A lawsuit over whether Denver police are being properly compensated, including a dispute over whether they should be paid for the time it takes to dress for work, can move forward to trial, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch on Tuesday granted the city's request for summary judgment on two of the 10 claims sought by 856 police officers but ruled that the rest should go to a bench trial.

The judge also ruled that the time it takes officers to put on and take off their uniforms and equipment is compensable, but he gave the city the right to argue at trial that such activity is so insubstantial or insignificant that it should not merit pay.

"The judge's ruling could have a significant impact on the city budget at a time when we already face an $80 million deficit," said Eric Brown, spokesman for Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, in a prepared statement.

Such "donning and doffing" lawsuits are cropping up across the country with mixed results. In a Richmond, Va., case, a federal judge rejected a similar claim. The city of Oakland, Calif., recently settled such a suit filed by officers by giving extra vacation time and awarding cash payments to officers who were part of that lawsuit but have since retired.

In Denver, the officers also want compensation for time spent cleaning and maintaining uniforms and equipment, time spent cleaning and maintaining department vehicles and time spent before and after shifts on various work-related activities, such as writing reports.

The city has said officers receive a lump sum to maintain uniforms and equipment negotiated in their collective-bargaining agreement, and the judge granted in favor of the city on that claim. In 2007, the year the lawsuit was filed, that pay was $700.

The judge also ruled in favor of the city on the claim that officers should be paid to wash and clean their cars. He said such duties sometimes are performed by trustees from the city jail.