Maricopa County was hit Monday with a lawsuit asking for $8 million in unpaid overtime for jail detention officers.

The suit came when union leaders and the County Board of Supervisors failed to reach a settlement recently, said Katie Perez, a detention officer and spokeswoman for the Maricopa County Association of Detention Officers.

"This has been months and months in process," Perez said.

Detention officers weren't paid from November 2007 until March for 15-minute briefings they were required to attend at the beginning of their shifts, according to the lawsuit.

A 10-page document titled "MCSO Historical Analysis," which was prepared by the county's Office of Management and Budget, states the sheriff's office spent its entire overtime budget for fiscal year 2007-08 in the first quarter, and the budget for running the jail system was $2.3 million over the budget in the same period.

Perez said the overtime ended at that point, but not the 15-minute briefings before shift.

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