The lawyer who was general counsel for the Missouri Department of Corrections before its $117.5 million settlement for corrections officers’ overtime is the new state attorney general.
But a state-based advocacy group has concerns over Gov. Mike Parson's pick due to a potential conflict of interest.
“We wish the governor would have appointed somebody else for attorney general,” said Byron Keelin, president of the Freedom Principle MO, a Missouri-first pro-citizens organization.
After Eric Schmitt was elected to replace Senator Roy Blunt in Washington, D.C., Parson appointed Andrew Bailey of Rhineland who had served as general counsel to the MDOC prior to serving as deputy general counsel for the Office of the Governor since April 2019.
“We're holding an open mind with regards to this new attorney general,” Keelin told the St. Louis Record. “We're hoping that he will step up to the plate like Eric Schmidt did and stand up for Missourian’s individual rights and freedoms and be an advocate for us.”
Bailey is a veteran of the United States Army and a graduate of the University of Missouri – Columbia School of Law.
Thomas Hootselle v. Missouri Department of Corrections was a class action lawsuit representing 14,000 corrections officers that was filed in 2012 alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
In October, Cole County Circuit Judge Cotton Walker approved the settlement, which included $49.5 million for the plaintiffs and a requirement that the Department of Corrections pays an additional 15 minutes per shift for eight years, according to media reports.
“I believe $30 million of the $117.5 million settlement money went to lawyers,” Keelin added. “This is typical of Parsons. If he has an opportunity to disappoint conservative voters of Missouri, he will do it. He’s ignored St. Louis City and Kansas City when it comes to crime. He's ignored the residents when it comes to COVID and he's ignored the state when it comes to banning TikTok.”
As previously reported in the St. Louis Record, the plaintiffs' attorney, Gary Burger of St. Louis, will receive $16.5 million plus expenses and some $13 million for negotiating more pay for officer duties that include picking up equipment, reporting to their duty post, and recording arrival and departure to the job site.
Burger characterized the lawsuit as the biggest case of his law firm's trajectory in ten years.
“One of the great things about the case was being able to help the hard-working men and women of the Missouri Department of Corrections,” Burger told Missouri Lawyers Media. “They are the largest police force in the state and guard prisoners every day — including right now.”