St. Martinville council adopts workplace fraternization policy; one dissent

The St. Martinville Mayor and City Council adopted a new Fraternization Policy during their Sept. 3, 2024 regular meeting.

The motion to adopt the policy was made by Councilman Mike Fuselier and seconded by Councilman Janise Anthony; the council approved the measure with Councilman Flo Chatman recorded as opposed. The policy text reviewed at the meeting defines fraternization as romantic or sexual relationships between (1) supervisory employees or heads of departments and (2) lower-ranking employees, and prohibits such relationships where a supervisory relationship exists.

Council members reviewed policy provisions that list unacceptable workplace behaviors (including disruptive arguments, inappropriate physical contact, and non-work-related communications during business hours) and acceptable conduct (short non-work-related conversation, schedule coordination during breaks, and occasional shared travel). The policy states supervisors, managers or other officials in sensitive positions must disclose knowledge of prohibited relationships and directs Human Resources to examine incidents and enforce the policy.

Consequences, as presented in the policy text, may include termination, departmental transfers or voluntary resignation; the policy also says employees reporting inappropriate behavior shall not be penalized or retaliated against. City officials reviewed the policy language at length during the meeting before the vote.

The council did not specify additional implementation steps or a dedicated reporting timeline at the meeting; the policy will be part of the City of St. Martinville's Policy and Procedure Manual and take effect as adopted.