Neither the City of Winfield nor the City of Arkansas City has any sort of formal grievance policy for employees wishing to challenge a firing or other issue, although other local government entities have such policies on their books.
The issue has come to the forefront after the City of Winfield denied former police officer Sean Skov’s request last month for an appeal process and the city attorney told Skov he found no basis to allow a hearing before the commission.
Skov was fired May 24 after a video of a traffic stop involving Jeremy “Rudy” Samuel went viral, prompting claims of racism and violation of Samuel’s Fourth Amendment rights. Samuel has sued the city for $1 million, while Skov’s attorneys have argued that the former officer acted lawfully.The grievance section of the City of Winfield employee handbook was removed because the policy was “antiquated and rarely used,” according to Jamie Chism, City of Winfield human resources director. The changes were not protested, and there is no mandate from the state or federal government to provide a grievance process.
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