LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As a former top official in Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg's administration maintains she was discriminated against and wrongly fired while on medical leave, the Mayor's office is putting attendance at the center of the issue.
Greenberg's ex-deputy chief of staff, Keisha Dorsey, was fired last week, setting off a firestorm of allegations.
She's calling for an ethics investigation into the Mayor's office for discrimination, citing a hostile work environment disproportionately affecting women and minority leaders.
In a statement sent to WHAS11 Tuesday, Greenberg's team said, "Ms. Dorsey was terminated for a pattern of misconduct and job performance issues, that followed a long history of repeated unexcused absences."
"All of us, myself included, need to be accountable to who we work for -- which is the people of Louisville. And we are stewards of taxpayer dollars that have a responsibility to excel at our work and to meet professional standards," Greenberg told WHAS11 on Friday, two days after Dorsey was let go.
In a Tuesday phone call with WHAS11, Dorsey disputed comments about her work attendance, saying even when she wasn't in the office, she was still working and sending emails.
"There are days my computer just does not work, and I still send emails [from my phone], so that's their way of trying to get around saying, 'You didn't log in.' Check my emails," Dorsey said.
At well-known Bishop Dennis Lyons' weekly roundtable last Friday, Dorsey told community members, "We will take down a corrupt administration that is trying to oppress the voices of women."
Meanwhile, we obtained a February email exchange between Dorsey and David Kaplan -- Greenberg's chief of staff, general counsel and Dorsey's former supervisor,
In the emails, Dorsey voices concern over workplace culture, writing, "It seems that my reality, when shared with others who do not share my experiences, is often misinterpreted as pessimism."
She also told Kaplan, "It is of utmost importance to me that we cultivate a workplace culture that encourages open communication and understanding, rather than creating distance and fostering negativity."
Kaplan later responds, in part saying, "I would like you to consider whether you are perhaps making a serious error by interpreting mere disagreement as being dismissive or, worse, as a derogatory attack."
Kaplan closed the email telling Dorsey, "You will have a full opportunity to explain why, even prior to your surgery, your lack of attendance was noticeable."
Also at issue is what Dorsey calls a three-week sabbatical she took late last year, with her own email records noting a time period from Oct. 29, 2023 to Nov. 19, 2023 where she'd be out of the office, 'without access to phone or email.'
Time sheets obtained by WHAS11 reveal she did record working hours through a significant portion of that span.
Dorsey maintains that PTO was approved and the Mayor's office knew about it beforehand.
Another email exchange shows Kaplan telling Dorsey, "I recently learned that you are out of the country. I noticed the entry on my calendar last week, but we had not discussed it so I was caught a bit off guard."
"When they say it wasn't approved, that's bogus," Dorsey said on Tuesday.
The Mayor's office says Dorsey first requested and was approved for Family and Medical Leave on March 19 this year. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, "an employer is prohibited from discriminating or retaliating against an employee or prospective employee for having exercised or attempted to exercise any FMLA right."
Dorsey says this should exempt her from being terminated.
It's worth noting, the email exchange between Dorsey and Kaplan where he notes her 'lack of attendance' is from February, before she was on FMLA.
The Louisville Metro Ethics Commission will review Dorsey's complaints at its next meeting this Thursday, and then decide what steps, if any, to take.
►Contact senior reporter Isaiah Kim-Martinez at IKimMartin@whas11.com or on Facebook or X.
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