Abbeville Police officers sue city in pay dispute
A group of Abbeville Police officers have filed a lawsuit against the City of Abbeville alleging they were not paid what they were owed.
ABBEVILLE, La. (KLFY) -- A group of Abbeville Police officers have filed a lawsuit against the City of Abbeville alleging they were not paid what they were owed.
The 11 officers, named in the lawsuit as Timothy Bourque, Chris Hardy, Lester Luquette, Jeremy DeVille, Brittany Hebert, Eugene Rougeaux, Scott Roberson, Tracy Sonnier, Robert Riggs, Randall Nugier and Rodney Vincent, "have not received a pay increase in accordance with the pay schedules outlined" in Louisiana law.
The law cited requires:
- A police officer first class shall receive a minimum monthly salary of not less than fifteen percent above that of a police officer.
- A sergeant shall receive a minimum monthly salary of not less than twenty-five percent above that of a police officer.
- A lieutenant shall receive a minimum monthly salary of not less than fifty percent above that of a police officer.
Abbeville increased the pay scale of its police department in February 2023, bumping the starting salary from $26,000 to $40,000. The lawsuit alleges those named in the suit did not receive the above percentages over $40,000.
"Plaintiffs salaries are also below the minimum monthly salary after considering the statutorily mandated two (2%) percent longevity increase required under La. R.S. 33:2212(F)(2)," the lawsuit reads.
The suit alleges that the issue was brought to the attention of the mayor and city council in October, but was rejected in a vote during an executive session of the council.
The 11 plaintiffs are asking for money "in a sum equal to the amount of wages and benefits they have been deprived of due to the City of Abbeville's adoption of the unlawful pay schedule, together with legal interest on all wages and benefits from the date those wages and benefits were due."
According to a copy of the suit obtained by KLFY, the suit was filed with the Vermilion Parish Clerk of Court on Dec. 1 by the Landry Law Firm of Lafayette.
Read the entire lawsuit below:
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