Richardson County hires special counsel after union petitions over GPS, AI cameras

The Richardson County Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday to retain special legal counsel to handle two grievances filed by road-department employees and a related petition by NAPE AFSCME Local 61 seeking temporary relief from the implementation of a GPS and AI-integrated camera system.

Commissioner Campbell moved to retain attorney Jerry Pigsley to represent the county; the motion was seconded by Chairman Caverzagie and passed on a 3-0 roll call vote (Karas-aye, Campbell-aye, Caverzagie-aye). The action followed an executive session held at 10:02 a.m. with Mr. Pigsley and County Attorney Samantha Scheitel in attendance.

The union petition, filed with the Nebraska Commission of Industrial Relations as Case #1592, requests a court order temporarily prohibiting Richardson County from implementing GPS and/or AI-integrated camera systems on county equipment. According to the materials submitted to the Board, the union seeks temporary relief and submitted a notice of petition, motion for temporary relief, and supporting briefs and discovery materials.

Board materials and the petition on the county website note that the county has already equipped all county vehicles with dash cameras and installed GPS systems on heavy equipment for liability reduction and maintenance record-keeping. The Board’s retention of outside counsel will cover representation on both the employee grievances and the commission petition, the motion said.

Two grievances related to road-department conduct are also before the county. Employee Roger Glathar’s grievance disputes a verbal reprimand; in his written statement he wrote, “I DISAGREE.” Employee Bryan Dettmann’s grievance relates to a written reprimand alleging he was found sleeping in a running maintainer; his written response states, “I AGREE” with the employer’s account, according to the grievance documents posted by the county.

The county clerk’s public records page includes the full grievance filings and the union’s petition. The Board said it will rely on counsel and the Nebraska Commission of Industrial Relations process to resolve the petition and any related prohibited-practice claims.