PITTSBURGH — A federal appeals court has ruled against a group of Butler County Prison corrections officers who sued the county claiming they were not paid overtime.

The lawsuit was initiated by officer Sandra Babcock of Franklin Township in February 2012. She alleged the county had an unlawful wage payment system because she was not paid overtime for 15 minutes of each eight-hour, 15-minute shift.

The court rejected the claim and dismissed the case on Tuesday.

According to the lawsuit, during one-hour meal breaks, when officers are not permitted to leave the prison, they are on call for any emergencies.

Officers are paid for 45 minutes of that hour. The remaining 15 minutes are unpaid.

The suit accused the county of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The complaint alleged Babcock and other officers should have been paid overtime for that 15 minutes each day. Attorney for the plaintiffs, Justin Swidler of Cherry Hill, N.J., initially said the 15-minute unpaid portion of the meal break appeared to be the county’s attempt to prevent overtime compensation for roll call.

Circuit Judge Dolores Sloviter wrote in the court’s opinion that it did not find that the officers were not “primarily engaged in work-related duties” during the 15-minute period in question.

“As a result, we find that they receive the predominant benefit of the time in question and are not entitled to compensation for it under the FLSA,” Sloviter wrote.

Judge Joseph Greenaway Jr. wrote in a dissenting opinion that the plaintiffs’ case should not have been dismissed, saying they had a sufficient claim for overtime.

Seventy-one current and past corrections officers later joined Babcock as plaintiffs.

Swidler declined to comment.

County solicitor Mike English said the county is pleased with the outcome of the case.