Metro Government pay mistake could be 'devastating' to Louisville workers, unions say

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Leaders of three unions representing Louisville Metro Government employees say they were notified Friday morning of a city mistake concerning premium pay that could be "devastating" for some workers.

The city's Office of Management and Budget and its Human Resources department "failed to realize" that the premium pay offered to Metro Government employees amid the COVID-19 pandemic "should be considered wages," said Saulette Davis, Katherine Skaggs and Daniel Johnson, the presidents of AFSCME #2629, AFSCME #3425 and FOP Lodge 77, respectively, in a Friday statement.

The three unions represent Metro employees, Louisville Free Public Library staff and Metro Corrections officers, respectively.

"Because of this mistake, withholdings required for County Employees Retirement System (CERS) were not made," the presidents said. "Metro is now forced to take that money from each employee's paycheck to make up for this mistake."

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Jessica Wethington, spokeswoman for Mayor Greg Fischer, said the deduction ranges from $12.50 to $200 and “will be spread over five weeks” and that OMB and HR "believed based on past practice that premium pay would be exempt from" the CERS withholdings.

"Unfortunately, CERS has notified Louisville Metro Government that these payments are considered wages and, for that reason, are subject to CERS withholdings," Wethington told The Courier Journal in a statement that echoed what Chief Financial Officer Monica Harmon told Metro Government employees in an email. "…We regret this inconvenience to employees, but the city is obligated to collect and pay these deductions to the state. By completing this adjustment over two pay cycles, the city hopes to minimize any burden on employees."

The premium pay came from a slice of Louisville's American Rescue Plan funding that Fischer and Metro Council set aside last year. Specifically, about $21 million was approved for bonuses ranging from $500 to $5,000.

To collect the entire bonus, workers must provide proof of vaccination or an "authorized waiver" excluding them. The categories for the bonus tiers were:

• $5,000 for all essential "public safety-qualified" employees (Fischer described this category as departments such as corrections, fire, police, EMS and sanitation, or "folks that were really, face-to-face on the front line with the pandemic);
• $1,500 for other essential workers; and
• $500 to all other city employees.

Deductions of up to $200 will be made "to cover this mistake" by the city, the union leaders said Friday.

"While this seems like a small sum compared to the Premium pay, Metro has employees making less than $14.00 an hour," they wrote. "The unbudgeted deduction could be devastating. Even when Louisville Metro has a chance to take care of its people, it finds a way to hurt them."

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The presidents added that employees "want answers."

"This is OMB's mistake," they wrote. "They should be held responsible and tasked with a solution that doesn't involve forcing economic hardship upon Metro employees."

“They shouldn’t take the additional money from us,” Michelle Sogan, a Metro Corrections officer, told The Courier Journal.

Tracy Dotson, a Metro Corrections officer and training instructor who also serves as a spokesman for the FOP union, also said the mistake violates federal rules on taking pension payments out of the premium pay and comes as staff continue to quit "weekly" amid deteriorating conditions at the jail.

"It's just one more thing," Dotson said. "...It's angered a lot of people."

Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com.