According to lawyers with the union IAFF 2596, Fire Chief Charles Hanley is to blame for a staffing shortage in Jackson County Fire District 5 which serves over 20,000 residents in Phoenix, Talent and unincorporated areas of Ashland.
They claimed the district has lost five union employees in the last two years, with at least four more expected to quit soon, and that low staffing could jeopardize the public’s safety by delaying fire response time.
Documents and emails from the union’s legal team sent to the district board said one cause of the shortage is Hanley’s unfair hiring and promoting practices. Besides unreasonable delays in the process, they claimed Hanley weighted his interviews in a way that allowed him to reject candidates, which is against the district’s legal requirement to hire on merit and has resulted in mistrust of the system.
During a special meeting of the fire district board on Feb. 20, board member Derek Volkart unsuccessfully attempted to have the chief placed on administrative leave while the allegations are investigated, according to the Rogue Valley Times.
Chief Hanley is also accused of denying or canceling employee vacation in a way that “appeared retaliatory and without proper justification.”
After employees made claims of harassment and bullying in the district, Hanley hired a third party consultant to investigate. According to the union’s lawyers, Hanley told the investigator he had handled the issues related to improper workplace conduct before the investigation had been completed.
“Because the Chief failed to address this inappropriate conduct in the workplace, the conduct continued and is still happening today,” said the letter drafted by Sarah Drescher of Tedesco Law Group.
Hanley also allegedly contacted a female firefighter directly to discuss harassment.
“Chief Hanley suggested that, if she felt harassed, the female firefighter could be placed on administrative leave or work from home,” said Drescher in the letter.
In a statement, Chief Hanley said the district takes seriously its responsibility to treat all employees fairly.
“Matters involving employees, especially those involving discipline or accusations of wrongdoing, are rarely simple. In order to weigh the facts and ensure a fair outcome for all employees, a thorough review needs to take place,” said Hanley.
Union representation said they are willing to address issues through negotiation rather than litigation.
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