Here at MOCOA are pleased to announce the passage of our overtime legislation, House Committee substitute for HB 1090.

Late yesterday the Senate passed the bill that will not allow the mandatory flexing off of time worked in excess of your normal assigned shift. As most of you know the flexing issue led to a long, drawn out lawsuit between your Association and the Department of Corrections, which we eventually won.

Although this issue was addressed in our work agreement it also needed to be placed into law to prevent future issues. By placing it into law Officers will now be allowed to retain and collect their overtime rather than being forced to flex it off.

This legislation could make a huge difference in a Corrections Officers yearly income by allowing the collection of overtime pay.

Many thanks are owed to Rep. McCaherty and Sen. Munzlinger for sponsoring this legislation for us. Please send them a thank you. Thanks also  to our lobbyists Harry Hill and Mike Michelson for their efforts in getting this done.

This legislation is on the Governors’ desk awaiting his signature.

House Bill 1090 dealing with the overtime law changes has been voted out of committee in the senate and now goes to the floor for a vote by the full senate.

Senate Bill 826 which creates hazardous duty pay for corrections officers has also been passed out of committee to the full senate to be voted on. If passed this bill will then go to the House to be voted on.

Remember that contacting your legislators asking them to support this legislation is very important. Please take the time to contact them and ask them to pass the above legislation.

Thank you for your support,
Gary Gross, MOCOA Executive Director

It is time for the MOCOA annual scholarship program again. The graduating high school student must be a child / dependent child or grandchild of a current member. MOCOA must receive the student’s scholarship application packet in their offices no later than May 23, 2014 to be eligible. The packet MUST include the following:

• A letter from the MOCOA member who is sponsoring the child. It should include why they think the student is a good candidate for a scholarship and how they are related to the child.
• A 500 word essay written by the child. The subject of this essay should be: “Is Your Federal Government Working For Or Against You?” Please explain and give examples of your opinion.
• Three letters of recommendation from other members of the community (clergy, teachers, business owners, etc.) A listing of grade point averages, special training, extracurricular activities, volunteer work, employment, the college that the student is hoping to attend and which field they plan to go into after college graduation.

Remember to have a cover sheet that includes the child’s name, phone number and address, the sponsor’s name, phone and address, including work institution. Include the name, address and phone number of the school they current attend with the dates of graduation ceremonies.
All of the above information is required and should be included to avoid being disqualified. Unfortunately, several scholarship packets have been disqualified in the past due to not submitting all required information. Mail Scholarship packet to:

MOCOA
7141 Business 50 West
Jefferson City, Mo 65109

Packets received after May 24, 2013 will be disqualified.