LAWRENCE — Nearly two-thirds of the city’s police department may be entitled to payment after a judge’s recent ruling on a civil lawsuit filed over police academy pay.
The ruling designates the lawsuit a class-action suit with 89 of the 146 Police Department members potentially eligible for payment if the suit prevails, according to court records.
The potential financial effect of the suit appears to be unclear to city officials.
The lawsuit was filed in 2024 by attorney Danilo Gomez on behalf of officers who were paid minimum wage and denied overtime to attend the 26-week police academy.
Then, at least 36 police officers hired over a three-year period were believed to be eligible.
On March 5, Judge Elizabeth Dunigan approved “without objection” the broader class-action suit that was filed in Essex Superior Court.
Lawrence officers who attended the police academy since Dec. 9, 2017, are included in the class-action lawsuit, according to Dunigan’s order.
Wage violation complaints have also been filed with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, officials said.
The officers were paid $15 per hour, the minimum hourly wage, to attend the six-month academy and denied overtime pay for work assignments at night or to perform other duties outside the academy, the lawsuit indicates.
The starting pay for a Lawrence police officer is $26.20 per hour, which is more than $54,000 annually, according to city records.
Additionally, Lawrence officers said they attended the academy with officers from other communities that were paid more than $35 hourly during their training, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also comes at a time when law enforcement agencies both locally and nationally are offering lucrative signing bonuses and other hiring perks due to increased criticism and waning interest in policing.
The officers were not members of a Lawrence police union while they attended the academy. However, regional union officials have encouraged them to go after lost wages using their own or a group attorney, according to documents.
In January 2023, the state appeals court ruled several Brewster, Massachusetts, officers who received lower pay while attending the police academy should have been given their police salaries.
The appeals court judges said, after a lengthy review of state law, that “the legislature has consistently required municipal employees attending a police academy to be paid as a police officer.”
Gomez declined comment for this story due to pending litigation.
He was also involved in the class-action lawsuit filed in superior court after the Merrimack Valley Gas Disaster in September 2018. A $143 million settlement was reached for gas disaster victims in Andover, Lawrence and North Andover. The settlement included lump-sum and itemized payments.
A city attorney could not be reached for comment for this article.
Follow staff reporter Jill Harmacinski on Twitter/X @EagleTribJill at Threads at jillyharma.