County settles arbitration with deputies over hospital-watch overtime; deputies to get $5/hour premium until CO staffing thresholds met

Deputy Corporation Counsel summarized a settlement with the Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs Association resolving an arbitration that found the countys rotation for hospital-run/watch assignments liable for incorrect methodology.

The settlement preserves the current practice while providing additional pay: deputies who work hospital-watch runs on overtime will receive their overtime rate plus a $5-per-hour premium as a negotiated incentive. Counsel said the settlement does not concede that the work is traditionally deputy work; rather, it creates a temporary compromise while correctional officer staffing and training are addressed. Paragraph 7 of the settlement sets a staffing threshold: once a specified percentage of budgeted correctional officer positions are filled with certified personnel (the agreement specifies the threshold inside the text), the duties will shift to COs and deputy participation will cease.

The committee received the report as informational; counsel described the settlement as a way to maintain necessary public-safety coverage while the county pursues longer-term staffing and bargaining solutions.