Anti-Harassment Policy Expanded After City Attorney Case

It took more than a year, but the City of Milwaukee’s anti-harassment policy will now apply to elected officials.

Officials, under the revised policy, can now be punished with a formal warning letter from the Department of Employee Relations (DER). Further punishment would need to occur through the existing provisions of the city charter, which gives the council power to remove an elected official for malfeasance with a three-fourths majority vote.

The revelation that the policy didn’t apply to elected officials came after a 2020 investigation into City Attorney Tearman Spencer.

Six employees individually reported allegations regarding Spencer, first elected in April 2020, to DER. They alleged Spencer posed different questions to men and women during team meetings, favored men over women in assigning work, complimented one woman on her “very nice calves” and engaged in unwelcome physical conduct when he placed his hand on the knee of one woman. According to a DER report, none of the employees filed a formal complaint for fear of retaliation.

The investigation ended in December 2020 when it was determined that elected officials weren’t subject to the 2004 policy. It did not, as Spencer has publicly claimed and DER has refuted, exonerate him. Spencer has maintained that the allegations are “unfounded” and “false.” The report did clear Spencer of making gender-motivated assignments.

“The investigation found that we could not hold him accountable for the anti-harassment policy and that there was nothing illegal that we found,” said DER director Makda Fessahaye to members of the Common Council in April 2021 after the report became public. “We did, however, find that his actions were inappropriate and unbecoming of his position as the City Attorney.”

Council members JoCasta Zamarripa and Michael Murphy announced they would introduce legislation to make the policy apply to elected officials.

“I was surprised and dismayed to learn that the city’s anti-harassment policy does not apply to elected officials, just as many residents were,” said Zamarripa in an April statement. “This proposition is a simple one, as harassment should never be acceptable and there should be accountability for those who breach the trust of their co-workers.”

Except the proposition wasn’t so simple.

The Common Council first passed a resolution in May asking for DER advice on how to update the policy. That measure was unanimously co-sponsored by the entire council.

In June a resolution was introduced that directed DER to update the policy to include elected officials, but it sat idle until earlier this month.

In the interim, a policy was unanimously adopted that requires all elected officials, mayoral cabinet members and appointees to receive ethics and harassment training within 120 days of being elected or appointed and every four years thereafter.

The Finance & Personnel Committee reviewed the June policy update directive on Jan. 12.

“DER is not able to do that without council action,” said Fessahaye in describing the need for legislative action. “It also provides the authority to DER to investigate claims or complaints against elected officials and hold elected officials accountable up to and including a written warning and then deferring chapter four of the charter for any other additional action.”

Fessahaye said the revised policy, which also applies to workplace violence as well harassment, is in line with what DER does for general city employees. It includes the ability to hire an outside investigator or employment attorney.

The full council unanimously adopted the directive on Jan. 18. Joining Zamarripa and Murphy as co-sponsors were council members Scott Spiker and Nik Kovac.

Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson, who voted for the initial measures before becoming mayor, signed the policy on Friday.

“The City has a responsibility as an employer to support its workforce and have a strong stance against acts of harassment,” said Murphy in a statement. “I’m glad that this resolution will now allow the proper mechanisms to be in place regardless of whether the offender is an elected or appointed official,”

Said Zamarripa: “In my opinion this was a very easy decision. Harassment should never be acceptable and when someone breaches the trust of a co-worker, they should be held accountable for their actions,”

Related Legislation: File 210371