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Council panel adopts substitute asking mayor and HR to address complaints at Emergency Communications
Summary
A council panel voted 5–2 to adopt a substitute resolution asking the mayor and human-resources officials to address employee complaints about leadership and a workplace culture at the Department of Emergency Communications; legal counsel and Metro HR urged following civil-service procedures while an external investigator is working.
A Government Operations & Regulations meeting adopted a substitute resolution asking the mayor's office and human-resources staff to pursue accountability and oversight at the Department of Emergency Communications after complaint allegations about Director Steve Martini.
The substitute passed by voice and roll-call tally, recorded in the transcript as 5 in favor and 2 opposed. Supporters described a pattern of employee complaints alleging a toxic work environment, intimidation and retaliation and urged council action after several staff members said prior reporting to HR did not produce results.
"He is protected by civil service. He has rights, and there's a process that the law requires people to follow," said legal counsel Mister Deese, warning that discipline taken outside the appointing authority or civil-service rules could expose Metro to liability.
Shannon Hall, speaking for Metro HR, told the body that "outside of what is being investigated currently by Luther Wright, MetroHR does not have any filed complaints or anonymous complaints for which we could investigate that we have not already investigated," and reiterated that the civil-service complaint process prohibits retaliation.
Supporters of the substitute said employees had reported incidents to HR and the mayor's office without satisfactory outcomes. Jennifer Joy, who introduced the resolution changes, recounted that employees expected anonymity in an electronic survey but said the director had access to survey responses and that some staff experienced panic or anxiety while performing 911 duties. "When I saw him the next day and I asked him, is that not intimidation? He said, 'that's perceived intimidation,'" Joy said.
Mayor's-office counsel said a public complaint filed Nov. 5 prompted the administration to engage investigator Luther Wright; the counsel said Wright's scope includes examining Metro's response to prior complaints and that a report was expected by the end of the year. "As soon as Hannah McGuire did that, within hours, we engaged Luther Wright to do his report," the counsel said.
The resolution, as adopted in substitute form, removes earlier language about creating an electronic HR complaint system and instead asks the administration to continue appropriate accountability steps while respecting civil-service process. The council recorded the substitute's passage and noted the ongoing external investigation; the next procedural step will depend on findings from Luther Wright's review and any further actions by Metro HR or the mayor's office.
