if you work 24/7 for a week, you end up with 16hrs@1x + 64hrs@1.5x + 88hrs at 2x, netting out to an effective 188hrs per week. IMO, this whole system is a little busted owing to the fixed workweek (it's not "any 7 day period", it's "over the course of a recurring 7 day schedule")