Greenberg justifies firing top official, calls her claims 'defamatory'

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg defended the firing of his former Deputy Chief of Staff Keisha Dorsey, accusing her of falsifying time sheets and having "repeated unexcused absences."

The claims come after Dorsey said she was in the process of filing two ethics complaints against members the Greenberg administration when she was let go Aug. 7.

Dorsey said she believes the Greenberg administration may have engaged in a pattern of discriminatory behavior "based on race, gender, and age, as well as potential violations of FMLA and ADA protections," according to one of the complaints. She also took issue with a reprimand she received Aug. 5 from Deputy Mayor David James, in a separate complaint.

Greenberg called Dorsey's statements "defamatory and misleading," when asked about Dorsey's allegations at an unrelated press conference Wednesday.

Greenberg spokesperson Kevin Trager had previously said all Metro employees "are expected to be professional and perform their work."

Greenberg expanded on that comment Wednesday, adding attendance was central to Dorsey's dismissal.

"I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt, in giving people second chances," Greenberg said. "However, with repeated unexcused absences, falsifying time sheets to be paid for work that was never done, when there's dishonesty and more — at some point, second, third, fourth and fifth chances run out."

Greenberg added he does not take personnel decisions lightly, but he has a responsibility to be a "steward of taxpayer dollars."

Metro Human Resources is conducting a full investigation into Dorsey's "time sheets, pay stubs, and compliance with all employment policies and laws," the department said.

"I stand anxiously awaiting the facts to the investigations and as to why I was written up," Dorsey told The Courier Journal on Wednesday.

Dorsey made over $160,000 annually, according to publicly available salary data . In a previous interview with The Courier Journal, she said she needed to be out of the office to meet with external partners.

The Courier Journal obtained Dorsey's personnel file through an open records request and found it did not include reprimands about attendance or the discipline letter James gave her Aug. 5, which Trager previously confirmed was legitimate.

"All reprimands related to attendance were done verbally," Trager told The Courier Journal, also saying he would check with open records about why James' letter was not included.

Emails obtained by The Courier Journal between Chief of Staff David Kaplan and Dorsey show her attendance was brought up following a request by Dorsey to have a "constructive dialogue" after a tense interaction.

In an email to Kaplan on Feb. 23, Dorsey said she was concerned about a conversation involving "a false accusation of recording a meeting" and she felt it was "hurtful and dismissive."

"It seems that my reality, when shared with others who do not share my experiences, is often misinterpreted as pessimism," Dorsey's email read. "This realization brought to light the unfortunate label of the 'angry black woman,' where legitimate concerns and frustrations can be misconstrued and unfairly characterized."

"I did not state or imply that you are an 'angry black woman,'" Kaplan wrote in response. "That’s your over-the-top construction and it’s beyond ridiculous."

"After you afforded me your explanation as to why the noise coming out of your phone was not my voice," Kaplan added, referring to a possible recording, "I told you repeatedly that I believed you and that we should move forward."

He went on to say Dorsey was "broadly extrapolating" from the incident that she was not welcome in the office and brought up concerns with her attendance.

"I have a duty to operate a fair and equitable workplace and that means you need to operate according to the same rules as everyone else regarding attendance," Kaplan's email continued. "You will have a full opportunity to explain why, even prior to your surgery, your lack of attendance was noticeable."

In an interview with WDRB , Dorsey said she had surgery the month before the email exchange with Kaplan.

Trager said Kaplan had no further comment on the emails.

Following Wednesday's press conference, Trager sent The Courier Journal timesheets of Dorsey logging work hours between October and November while she was allegedly out of the country and an out-of-office message for the same time period that said she didn't have access to phone or email.

Trager said the time sheets were "self-approved" and Human Resources is conducting a review "to determine whether she was working during this time."

More: Louisville official says she was in the process of filing ethics complaints when fired

Reach reporter Eleanor McCrary at EMcCrary@courier-journal.com or at @ellie_mccrary on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Greenberg justifies firing top official, calls her claims 'defamatory'