Despite the National Park Service's pledge to take a zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment incidents, a park superintendent accused of inappropriate behavior against a female employee was transferred to a larger park and had received a cash bonus, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
An investigation of the charges by the Interior Department's Office of Inpsector General found credence in the allegations against DeSoto National Memorial Superintendent Jorge Acevedo, and also uncovered a number of other inappropriate issues for the manager. While the case was referred for prosecution, the U.S. attorney's office declined.
The OIG report, released this past March, said the superintendent "touched the employee inappropriately, made inappropriate comments, and invaded the employee’s personal space. The employee informed us that this contact and attention were unwanted, and that the employee had asked the official many times to stop. The official acknowledged touching the employee and confirmed that the employee had asked him to stop, which he said he did."
PEER on Monday said that since the OIG report became public, Mr. Acevedo was transferred to a position as "partnerships manager" for Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site and Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail at his previous salary, and that before the transfer he received a $1,000 performance bonus.
National Park Service officials in Washington did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment.
It was a year ago when the Park Service announced a zero tolerance policy when it comes to sexual harassment in the agency.
"Some have asked what it means for the National Park Service to have a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment," then-Park Service Director Jon Jarvis said when he explained the policy in a memo emailed system-wide. "I want to clearly state that this means that when incidents of harassment are reported, I expect NPS managers to follow up on those allegations. Specifically, in situations involving alleged harassment, including sexual harassment, I expect NPS managers to initiate an investigation of the allegations and to act promptly to ensure that the harassment, if confirmed, does not continue. I also expect appropriate disciplinary action to be taken if any allegations are verified."
Last September the Park Service's then-deputy director, Mike Reynolds, now the agency's acting director, told the House Oversight Committee during a hearing into harassment in the National Park System that the Park Service had a sound strategy for ridding its 20,000-employee workforce of sexual harassment issues but that "this kind of change is neither easy nor fast."
“If, as the Park Service claims, there is zero tolerance, then why aren’t these firing offenses?” asked PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch on Monday, arguing that the “message points” praising Acevedo re-victimized his victims. “Instead of zero tolerance, the Park Service accords double-digit tolerance to its managers.”
Comments
Smokies - watch the interview that started this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR7Y8kcKlPQ
She makes absolutely no mention of public lands or future Alaska projects. When asked if she felt threatened she specifically said it would be "inappropriate" to say there where threats. You totally made it up, or were confused by the reports you read.
His Orangeness' bumbling administration is typified by Zinke's heavy-handed calls. Senator Murkowski had the decorum to keep cool in front of the press, but like McCain, she will have her revenge as chair of the Senate Interior Department confirmation process.
He may not have used the word "threat", but Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, who voted FOR this health care fraud, said the call from Zinke heralded a "troubling message." "I'm not going to go into the details, but I fear that the strong economic growth, pro-energy, pro-mining, pro-jobs and personnel from Alaska who are part of those policies are going to stop."
https://www.adn.com/politics/2017/07/26/trump-administration-signals-tha...
Heavy-handed calls. LOL Do you think this is the first time a President or his surrogates have called a Senator to express their dissatisfaction? You really can't be that naive, can you? And why, why oh why, would Zinke "threaten" Sullivan who voted the way Trump wanted? You have Sullivan's "fears" (according to the Dispatch though I have not seen those fears expressed publicly) not a claim of any threats and Mulkowski denounciation of "threat" accusations. But that does not stop those that don't like "His Orangeness's" agenda.
As a manager in the NPS we investigate all accusations and allegations, as usual, the situation is never straight forward and employees of all sexes are motivated by different drivers. IG just takes a bunch of statements and puts them in reports and really likes to sensationalize the ones that get them press. In the Grand Canyon case they interviewed 80 people, 22 had one opinion and the other 58 had another. But they only talk about the 22. And the intresting thing with many of these cases is they are passed on for Prosecution, but the attorneys don't file, Because the burden of proof is required , with the IG and EEOC, only a 40 cent stamp or a cell phone is required. I'm not saying real cases don't exsist, and we don't have bad apples, but the ones I have been invoved with usually had some dubious motivation attatched to it and in many cases it was the complaintant. So let's investigate, but let's not let our standards of proof slip. Grand Canyon had a alchol and fraternization issue, to this date they have only dealt with the alchol piece, they haven't adressed fratenization, and when they do, they will find it's not as easy or as clear a solution as you thought.
The bigger problem was lack of institutional control to use the NCAA phrase. The report makes it pretty clear that supervisors and managers dgaf about and exercised little oversight over the riverbank Bacchanalia. Harassment or fraternization is an important debate but not the root cause.