A recent legal filing alleges that an employer failed to pay required overtime wages to its elementary school resource officers, raising questions about compliance with federal labor laws. The complaint was filed by Gregory McCarthy on March 30, 2026, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against Newton County School District.
According to the complaint, McCarthy brings this action individually and on behalf of other similarly situated individuals who have worked as elementary school resource officers within the past three years. The case centers on alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), specifically regarding unpaid overtime compensation.
The document outlines that McCarthy has been employed by Newton County School District for approximately two years as an elementary school resource officer. During this time, he claims to have regularly worked a standard schedule from Monday through Friday, 6:45 AM to 2:45 PM, without non-compensable break periods. However, McCarthy states that he was also required to work additional hours before or after his scheduled shift due to emergencies or exigent circumstances affecting schools in the county.
For emergency-related overtime work, the district reportedly paid McCarthy at one-and-one-half times his regular hourly rate of $43.40 per hour. In contrast, when working scheduled special events such as football games, basketball games, and graduations—events not considered emergencies—McCarthy alleges he was compensated at a flat “event pay” rate of $45.00 per hour. The complaint asserts that this event pay is below the FLSA’s required one-and-one-half-times rate for overtime hours.
The filing emphasizes that these special event assignments almost always occurred in addition to a full 40-hour workweek and thus should have triggered overtime protections under federal law. It states: “Because work at such special events is almost always in addition to Plaintiff’s full 40-hour workweek, almost all of the time worked at special events results in an FLSA violation by NCSD.”
McCarthy further claims that this practice was not limited to his own employment but affected all elementary school resource officers employed by Newton County School District during the three years prior to the filing date. The complaint alleges a district-wide policy that systematically failed to compensate these employees at the legally mandated overtime rate for hours worked at special events outside their regular schedules.
As outlined in the collective action allegations section, “Throughout the Collective Period, NCSD regularly failed to compensate NCSD elementary school resource officers at one-and-one-half times their regular hourly rates for hours worked at special events outside their regularly scheduled 40-hour workweeks.”
The lawsuit seeks several forms of relief from the court. Specifically, McCarthy requests certification of a collective action so other affected employees can join as plaintiffs; payment for each unpaid overtime hour calculated at one-and-one-half times the regular hourly rate; liquidated damages equal to 100% of unpaid overtime; prejudgment interest where applicable; nominal damages; reasonable attorney’s fees and costs; and any other relief deemed just and proper by the court.
Additionally, McCarthy asks for a jury trial on all matters triable by jury and requests issuance of a court-supervised notice so eligible current and former employees can opt into the lawsuit pursuant to federal law.
The plaintiff is represented by attorneys Charles R. Bridgers and Matthew W. Herrington of Caldwell Bridgers & Benjamin LLC in Atlanta, Georgia. The case identification number is 1:26-cv-01685-SDG.
Source: 126cv1685_Gregory_Mccarthy_v_Newton_County_Complaint_Northern_District_of_Georgia.pdf
