The City of Houston is set to pay $2.1 million in back pay to several hundreds of firefighters, Law360 reported. A Texas court of appeals agreed upon the figure, which will help pay for termination and retirement fees. The 14th District Court of Appeals granted the motion to pay 787 firefighters, including lead plaintiff Steve Williams, for past-due time and attendance payments and overtime compensation.

This decision comes after a series of appeals by the city against the overtime cases. After hundreds of cases were filed and many won by retired firefighters seeking payments and damages, the city of Houston launched a legal campaign against the rulings.

The city argued that the termination payments for firefighters were properly determined based on their salary, which did not include premium pay. It further stated the payment plans granted the city discretion in deciding whether to include termination fees and other benefits to firefighters.

The courts disagreed, instead ruling that Houston was obligated by state law to pay termination fees, overtime payments and other financial benefits to firefighters. As a result of the cases, most firefighters will be paid substantially for back payments as part of a settlement with the city.

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