Prosecutors
Panel Addresses Sex Harassment Problems in Ohio AG’s Office
Posted Sep 9, 2008, 10:16 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
An advisory panel appointed after the resignation of Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann has recommended several reforms targeting sexual harassment problems reported in his office.
Dann resigned in May after admitting an extramarital affair and while dealing with accusations of sexual harassment against others in his office. Critics had dubbed the office "Dannimal House.”
Dann’s temporary replacement, Nancy Rogers, appointed the panel and said she had already implemented several of the recommendations, the Columbus Dispatch reports. The newspaper and the Business Courier of Cincinnati say key recommendations include:
• Managers should not be allowed to date subordinates and they should be required to attend sexual harassment training. (There were several relationships among workers in Dann’s office, including his affair with his scheduler.)
• The office’s equal employment officer should be independent of the human resources office. (Two employees in the office say the equal employment officer did not handle their sexual harassment complaints properly.)
• The internal auditor should be allowed to review hiring decisions, and members of the public should be allowed to sit on audit committees.