Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Workplace Harassment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City HR briefs Farmers Branch council on harassment, retaliation and officials’ responsibilities
Summary
Jeffrey Ross, director of human resources, told the council that elected officials are ‘agents of the city,’ reviewed definitions of quid pro quo and hostile work environment, and stressed that retaliation is the most common claim; he urged documentation and reporting and outlined reporting avenues to the city manager and ethics code.
Jeffrey Ross, the city’s director of human resources, briefed the Farmers Branch City Council during its June 23 orientation on harassment, hostile work environments and retaliation, and on legal responsibilities for officials who act as agents of the city.
Ross emphasized two legal frameworks: federal Title VII provisions that define protected classes and hostile-work-environment criteria, and parallel state requirements. He said retaliation is the most common finding in workplace complaints because the standard for proving retaliation is lower than for discrimination. Ross also summarized reporting options: report employee complaints to the city manager (preferably by city email), and matters involving non-employees fall under the city’s code of ethics (section 2-284).
The HR director walked council through examples of prohibited behavior (non-consensual physical contact, verbal harassment, cyberstalking, bullying, discriminatory scrutiny) and said such conduct can create civil liability for the city and, depending on circumstances, personal liability for officials who knew or should have known and failed to act. He urged members to document incidents and, when feasible and safe, ask the person to stop, then report the behavior so staff can investigate.
Councilmembers thanked Ross and recorded no requests for immediate follow-up; the orientation later covered budgeting and communications policy.
