Shelby County Emergency Management Operations official Jason Wickizer filed a petition last week in Shelby County District Court against the County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) and the Emergency Management Coordinator, alleging that during the course of his employment he has worked a substantial amount of overtime hours and was regularly required to be available on an “on call” basis.

Jason Wickizer (photo from the Shelby County EMA Facebook page)

Wickizer also says that from 2006 to March 17th, 2017, he was paid based on the number of hours he worked as an hourly employee. He also states that in 2017, he was switched to a salaried employee to avoid excessive payout of overtime. Wickizer said that his daily responsibilities and significant overtime remained the same, but he was no longer compensated.

The petition alleges that the defendants knowingly and intentionally failed to compensate Wickizer for his labor, services and paid leave. He’s seeking damages for past, present and future losses as well as liquidated damages, costs and attorney fees.

A special investigation was released in March where Wickizer was named in the audit report. The investigation was requested by Shelby County due to concerns of improper payment of overtime, compensatory time or vacation pay to certain Emergency Management Association employees, including former EMA coordinator Bob Seivert, former EMA Assistant Communications Supervisor Mike Jensen and Wickizer, currently employed by the EMA.

Wickizer was named among the others for allegedly receiving improper payroll totaling $13,494.62.