A New Orleans commission has ordered the city council to rehire a clerk who had been fired over alleged sexual harassment in the workplace because it determined her actions didn’t harm the office’s “efficient operation.”
Former Clerk of Council Lora Johnson was fired last year after the New Orleans City Council determined that she had created a hostile environment — including allegations of unwanted touching, demeaning language and intimidation — for her employees for at least 11 years, according to NOLA.com.
But after Johnson, who worked in city government for 35 years, denied the allegations and appealed her firing, a commission last Monday gave the seal of approval to rehire her and compensate the pay she lost during her time away.
The Civil Service Commission, essentially a glorified Human Resources department for the government, accepted the prior findings that proved Johnson’s wrongdoing — including that she had “engaged in instances of inappropriate behavior,” including frequently touching employees’ “behinds,” the outlet reported.
However, the crux of their sign-off relies on the City Council’s determination of harm that Johnson may have caused — which the commission believed was distinctly lacking.
According to the commission, Johnson should be reinstated because “the City Council has failed to carry its burden showing that the complained-of conduct impaired the efficient operation of the Clerk of Council’s office.”
Such impairment is needed to justify termination under the commission’s rules, but it did not specify what sort of decline would warrant the disciplinary action.
In its report, the commission also named the impacted employees who accused Johnson by sharing their full names — until then, the four alleged victims were only referenced anonymously.
City Council President JP Morrell was appalled by the commission’s decision and flagrant disregard for the harmed employees.
“This decision will have a chilling effect on every victim who is considering whether to report workplace abuse. The City of New Orleans cannot claim to care about sexual assault survivors while continuing to gloss over serious allegations in the name of efficiency,” he wrote in a statement on April 16.
He further said the commission’s ruling creates a dangerous precedent, according to NOLA.com.
“By the Civil Service Commission’s logic, sexual harassment in the workplace is acceptable, so long as the harassment doesn’t affect the overall work product.”
The commission, however, largely dismissed the allegations as not being serious enough to warrant Johnson’s firing.
“None of the incidents at issue … was so severe that termination was appropriate, and overall the conduct spanning over 10 years was not severe or pervasive,” the commission wrote.
Johnson’s lawyer denied the allegations — stating that the commission never determined if his client’s “sporadic touching of co-workers was intentional or accidental.”
“There was never any sexual harassment in this case,” Brett Prendergast told the outlet.
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