KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Three Knoxville Police Department sergeants are suing the city, claiming they’ve been underpaid ever since the city revamped it’s emergency responder payment plan.
The three sergeants — Barry Scott Coffey, Matthew W. Gentry and James N. Lockmiller — claim in the lawsuit that they were placed on the wrong “step” in the city’s pay scale. As such, they claim they’ve been underpaid for years and are demanding compensation.
The plan was approved by city council and enacted in the city’s 2022 and 2023 budget. It enacted the step-based plan, which places employees of the police department in specific categories that decide how much they take home each year. In some ways, an employee’s “step” corresponds with how long they’ve held their current position; that’s what Coffey, Gentry and Lockmiller have issues with…