DearMr.

Martin,
activityoccurring
It is with greatconcernthat lfeel lmust makeyouawareof the unprofessional
ServicesDivision.While I havenot actuallycaughtthem havingsex,Aimee Bissett
in the Development
aroundthe officeliketo teenagersin lust.Theyattend meetingsand constantly
and ChrisLanziconsort
don't carewhatthey do on theirtime,
spendtheirtime textingbackand forth and giggling.I personally
but flauntingtheir relationshipin front of staffis somethingI find unacceptable.
that are not well thought out logical
they are makingdecisions
In additionto them publicallyconsorting,
(4)
willshare an area larger
Inspectors
Forexamplewhen we move into the new building,four
decisions.
to. Keepin mind that an Inspectorspendsaround
than the areathat 10 PlansExaminerwillbe assigned
90%of their time out of the office.While a PlansExamineris in the lffice 95%of their time in the office.
It doesn"tseemlogicalthat personnelthat spenda majorityof theiFtimein the field are given
largeofficeareas,and personnelthatspendthe majorityof theirtime in the office be given
excessively
an officeareathat is entirelytoo smallfor them to performtheir jobs effectively.
We've all beentold that our officefurniturewill haveto be a mismatchof what we currentlyhaveand
what DATCUleft.While Mr. Lanziis goingaroundbraggingabout the completeset of new office
furniturethe Citypurchasedfor his office.
ii;'
A few monthsago in a meetingto discussour officemove,the financialimplicationswere broughtand
Mrs. Bissettstated"Fundsare not a problem.After a coupleof drinks,Georgewill give me whatever I
want". it is Lradenoughthat this happened,but to publicallyadrnit.itsirnplyshowsa great lackof
tact.
maturityand a completelackof professional
can be created
I alsowonder how new positions(Asst.BuildingOfficialand AdministrativeSupervisor)
and filled.When the positionswere not postedso that intervielyscould be conducted.This remindsof
the "GoodOle Boy" atmospherethat is greatfodderfor the news media.
Most in the Divisionwill (l believe)corroboratemy claimsand simplyhaven'tspokenabout the situation
out of a fear of retribution.

ConcernedCityEmployee
Sincerely,

Iluttttttt Re;;ottrce.t* 601 E. Ilic'kor.v, $:lj4

* I)entr.trt.'l'crcts76 2 0 5

*'
klaphone (940) 349-8340 Iiux (940.)319-83'tB

MIIMOIIANDUM
Confidcntial
Date:

August1,2016
Ir4onda1,,

'l'o:

Chris Lanzi, AssistantIluilding Oflicial

Irronr:

BtrildingOfficial
RodncyPattcrson,

Through:

I)ilectorofllunranIi-esources
Carlal{ornine-I{aggrnalk,

Sulljcct:

Administrativc Lcavc

Whilc your conlinucdcmploymcntrvith thc City is cvaluatcd,you alc bcing placcd on

adrniniitrativclcavc rvith pay. Sincethe City ol Denton is still compcnsatingyou, you arc
rccluircdto follow the guidelineslislcdbelow:
1.

You are requiredto be available,by tclephonefrom 8:00 a.m- - 5:00 p'm.

Monday- t rlOay. 11'youleavehomeyou rnustleavea telephonenutnberyou
for us to contact you' You
can be reachcdot, ol. make other arrangen'lents
periodiI'
mustalsobe availabieto respondto the work site within a reasonable
is 30 minutes)'
requested
by your supcrisor (reasonablc

2.

You arc l.cstr.ictcdto "public-access"arcas of City faciiitics; 'a:rdrcstrictcd

f1ont "non-pgblic acoess"aleas (areasrvhere the getteral citizenry are not
aliowedbecauseof saletyissues,etc.)

3.

I1 yog ltcl thcrc is a nccdto discusswork-rclatcdissueswith othcr cmployecs

during u,orkinghoru's,you u,iil be requiredto obtain prior pemrissionfrom
or Mark Stcphcnsin i'lu:nan
mc, Carri Ilyicl, I-lR Genelaiist/Consr-rltant.
ILesourccs.

4.

you arc lot author-izcd

to call other employecsat u,ot'ktelcphoncnlttnbcrs
or
during working Iiours exceptme, Car-r'iByrcl, I{11 Ceneralist/Consr:ltant,
Mark Stcphensin IJurnanRcsorrrccs.

5.

TSis action js copsideredconficlcntialand should only bc cliscusscdivitir

'i'hoservho have a right to knou' rvould
lhosc who havc a right to kirow.
or atty'oncin
incluclcyour iltnrecliatelanrily,legalcouusel,your supcl'visor
vour den3rtluepl'sc[ai1 of conlmand,ancl/orthe ]-IumanJtesoutcesDit'ectclr
"Dcclicatcdto QualityServicc"
,r,iytl,-c.jly <l&-941S!-E-alll
NI)A/I:OE/ADEA

I)agc I o1'2

or cicsiglee. S|oulci y6u discusstliis rnalter rvilh your irnrtrediatefanily, thc5'

arc 10 bc advisccloi'the aboveguiclclines.
6.

ilrcaclr of any of thcse guidelinesrvillbe gror:ndsfor imnlediatedisuiissal.

and
I cari bc rcaclicd at (940) 349-8539, Carri Byrcl can be reacltedat (940) 349-8349,
Mark Stcphcnscan be reachedat (940) 349-7810by thc
Your signalurc acknowleclgesthat you havc read, understand,and agl'ceto abide
for'
oopy
guidclirrcs statcclabovc. Pl.ur" sign inimcciiatcly upon reccipt and keep a
voru'sclf.

