ACTION REQUESTED:
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Communication from the City Manager and Corporation Counsel with a Request to APPROVE a SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT and Release, in Exchange for the Resignation of JEREMY LAYMAN.
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BACKGROUND:
Officer Jeremy Layman was terminated from employment with the City of Peoria Police Department on February 20, 2018, after an internal investigation into his conduct determined he had violated multiple provisions of the Rules and Regulations of the City of Peoria Police Department. The internal investigation concluded that Layman had posted information to social media wherein he (1) engaged in conduct that brought the department into disrepute; (2) had not engaged in conduct with the public that would foster public respect and cooperation; and (3) released or divulged investigation information or other information concerning the activities of the City of Peoria Police Department.
On February 21, 2018, Layman filed a grievance, Grievance No. 18-01, to contest his termination. The Peoria Police Benevolent Association went through the grievance process per the collective bargaining agreement for Grievance No. 18-01. Each time, the termination of Layman was upheld by the City.
On July 20, 2018, Layman, represented by the PPBA's legal counsel, filed a Complaint for Declaratory Judgment in the Central District, Case No. 18-CV-01269, asking the Court to "declare that some, most or all of the Plaintiffs activities for which he was terminated were protected speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution." On November 8, 2018, the Honorable Judge McDade issued an Order denying the request for Declaratory Judgment.
As the matter was unresolved by the parties, a grievance arbitration between the City and PPBA was conducted on June 4, 2019, regarding the termination of Layman in front of the Arbitrator Gibbons. The issue agreed to be arbitrated pursuant to the CBA between the City and the PPBA was "If there was just cause to terminate...
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