Lexington city council members have been briefed on policies and procedures for addressing harassment in the workplace. The request for the information came following a recent police disciplinary hearing in which racially related derogatory remarks were detailed.
Eric Howard with the city’s Human Resources Department said following up on harassment complaints is a top priority. Council Member Jennifer Reynolds used a hypothetical scenario in asking Howard about employee responsibility to report harassment. “If somebody that’s one of my colleagues comes to me and tells me that they’ve been harassed in someway by someone, no matter what, I should report that to HR, is that correct? Asked Reynolds.
“Yes,” responded Howard.
“Even if they didn’t ask me to?” Continued Reynolds.
“Yes,” said Howard.
Howard said all employees have an affirmative obligation to move a complaint forward until it’s determined if it’s a violation or not. Council Member James Brown asked if this reporting process is the same for employees with collective bargaining agreements like police, fire, and corrections. Howard responded yes to that question.
Vice Mayor Steve Kay also stressed the policy for addressing harassment is applied government wide. Howard said employees are required to confirm they have completed harassment training.
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