Firefighter appeals disciplinary‑policy changes to commissioners, asks city to follow written HR procedures

Firefighter Matt Meiser appeared before the Paducah Board of Commissioners on June 10 under the city’s employee‑concern policy to appeal management use of a disciplinary decision matrix and a modified counseling form.

Meiser said the department’s longstanding practice was for supervisors to keep dated counseling notes for their own use and to use a formal disciplinary‑action form only beginning at the verbal‑warning stage, citing the city’s HR‑7 progressive‑discipline language. He said a new ‘‘disciplinary decision matrix’’ posted to the department’s training system forwards counseling records to human resources and that the altered process undermines the prior practice.

Meiser told commissioners that counselings historically remained with supervisors and were not forwarded to HR and that he thinks management did not follow the steps in HR‑43 (employee‑concern policy) when the matrix was issued. He asked the commission to require that the city follow existing HR policies and asked that the disciplinary decision matrix be amended to align with HR‑7.

The mayor and commissioners acknowledged receipt of Meiser’s appeal and said they would review the materials; no immediate action or vote took place at the meeting. Meiser provided supplemental documentation to the commission and said he brought the issue as step‑five of the employee‑concern procedure.