Lexington jail workers’ union is close to a new contract with the city. What’s in it?
Unionized workers at the Fayette County Detention Center are on the cusp of a new labor contract.
On May 26, the Urban County Council advanced a new collective bargaining agreement between the city and the correction officers’ and sergeants’ union, Fraternal Order of Police, Town Branch Lodge #83. The contract should get a final vote of approval from the council on June 4.
The agreement, which will run from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2030, will include annual pay raises, holiday shift bonuses and increased leave benefits for corrections employees. The agreement will cost the city $6.8 million over its four-year term.
The detention center was in rough shape just a few years ago. The facility was short 124 corrections officers in 2022. Those staff shortages, according to city officials, led to several incidents of inmate abuse and officer misbehavior, for which the city has faced several lawsuits. There were eight deaths in the jail from 2020 to January 2025. The union cast a vote of no confidence against Lisa Farmer in 2022, who was the detention center director at the time.
In November 2022, Scott Colvin became the new director of the jail. The detention center only had 18 officer vacancies as of June 2025. In January 2025, the center was ranked number one in the U.S. for the number of officers certified by American Jail Association.
The jail has still faced issues with staff behavior, but Colvin has been credited with making major improvements and stewarding a successful recruitment campaign for staff positions.
What’s new in the bargaining agreement?
Officers and sergeants will get a 3% raise on July 1, 2026, a 2.5% raise in 2027 and a 2% raise in 2028 and 2029. If a new contract is not in place by July 1, 2030, staff will get an automatic 2% raise in pay until a new contract is reached.
Officers working a shift on either Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve or Christmas will get an additional $150 payment. If they work more than one of those holidays, the second and third shift will include a $75 payment per day. Sergeants will get a $175 payment for a shift on one of those days and a $100 payment for a second or third holiday shift.
Staff will also get 10 days of bereavement leave, an increase from the previous contract’s allocation of three days. Those leave days must be used within two months of the death the employee uses the leave for.
A tuition reimbursement incentive for educational courses will increase from $1,000 to $2,000 per fiscal year. The program covers costs for tuition or books for coursework for certification programs from the American Jail Association, the Corrections Certificate Program from Kentucky State University or other courses specifically approved by the detention center.
The city government has gained some greater abilities to discipline officers in the proposed contract. The city will have up to 60 days to take disciplinary action against an employee from the date of the incident or conclusion of an investigation, up from 45 days. If an employee fails to schedule a meeting with the jail director within five days of receiving the notice of discipline, the disciplinary action will be finalized and the employee will be unable to appeal.
Other changes include clearer procedures from employee promotions, incorporation of the drug and alcohol policy other city divisions must abide by and an increase to $800 in employees’ annual uniform allowances.
