The Chattanooga City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a resolution to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by current and retired Chattanooga police officers who claimed they didn't receive promised pay raises.
The lawsuit, filed in September 2016, was the second brought against the city for the same reason.
In August 2016, a Hamilton County jury awarded more than $560,000 to 25 police officers because the city failed to give those officers promised raises and failed to maintain fair conditions of employment.
Both cases stemmed from a yearslong dispute about the police department's pay policies. A training program let officers advance through sub-ranks, from cadet to master patrol officer, earning a 6 percent raise for each promotion.
But because there was no career development program for captains, lieutenants or sergeants, officers began earning equal or higher salaries than their supervisors.
At the center of the original case was a one-page document that was sent out to police personnel in 2010.
The document, signed by then-chief Bobby Dodd, laid out a salary schedule by which sergeants, lieutenants and captains would earn pay raises based on seniority.
The city contended that the document was only a one-time salary adjustment. But the officers disagreed, saying the document promised future raises, and the jury in the original lawsuit agreed with police.
In the Aug. 25 verdict, the 25 officers were awarded back pay for the time they worked without receiving the promised raises. Those original officers each were awarded between $11,000 and $58,000 in back pay.
The class-action lawsuit settled on Tuesday raised the same issues as the original case, with the exception of an age discrimination claim. Officers alleged the city practiced age discrimination when it implemented the officer training program. However, the jury ruled against the officers on that claim.
An attorney representing the officers previously told the Times Free Press the case was filed as a class-action suit because it allows the attorneys to more easily include a large number of plaintiffs in the case.
In the resolution, the city agreed to settle all back pay and retirement claims, totaling $454,405, of the listed 31 police officers, including now-Chief David Roddy.
Of the 31, only six officers will receive a settlement of more than $25,000.
Contact staff writer Rosana Hughes at rhughes@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327 with tips or story ideas. Follow her on Twitter @HughesRosana.