Lawsuit Claims Retaliation For Equipment Complaints

A Lexington-Fayette (Ken.) 911 dispatcher has filed a lawsuit in state court alleging the agency gave her poor performance reviews in retaliation for her complaints about faulty computer equipment that she claims put police officers in jeopardy. Amy Ross says she made formal complaints about the equipment over three years, and even offered help fund equipment replacements through car washes or other fund-raising events. But the agency refused to repair the gear and, Ross’ lawsuit claims, and was given poor evaluations for “refusing” 911 calls during her shift. The agency uses a automatic call distribution system (ACD) to handling incoming calls, and dispatchers must log in to begin receiving calls. Calls that are “refused” roll over to another calltaker. Ross says she was always prepared to answer 911 calls, but that the faulty equipment prevented calls from being routed to her. The lawsuit also claims that the 911 call audit on which her evaluations was based came from a firm listed in “bad standing” with the state. Read more about the situation here, and download (pdf) her lawsuit here. Update: Two weeks later a second dispatcher filed a similar lawsuit alleging retaliation.