City settles out-of-court with police sergeants

The city will pay $150,000 to 19 sergeants named as plaintiffs in the case of Grant Dorrell et al. vs. City of Springfield in U.S. District Court, according to a city news release.

The city also will consider the position of police sergeant to be nonexempt and eligible for overtime pay effective Dec. 23. The case involved different interpretations of the position of sergeant under the federal Fair Labor Standards Acts.

The plaintiffs had sought $260,000 in back pay along with liquidated damages, attorneys’ fees, court costs and equitable relief.

Each party is responsible for its own litigation costs and attorneys fees. The payments will be considered compensation and will be subject to normally required withholdings; they will be made on Dec. 27 paychecks.

The agreement was reached after negotiation and nonbinding mediation and did not make it to trial in U.S. District Court.