SPRINGFIELD – Attorneys representing the city of Westfield in a lawsuit filed by nearly 20 current Police Department officers alleging wage theft has asked a Superior Court judge to dismiss portions of the lawsuit.
Last September, Springfield-based attorney Jeffrey Morneau with Connor & Morneau representing 19 current officers of the department, alleges the city failed to pay them “regular wages” during their training at the state’s police academy before they began their careers as certified law enforcement officers, according to the original complaint filed in Hampden County Superior Court.
The lawsuit is based largely on a state Appellate Court decision in January 2023 – known as the Brewster decision — that found the Town of Brewster had violated state law when it paid officers who were attending the academy less than the regular wages paid to the regular patrol officers, the position to which they were appointed.
