Tuesday, April 16, 2013
A recent story in The Sentinel renews the debate over access to a report on the investigation into workers' claims of harassment and discrimination.
Rockville residents' complaints have revived the discussion over access to a report investigating former city employees’ claims of harassment and discrimination by supervisors. In a recent story published in The Sentinel, former Rockville mayor Steve VanGrack and Andrea Bernardo, campaign manager for former city Councilwoman Anne Robbins, said the Rockville City Council should have access to the report. If the mayor and council do not review the report, an individual or committee should do it on their behalf, some have suggested. “When there is a call into question by several city employees into what is going on the mayor and council absolutely have to come in and find out what is going on,” VanGrack told The Sentinel. The Sentinel’s …
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Report includes recommendations to improve communication and human resources practices.
An independent investigation into former City of Rockville employees’ claims of harassment and discrimination by supervisors found “no unlawful conduct,” the city said in a news release late Wednesday. The city retained the law firm, Saul Ewing, LLP, in May to conduct the internal review of the city’s personnel policies and procedures after The Sentinel newspaper published a series of articles detailing complaints by former employees. A former city building inspector told The Sentinel that the city had become “a toxic environment” in which to work. Former city employees said managers were required to change performance evaluations, supervisors made racist comments and, in one case, an employee’s medical history was openly discussed, The…
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
A former employee filed a Public Information Act request for the contract with Saul Ewing LLP.
The City of Rockville is paying a law firm up to $90,000 to investigate former city employees’ claims of harassment and discrimination by supervisors, according to a contract obtained by one of the former employees through the Maryland Public Information Act. The contract with Saul Ewing LLP was provided by the city to Charles Baker and obtained by Rockville Patch. Baker, a former chief of inspection services for the city, was one of several former city employees quoted in a series of articles in The Sentinel that detailed the employees’ claims. The contract’s release gives a first glimpse into the cost and scope of the independent investigation, which was announced May 7. Get daily and breaking news email updates from Rockville Patch by…
CP
10:24 am on Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Just because nothing "unlawful" was discovered doesn't mean some action should not be taken with respect to City staff. There are people in positions of authority and power that have no right being in those positions, and there are people totally incompetent of managing or supervising subordinates. The City should be ashamed, and citizens rightly incensed, if all that comes out of this $190K … more ›