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One of three state troopers reviewed under a special overtime program to deter speeders has been found to claim overtime for hours spent at home or eating, But as Mike Vasilinda tells us, some of those being disciplined say they were following an unwritten rule that’s been in place for decades.

More than 900 troopers participate in the SOAR program…which is designed to pay 8 hours of overtime a week to crackdown on speeders or help stranded motorists. Internal investigators at the patrol choose the top three SOAR earners from each district. Of the 36 cases reviewed, three were fired, four retired, three were suspended, one was reprimanded and another is facing termination after claiming overtime for working from home or while eating. Capt. Nancy Rasmussen says discipline was based on the sererity of the infractions.

“Some were sitting at their houses longer and it was a continuos issue, then they were disciplined more than, you know, the ones that just went to the restaurants for a few minutes or whatever. So it was based on what their egregious activities were on the program” says the FHP Spokesperson.

Troopers were sited for turning off their automatic locating devices or failing to call in when they were taking dinner breaks.

The Police Benevolent Association says it won’t talk about the troopers in this report because it doesn’t talk about pending litigation.”

Attorney Sid Mathew represents two of the 12 being disciplined. He says both were following long standing unwritten rules and that no one was goofing off on the states dime.

“They paid overtime for 20 years for meal breaks, and now all of a sudden, they are changing their policies” says the labor attorney.

The FHP says the actions taken will not impact increased presence on the highways  this holiday weekend.

The FHP says there are no unwritten rules. But attorneys say if they are changing policies, Troopers must be told in advance.  In June, after some of the disciplinary actions had already been started, the FHP issued a memo saying no one was authorized to work from home.