Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart is seeking the termination of correctional officer Alexander Perteete due to fraudulent use of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
Perteete, who was hired as a correctional officer in 2004 and has worked in multiple divisions in the Cook County Department of Corrections (CCDOC), was approved for FMLA in September 2015 after submitting documentation from his medical practitioner related to an intermittent medical condition.
An investigation by the Sheriff’s Office of Professional Review (OPR), found that between Jan. 1, 2016 and July 13, 2017, Perteete called in FMLA more than 60 times either before or after a regular day off or vacation time (14 times), on a Sunday (21 times), on a Saturday (16 times) and on a Monday (10 times).
Specifically, the Investigation discovered that Perteete used FMLA to miss work, supplement vacations and attend holiday events. On May 8, 2016 – Mother’s Day – Perteete called in FMLA to excuse himself from a shift starting at 3 pm. OPR investigators found that at 2:41 pm he posted a link on Facebook to an NBC5 news story about correctional officer call-offs at the Cook County Jail on Mother’s Day. Later that afternoon, Perteete posted a video on Facebook from the Ameristar Casino in East Chicago, Indiana and claimed in the comments that his mother was “hitting it big” at the casino on Mother’s Day.
Investigators also found Perteete called off work using FMLA while vacationing on trips to Miami and Cancun.
In addition, from April 2012 to August 2017, Perteete had full-time secondary employment at Health Resource Solutions (HRS). Investigators found that Perteete called in FMLA 11 times to excuse himself from a shift at CCDOC, while he was finishing a shift at HRS.
Effective immediately, Perteete has been suspended from his position at CCDOC without pay.