City audit finds inconsistent investigations, training gaps in discrimination and harassment cases

The city auditor’s office presented results of an audit on discrimination, harassment and retaliation investigations to the Audit and Finance Committee on May 19.

Mariel Dempster, the lead auditor on the project, said the audit examined whether the City of Austin effectively and equitably addresses discrimination, harassment and retaliation complaints. Dempster said the office reviewed investigations from fiscal years 2018 through 2024 and found three primary findings, one observation and five recommendations.

Dempster told the committee some investigations “miss essential steps from the city's guidelines, are not well documented, or take too long,” and that those shortcomings can undermine employee trust. She gave an example in which an anonymous allegation naming multiple individuals received only a single interview with the department HR manager and no interviews with the named employees or witnesses; the auditor concluded the investigation work there was inadequate under city guidelines.

The audit found less than 40% of investigations were completed within the…