BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON -- A fired Taylor Mill fire inspector is fighting her dismissal, saying the city let her go without telling her exactly what she did wrong.
But officials say Rebecca Traylor, who worked for the Taylor Mill Fire Department, knows exactly what happened. They have it on videotape.
Ms. Traylor's dismissal came after an investigation by the state workers' compensation bureau, Mayor Mark Kreimborg said Sunday. She filed for benefits with them, saying an injury left her unable to move and bend in ways that were necessary to do her job.
But the state investigators produced 90 minutes of videotape showing her doing some of the things she said she could not, the mayor said.
Attorneys for Ms. Traylor, Curtis Hatfield and Nicholas Nighswander, filed a complaint against the city in Kenton Circuit Court on Friday. They are appealing the city's action and filed a request for a jury trial.
They allege that the April 10 hearing city council held to determine whether Ms. Traylor committed misconduct was flawed because she was never given specifics about the misconduct alleged.
She was only told of her dismissal orally, the complaint said. The city was willful and malicious, the attorneys alleged in asking for a hearing on new evidence, reinstatement with back pay and money to cover the costs of their legal work.
The punishment outweighed the alleged violations, the complaint said, and violates the state and federal constitutions.
