Hanley was the chief of Jackson County Fire District 5 but was terminated by the board of directors with cause in August after three allegations against him were found to be sustained. Those allegations involved covering up sexual harassment, bullying and interfering with a governmental promotion board.
Friday's notice, addressed to the district's board of directors and Interim Fire Chief Aaron Bustard, does not include a request for compensation, but Hanley鈥檚 attorney David Higgs said in an email that he intends to file a lawsuit if the dispute cannot be resolved.
鈥淛CFD5 has demonstrated callous indifference to Chief Hanley鈥檚 well-being by subjecting him to discriminatory and retaliatory conduct," the notice reads.
Board Chair Greg Costanzo said in an interview on Tuesday that the district鈥檚 legal counsel will handle the notice.
"For me, it's unfortunate because myself and the board are trying to do the right thing. And there's some things in there that are just, I can't comment on, but the intent of our board is [to] try to get the district back to being able to provide service for the community, and it's just unfortunate that these things have to happen," he said.
He declined further comment on the notice.
Hanley, through his attorney, declined a request for an interview.
In an interview on Monday, Interim Chief Bustard acknowledged receiving the notice and referred further questions to Chair Costanzo.
Jackson County Fire District 5 operates three fire stations in Phoenix, Talent and unincorporated Ashland, serving over 23,000 people.
Friday's notice says Hanley had a positive impact on the district during his years there, including with his leadership skills during the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 Almeda Fire.
The notice also says that while Hanley was chief, he oversaw an investigation into allegations of misconduct among the district's firefighters, including insubordination, intimidation, bullying and harassment.
According to the notice, "the initial findings of the investigation substantiated attempts by certain JCFD5 employees to sabotage the ability of JCFD5鈥檚 firefighter apprentices to seek employment with JCFD5 and other nearby Districts."
The notice also claims that IAFF Local 2596 President Brady Graham was "engaging in inappropriate discriminatory and retaliatory behavior and threatening to get him [Hanley] removed as Fire Chief."
However, the notice claims, the district's general counsel did not meaningfully respond to Hanley's concerns and "the Union leadership and several accused employees disrupted the official investigations, refused to cooperate or follow accepted dispute resolution practices, and attempted to conspire with and intimidate the JCFD5 Board into removing Chief Hanley from his position."
Furthermore, the notice says, "JCFD5 brazenly continues to release inaccurate and inflammatory allegations of misconduct and financial malfeasance by Chief Hanley."
In an interview on Tuesday, Graham did not respond to the notice's specific claims, but said "there is a multitude of unfactual information all throughout this document."
"I just look forward to seeing what the fire district's legal counsel comes up with as a response," he said.
Hanley had been placed on paid administrative leave in May, amid allegations that district leadership had failed to address inappropriate workplace conduct, before he was fired in August. In addition to the three sustained allegations that led to his termination, there are five other allegations against him that have yet to be investigated.
Friday's notice says the investigation into these allegations was "biased and apparently motivated with the goal of manufacturing reasons to terminate his employment rather than objective fact-finding."
Meanwhile, the fire district is struggling with a massive financial shortfall, potentially up to $3 million, and recently signed an agreement with a nearby district to help keep it afloat.
