Chief Human Resources Office Ed Sisson complained, “Schmitt and Glover intentionally and deceptively severely retaliated against Edward Deas, an African-American Fire Lieutenant, merely because Deas made a written complaint about Glover.”
This has been the complaint that has gotten the most attention in the press. Mayor Hayward has said that it was a factor in his decision to fire Fire Chief Matt Schmitt and Deputy Fire Chief Joe Glover. Because of the weight given to his complaint, I will take the weekend to review and will publish my analysis on Monday.
However, there is one fact that Beggs & Lane attorney Russell Van Sickle overlooked. Lt. Edward Deas is not a union member, but he falls under the collective bargaining agreement. Under that agreement, Deas could have used the union grievance process, even though he wasn’t a member of the union. The mayor, city administrator and chief human resource officer should have immediately referred him to the union and followed the grievance process set forth in that agreement – or, had statement from Deas saying he waived that right:
The agreement states: “Grievances shall be resolved at the lowest supervisory level possible, but only within the customary authority of such succeeding level of supervision. No grievance shall be considered unless it is processed in complete accordance with the following steps:”
STEP 1. There shall be a discussion between the employee and the Battalion Chief involved.
STEP 2. If the grievance is not resolved in Step 1, the Union may, within ten (10) calendar days of the alleged violation, reduce the grievance to writing on a grievance form and present it to the Fire Chief. The grievance form shall specify the particular Article, Section and provision of this Agreement alleged to have been violated, shall contain a complete and detailed statement of the facts upon which the grievance is based, including date of occurrence, shall specify the proposed remedy, shall be signed and dated by the employee or (if applicable) by his Union representative. Grievances submitted which do not contain the above information shall be considered null and void. Upon receipt of the grievance, the Chief or his designee shall record the time and date of receipt, shall consider the written grievance, shall investigate the same to the extent he chooses, and shall resolve or deny the grievance within ten (10) calendar days.
STEP 3. If the Union is dissatisfied with the decision rendered in Step 2, and the Union desires to further pursue the grievance, it shall present a letter of appeal to the City Administrator or his designee within ten (10) calendar days following the decision of the Fire Chief or his designee on the grievance in Step 2. The City Administrator or his designee shall consider the written grievance, investigate the same to the extent he chooses, and resolve or deny the grievance within fifteen (15) calendar days.
STEP 4. Within ten (10) calendar days following the decision by the City Administrator or his designee, if the Union chooses to proceed further on the grievance, it shall present to the City Administrator or his designee a written request for a Step 4 meeting concerning the grievance, to which shall be attached copies of the written grievance submitted in Step 2 and Step 3 letter of appeal. A meeting shall be held at the convenience of the parties between the grievant, the grievant’s Union representative (if applicable), and the City Administrator or his designee and their representative, and the City Administrator or his designee shall resolve or deny the grievance within fifteen (15) calendar days.
Van Sickle did not mention why the city failed to follow this grievance process or get a waiver from Deas, which is odd because he refers to the collective bargaining agreement several times in other parts of the report.
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So in summary, Chief Human Resources Office Ed Sisson made six complaints that prompted Mayor Hayward to put Fire Chief Matt Schmitt and Deputy Fire Chief Joe Glover on paid administrative leave for 98 days and hire an attorney to investigate. The subsequent report led him to lose confidence in the two leaders.
After reading the report and the exhibits, these are my findings for each complaint.
• Deviated from hiring protocol for the recent firefighter hiring round in late January 2016 No written procedures, inexperienced battalion chief running the process for first time without HR. Glover not involved in the decision about interview panel. Glover passed all eight applicants.
• Retaliation against Lt. Edward Deas Why did City not follow union grievance process? More to come.
• Poorly managed a “Firefighter Apprenticeship Program,†and Glover’s alleged poor judgment in renting a BMW 5 series for in-state travel for two persons Nothing done wrong, according to Van Sickle
• Raise requests for the battalion chiefs Fault found with Sisson, Olson, Schmitt and Glover, according to Van Sickle
• Remarks at Firefighters Annual Awards ceremony Sisson was not mentioned by name, according to Van Sickle. Olson should have handled this.
• Glover improperly tried to obstruct a random drug test. Glover questioned his selection, was given erroneous information, but took the test, according to Van Sickle.
Only one out of the six complaints warrants further analysis – Deas’ complaint. Â Stay tuned.