Local News in Brief : Back Pay Recommended

The Los Angeles city attorney’s office is recommending that 38 department heads and other top administrators be offered back pay totaling $1 million to settle an old legal dispute over salary raises.

The proposed settlement, which still must be authorized by the City Council, would end a dispute that began in 1977 when the council gave the officials raises that were less than required under the city’s prevailing wage law, which has since been invalidated by voters.

A Superior Court judge sided with the administrators, but the City Council appealed. Now the city attorney’s office is recommending that council members approve the settlement, which would include payments to some current department heads, including Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, who were not in the top jobs in 1977.

Nine of the top officials would receive more than $40,000 each under the settlement.