For eight years, Emmanuel Gyamfi, a City Seasonal Aide at the 79th Street Boat Basin, worked 48 hours a week. He kept the docks clear, maintained the buoys and watched over expensive yachts and sailboats moored along the river’s edge.

As a seasonal worker and part-time student, Mr. Gyamfi counted himself lucky to get steady, year-round work. He welcomed the extra hours because CSAs usually work just nine months out of the year. And he enjoyed the tranquil vistas he saw as the sun rose and set over the Hudson.

But it was not all smooth sailing.

The Parks Dept. assigned Mr. Gyamfi 13 extra weeks a year and eight hours a week of overtime, but when he received his weekly paycheck, it was short. That’s because the department calculated his pay for all 48 hours at straight time.

Mr. Gyamfi never received the time-and-a-half rate city employees are entitled to when they work overtime. Union reps estimate that Mr. Gyamfi was cheated out of at least $16,000 in earned overtime.

After a visit to DC 37 headquarters to discuss a title change, Mr. Gyamfi casually informed Local 983 President Mark Rosenthal of his ongoing pay dispute with Parks. The union jumped into action and Council Rep Anthony Mammalello called Labor Relations at Parks to rectify matters.

“It was common sense. Here’s a man who is being paid straight time, but who clocked eight extra hours a week,” Mr. Mammalello said. “He should have been paid at time-and-a-half for all those extra hours he worked.”

Under most circumstances, the union would file a grievance, but this time all it took was a phone call.

Since Mr. Gyamfi waited more than eight years before he pointed out the error, he lost two years worth of overtime wages. The six-year statute of limitations prevented him from recovering his full loss. Still, the four extra hours of wages every week for six years amounted to more than $12,000 in back pay, which Mr. Gyamfi was recently awarded.