Fayette County won’t change grievance procedure

A proposal to revise how Fayette County employee grievances are processed was rejected by the Board of Commissioners on Nov. 8 by a 2-3 vote. Charles Rousseau raised the issue, with support from Steve Brown, saying that County Administrator Steve Rapson should not be the initial point of contact for grievances because he is also the final arbiter of them.

Rousseau suggested that supervisors, department heads or a committee should fill that role. However, County Attorney Dennis Davenport and Human Resources Director Lewis Patterson said that per current policy, Rapson only determines whether a grievance is actionable based on five criteria but does not decide the merits. Davenport said complaints related to discipline or harassment are already treated differently from other matters, such as safety or discrimination, that are classified as grievances.