Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond speaks to the media in this file photo.A Tennessee Court of Appeals decision issued Wednesday ruled Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond must equalize the pay of sergeants in the department after a grievance was filed.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the matter be sent back to the Civil Service Advisory Board. The board must instruct Hammond in writing what “necessary steps to take to eliminate the disparity” in pay for the department’s 19 sergeants.
“It is for the sheriff to determine how this goal is to be achieved, but – the grievance in this case having been sustained – the goal must be achieved,” the opinion states.
Six of the sergeants, Chris Harvey, Ricky Jones, Mark King, Mark Kimsey, Mark Williams and Jody Mays, filed a grievance because the salaries ranged from $43,867 to $49,840.
“We think it was a favorable ruling from the court of appeals,” said Hal North, an attorney with Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, who represented the sergeants. “We await further action by the sheriff to resolve this.”