A federal judge said today that potentially thousands of former BellSouth field workers can sue the telecommunications company for an estimated $1 billion in unpaid overtime.

The suing workers say that until 2007, BellSouth field managers were paid overtime if they worked more than 40 hours a week. But after AT&T bought BellSouth in September of that year, the overtime payments were stopped, even though the field managers were required to work as much as 70 hours a week.

Chief U.S. District Judge Julie Carnes in Atlanta classified the case as a class action, opening up the overtime claims to all potentially affected workers in the Southeast, including hundreds of workers in North Carolina.

The workers could be owed more than $100,000, said Steven Wittels, the New York lawyer handling the case.

DURHAM -- A city audit has found at least $60,000 in overtime paid to a Durham police officer "was not justifiable or reasonable" and that lax oversight by department officials contributed to the abuse.

Deputy Chief B.J. Council, who signed off on the overtime, will retire as of Dec. 31, Police Chief Jose Lopez said this afternoon. Beginning Monday, Council will be on personal leave until the end of the year. She is a 31-year veteran of the Durham police, Lopez said.