Mo. probation, parole officers demand back pay

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri probation and parole officers say they want back pay that the courts have said the state owes them.

The workers rallied Tuesday in Kansas City and St. Louis, saying Corrections Department Director Larry Crawford has ignored the court orders.

In 2003, the probation and parole officers were excluded from a statewide cost-of-living increase. A Cole County judge ruled in 2005 that the officers should not have been excluded. An appeals court upheld that ruling last year.

The workers say they are owed $4.4 million, or an average of $3,600 per officer.