Narcotics agents suing over raises mandated by 2016 state law

Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agents are suing over pay raises the agents say they should have received but never did.

The 25 defendants, 16 current and 9 former MBN agents, named the Department of Public Safety, DPS Commissioner Marshall Fisher, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, and MBN Director John Dowdy in their suit, which they filed Oct. 23, WLBT reports.

The agents claim that under a Mississippi law that went into effect in 2016, they were entitled to receive pay increases based on previous law-enforcement experience. While some agents received the increase, they did not.

Further, the suit claims the commissioner stopped the increases, allegedly due to budgetary shortfalls; however, Fisher failed to provide the Legislative Budget Office with an amount needed to ensure all agents were properly compensated.

The agents are seeking unpaid compensation and benefits beginning Jan. 1, 2016, including compensation for overtime and contributions to the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi, known as PERS.