A federal judge in Pennsylvania has rejected several arguments by a western Pennsylvania airport to dismiss a K-9 police officer's suit claiming the facility failed to adequately compensate him for the time he spent caring for his canine partner outside of work hours. However, due to a lack of necessary details in the complaint, the judge ultimately agreed to dismiss the officer's claims for now, but give him the opportunity to further flesh out his complaint.

In an Aug. 15 opinion, U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter of the Western District of Pennsylvania granted the Erie Regional Airport Authority's motion to dismiss former K-9 officer Jason Morell's claims for unjust enrichment and alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Pennsylvania's Wage Payment and Collection law and the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act.