A suspension appeal from an OUPD lieutenant was rejected earlier this month in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
After Lieutenant Chris Johnson attempted to appeal a two-day, unpaid suspension he received in 2013 from the Ohio University Police Department to The State Personnel Board of Review, a Franklin County judge ruled earlier this month that the suspension was properly asserted.
The Board had previously declined to hear Johnson’s case, court documents show, stating that they could only hear appeals of suspensions longer than three days. Johnson then turned to the Franklin County Common Pleas Court, where his case was heard by Judge Kim Brown.
Johnson had been on paid administrative leave from August 2012 to July 2013 while the University investigated a complaint, issued by a female, which alleged that Johnson had engaged in inappropriate conduct while on duty, a previous Post report said.
Following the suspension, where Johnson was paid for a typical 40-hour work week and was required to be on call a total of 45 hours a week, the lieutenant was further suspended for two unpaid work days due to accusations alleged by the university that Johnson had engaged in misuse of OU property, as well as neglecting duties, and lying while under investigation for both the initial complaint and subsequent conduct.
Johnson had attempted to appeal the suspension, pairing it with two lawsuits toward the University, where he claimed that OU had breached their contract by defaming him in false light. He asked that OU compensate his pay and liquidated damages, as well as compensatory damages and any other relief deemed “just and fair” by the court, a previous Post report said.
He argued that, because he had been on call 45 hours a week, but was only paid for 40, the accumulated unpaid hours met the three-day suspension requirement that would allow the Board jurisdiction to hear his appeal.
Court documents show that Johnson did not appeal to the Board based on reductions of pay. However, Johnson still has two lawsuits pending against the university in federal court and the Ohio Court of Claims, both of which claiming that the university owes him money that he should have earned during the paid leave.
@Eockerman
eo300813@ohio.edu
