A judge in the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas has ruled in favor of the borough of Slatington in a suit filed against it by its former borough manager.

Judge J. Brian Johnson ordered in September Daniel L. Stevens, of 560 Main St., Slatington, the former borough manager, is not entitled to further compensation regarding compensatory time and retirement fund contributions he claimed the borough owed him.

Judge Johnson’s order says the testimonies of Stevens and another witness, Bryon Reed, were “not credible” in the non-jury trial that took place Sept. 10-11 at the courthouse in Allentown. Likewise, he ruled witnesses Ryan Mayberry and David Schnaars were “credible” and that testimony of witnesses Thomas Bartholomew, Roy Hambrecht, Steven Carr and Kevin Steckel were of “little value” to the case.

In the suit, filed by Neil D. Ettinger, Esq., of Ettinger & Associates, Whitehall, Stevens sought in excess of $50,000, alleging the borough violated state laws concerning overtime and also breached the contract it had with the ex-borough manager. He asked the court of award him unpaid wages, liquidated damages, pre- and post-judgment interest on all amounts due, attorney’s fees and costs of the civil action, all of which the court denied.

Court documents show Stevens and the borough entered into a written agreements that stated he was not entitled to overtime, but established a system where he could earn compensatory time for hours worked over 40 hours per week. His salaries during his tenure included $57,200 in 2020, $69,680 in 2022 and $71,760 in 2024. The added provisions for Stevens to be paid at the end of each year for compensatory time he did not use.

At the time of his resignation in 2024, Stevens submitted a final payout of paid time off and compensatory time dated Sept. 7, 2024, and the borough then paid him $12,440.70, court records show.

The court determined the borough made that payout to Stevens based on a reasonably-relied representation that Stevens submitted to the borough.

In his pleadings, Stevens contended the borough’s position of not paying him for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week violated the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act, saying the “comp” time arrangement vs. mandated overtime pay “willfully and recklessly” is against the state’s labor law.

He showed exhibits in the complaint that contend the borough owes him for 373 hours of overtime he accumulated, seeking time and a half compensation for them. The hours include 40 in 2020, 76 in 2021, 90.75 in 2022, 103 in 2023 and 63.25 in 2024.

Stevens claimed the hours he worked were at the request of or as required by the borough. He further charged the borough refused to pay contributions to his pension/IRA account as required by the contract for overtime he worked. He contended the borough owes a 9% contribution to his pension and asks the court to consider his loss of interest, investment and increase in value his IRA due to the borough’s negligence.

He alleged Slatington’s failure to provide the overtime compensation was “willful and deliberate” as outlined in repeated renewals of Stevens’ contract.

But Judge Johnson, in presenting his conclusions of law, said Stevens’ duties in supervising nine full-time employees and 3-4 part-time employees, during which time he made administrative decisions, deemed him as “executive capacity” under the Pennsylvania Administrative Code and his claim for unpaid wages is “barred by the administrative exemption found in the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act.”

The court found that, during his employment as Borough Manager, Stevens oversaw the administration, accounts payable and receivable, water, and sewer functions.

Borough’s response

In a statement posted on the borough’s website, the borough states it “respects the judicial process and the right of individuals to bring claims before the courts.”

It further states, “At the same time, when litigation involves a municipality, the borough believes the public has a legitimate interest in understanding the outcome of that litigation and the expenditure of public resources necessary to defend the municipality. In this case, after reviewing the evidence presented at trial, the court ruled entirely in favor of Slatington Borough.”

The statement quotes Borough Manager Roy Hambrecht, as saying, “The court’s decision confirms that the former borough manager’s actual duties and responsibilities were consistent with the managerial and administrative responsibilities of the position. The borough maintained throughout this matter that the compensation provided to the former manager was consistent with his employment agreements and applicable law. We appreciate the court’s thorough review of the evidence and its decision in favor of the borough.”

The borough was represented in the case by Attorney Lisa A. Young.

Contacted Wednesday morning, Stevens, shared his reaction to the ruling.

“I was extremely disappointed in the American justice system, I learned that truth doesn’t really mean much,” Stevens said.

“I had four sworn depositions that we took that stated I was an hourly employee, former and current members of council, also had four members of council on deposition stated that I had no power to hire and fire, yet the judge ruled I was a salaried employee, not hourly, yet I had significant power in hiring and firing.

“The other thing I was extremely disappointed was all the witnesses on my side including myself, the judge ruled that we were all not credible or of little value, which was outrageous.

“The judge threw out almost three hours of my testimony, he threw out all the testimony on my side; it’s pretty hard to win a case when all your testimony is thrown out. The judge did not give any reason why the testimony was thrown out.

“If you ask Bryon Reed, Tom Bartholomew, Joe Wechsler, Kevin Steckel, those were all people who were there when I was hired in 2020 (as borough manager), and they were there for at least the first four years that I was manager. Everyone will tell you that I was hired as an hourly employee.”