Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 90.360 (2026)

Dismissal, suspension, or reduction -- Exclusions from classified service

✓ current as of May 2026

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(1) No employee in the classified service shall be dismissed, suspended, or reduced in grade or pay for any reason except inefficiency, misconduct, insubordination, violation of law involving moral turpitude, or violation of any rule adopted by the city legislative body or civil service commission.

(2) Any person may prefer charges in writing against any employee by filing them with the mayor or other appointing authority who shall communicate the charges without delay to the civil service commission of the city. The charges must be signed by the person making them and must set out clearly each charge. The appointing authority shall, whenever probable cause appears, prefer charges against any employee whom he or she believes guilty of conduct justifying his or her removal. Upon the filing of charges, the clerk of the civil service commission shall notify its members and serve a copy of the charges upon the accused employee with a statement of the date, place, and hour at which the hearing of charges will begin, this hearing not to be held within three (3) days of the date of the service of charges upon the accused employee. The day on which the charges are served on the accused employee shall count as one (1) of the days of notice. The person accused may in writing waive the service of charges and demand trial within three (3) days after they have been filed with the clerk of the civil service commission.

(3) Upon the hearing, the charges shall be considered traversed and put in issue, and the trial shall be limited to the issues presented by the written charges.

(4) The civil service commission shall have the power to summon and compel attendance of witnesses at all hearings by subpoena issued by the clerk of that body and served upon the witnesses by members of the police department of the city or any officer authorized to serve subpoenas. If any witness fails to appear in response to a summons or refuses to testify concerning any matter on which he may lawfully be interrogated, any District Judge, on application of the commission, may compel obedience by proceedings for contempt as in the case of disobedience of a subpoena issued from the District Court. The accused employee shall have the right to have subpoenaed any witnesses he or she may desire, upon furnishing their names to the clerk. As many as ten (10) subpoenas may be served on the request of the accused employee without charge but each additional subpoena requested by him shall be issued by the clerk and served by the police department only upon payment of fifty cents ($0.50) to the city clerk by the employee. The action and decision of the civil service commission on the charges shall be reduced to writing and kept in a book for that purpose and the written charge shall be attached to the book containing the body's decision.

(5) In cases where the head of the department or the appointing authority has probable cause to believe an employee has been guilty of conduct justifying his removal or punishment he shall immediately suspend that employee from duty or from both pay and duty pending trial and the employee shall not be placed on duty or allowed pay thereafter until the charges are heard by the civil service commission.

(6) The civil service commission shall punish any employee found guilty by reprimand or a suspension for any length of time not to exceed six (6) months, or by reducing the grade, if the employee's classification warrants, or by combining any two (2) or more of these punishments, or by dismissal. No employee shall be reprimanded, removed, suspended, or dismissed except as provided in this section.

(7) (a) Any of the following offices, positions, and places of employment, in the police and fire departments, may be excluded from the classified service:

1. Chief of police;

2. Assistant chief of police;

3. Chief of firefighters; and

4. Assistant chief of firefighters.

(b) Any classified employee in either department who shall accept an appointment and qualify as chief of police, assistant chief of police, chief of firefighters, or assistant chief of firefighters shall be deemed to have received a leave of absence from the classified service for, and during the incumbency of, any of those respective positions. If an individual should cease to serve in any of those positions, there shall be restored to him or her the same classification and rank which he or she held prior to his or her appointment. Effective: January 1, 2015 History: Amended 2014 Ky. Acts ch. 92, sec. 83, effective January 1, 2015. -- Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 359, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2000. -- Amended 1976 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 14, sec. 102, effective January 2, 1978. -- Amended 1956 Ky. Acts ch. 246, sec. 11. -- Amended 1946 Ky. Acts ch. 50, sec. 6. -- Amended 1944 Ky. Acts ch. 107, sec. 2. -- Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. secs. 3235h-7, 3480e-7.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 10 cases, 1945–2020 · leading case: City of Paducah v. Moore, 662 S.W.2d 491 (Ky. Ct. App. 1984).

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City of Paducah v. Moore, 662 S.W.2d 491 (Ky. Ct. App. 1984). · cites it 6× “The motion was based on the grounds that the complaint failed to state a claim on which relief could be granted and on the additional ground that Moore was not dismissed by the City as contemplated in KRS 90.360 and KRS 90.380. KRS 90.360(1) provides: No employe in the…”

Holsclaw v. Stephens, 507 S.W.2d 462 (Ky. Ct. App. 1974). · cites it 2× “The latter sections were held to be in violation of KRS 90.360, which relates to the disciplining of city employees in cities of the second or third class, and in violation of KRS 95.”

Beckham v. City of Bowling Green, 743 S.W.2d 858 (Ky. Ct. App. 1987). · cites it 3× “When the number of employes and their classification has been fixed by ordinance, no employe shall be dismissed, suspended or reduced in pay or grade for any reason except that set out in KRS 90.360. The applicable part of KRS 90.”

Shelton v. Brown, 71 F. Supp. 2d 708 (W.D. Ky. 1998). · cites it 3× “765, KRS 90.360 and KRS 15.520 limit the Mayor’s discretionary power under KRS 83A.”

Civil Serv. Bd. v. Fehler, 578 S.W.2d 254 (Ky. Ct. App. 1978). · cites it 3× “Charges were preferred against Fehler pursuant to KRS 90.360 and the City of Newport’s local ordinance.”

Civil Serv. Comm'n v. Tankersley, 330 S.W.2d 392 (Ky. Ct. App. 1959). “KRS 90.360. The end in this case was to accomplish the dismissal of the employee if he was guilty of the charges preferred against him.”

Hockensmith v. City of Frankfort, 723 S.W.2d 855 (Ky. Ct. App. 1986). · cites it 2× “Conversely, therefore, it follows that transfer from one job category to another with lesser authority is a reduction in grade and is prohibited by KRS 90.360 1 except for cause and after a hearing on appropriate charges.”

Campbell v. Meredith, 239 S.W.2d 979 (Ky. Ct. App. 1951). · cites it 4× “any reason except that, set out in KRS 90.360.” ' The pertinent part of KRS 90.”

Guy J. Turcotte v. Dick Doty (Ky. Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 2× “The court also determined that a violation of KRS 90.360, the Kentucky Civil Service Act, could not be found, as Appellant produced no proof that Glasgow adopted a civil service system despite Appellant having been given ample opportunity to conduct discovery on this issue.”

Black v. Sutton, 187 S.W.2d 731 (Ky. Ct. App. 1945). “Appellee further attempted to plead that he held the place of city attorney under civil service and that the Board could not oust him therefrom except in the manner and for the causes set out in KRS 90.360. Both the petition and the amendment thereto are inartificially drawn and…”

— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 90.360(1) — 1 case

City of Paducah v. Moore, 662 S.W.2d 491 (Ky. Ct. App. 1984). “The motion was based on the grounds that the complaint failed to state a claim on which relief could be granted and on the additional ground that Moore was not dismissed by the City as contemplated in KRS 90.360 and KRS 90.380. KRS 90.360(1) provides: No employe in the…”

— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 90.360(3) — 1 case

Civil Serv. Bd. v. Fehler, 578 S.W.2d 254 (Ky. Ct. App. 1978). “Charges were preferred against Fehler pursuant to KRS 90.360 and the City of Newport’s local ordinance.”

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