Signature

6 - t ^ )/o
Date

Servicc"
"Dedicated
to QualitY
del]Iar.gal]l
wu|ry,d-1yo,1
n I)A/tlol.yADI.;n

I)ai:c?-of 2

Smith,JamieM.
Monday,August08, 20161:44PM
Byrd,CarriR.
RE:TrainingRecordRequest
Report'pdf
ChrisLanziGeneralTrainingProgress

From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
^Attachments:

Carri,
the HRTrainingProgram.chris in February2015 he
Attachedis a list of trainingsthat ChrisLanzihasattendedthrough
promotedsupervisorcertificateTrack,as of today he has not
was a promotedsupervisorand requiredto completethe
completedany of the requiredclasses.

tf y otu

^pRAt

fu.yLl\sl a*L*anrp',

d,odt Lv*:tal;u ta Lef vnezk'n'ovt,

la'vwi'e/Svvunv
z D endop vn'owt CN{d'LvLato{
Trwining'
llwna,wRe*otorcn*
CA;y ofDeattow
(94O)34s-8797
www.citvofdenton.com

From:BYrd,CarriR.
Sent:MondaY,August08, 2016 12:14PM
To: Smith,Jamie M. <Jamie.Smith@cityofdenton'com>
Subject:TrainingRecordRequest
with the datesthat ChrisLanzihas
of all the trainingclasses
when you havea moment,would you pleasegive me a report
attended?

$"i;
li;i:xfli;i;ie":6ffi,H1.,;aiilffi;mffi'

$$

City of Denton, D( (940) 349-8297

Nam e

L a n z i , C h ri s to p h e r Os c a r

E m ploy ee lD

125364

Depar t m ent

Planning & Development

Div is ion

B U IL D IN G IN S PE C T ION S

General
I{ours

Course Tille

Date Attended
6ty20a4

M a n a g in g M a n ip u la tiveBch a vio r

6t15t2004

Effe ctivc In tcr p e r so n aI Co m m u n ica:i on

3n512005

Su b sta n ceAb u se a n d Re a so n a bl eS uspi ci on

0.4

12

Total
Grand T'otal
Training
IIours

As of:

CEU Credit

12

0.4

Grand
Total
CEUs

Monday,August08,2016
This document certifiesthat
ChristopherLanzi
earned CEUs by attendingCity of Dentoncourse(s). The City of Denton is an
Associationfor ContinuingEducation
authorizedproviderfor the lnternational
VA (703)506-3275McLean,
6195,
and Training,ProviderNumber

8 l B / 2 O 1 61 : 4 0 . 3 3 PM

9ana

1 al

InvestigationRcPort
Datc of l{cport: August 10, 2016
I{uman Resources
I{R Staff Who Conductcd Invcstigation: Mark Stephens,
cousuitant
con-ipiianceSpecialistand carri B1nd,I-IumanResources
Complaint- with Interim City
Datcs Complaints Filcd: Age I{arassmentDiscrimination
Cornplaint _ by
Manager on Jul1, 13,2016; Sexual I]arassmerrtDiscrinrination
on July 12'2016'
directsupervisoras per Ciry of DentonPolicf 108'05
emplo-vee's
DiscrirninationComplaiirt- Ms'
Pcrson(s)Who l,-iledComplaints: Age Ifarassment
pir"ri*inuiion co-plaint - Ms' E'mily Loisclle' if
SandyLawso-n;Sexuel uu.urr-"rrt
Lanzi
Pcrson(s)\\/ho Complaint Was Filed Against: Chris

Background
.

city Manager's representativeto

on July 12,2016,I rvas appointedas the Interin

to Ciuis I'anzi' Assistant Building

investigale ceflain workplace complaints relating
complaints associatedwith or
official, including, but not limited to, any workplace
relating to the Development SeruicesDepartment'
FIRS'| I-IARAS SME,NT CLAII\4
addressedto the Interim city
As a result, I rvas offered a writlen complaint letter
Chris Larui'hereinafter referred to
Manager, I{oward Marlin. Tire letter referred to Mr'
that u'ould indicate he is subjecting
as Mr. Lanzi,as tirc accusedin a patterl of behavior
to as Ms' Lawson' to
thc complainant,Ir4s.SandyLawson, hereinafterreferred
on age'
jokes that reilect a pattern of hostile behavior baseci
statenents,observations,.ancl
1967(ADEA) offers a protcction
The Age Discrin-rinatioirin Employmcnt Act of
to an individual lrorn being discriminatedagainstand

advcrselyimpactedbasedupon

classif the personis fortl' yearsof age or

lheir age- An individual is in thc age-protected
or more u,itirinthe u'orkforceolderandthc emplol,erirastrventyernplol,ees
The City of Denton is subjectto the ADEA and lr4s.I-arvson'sletter spccifies
examplesof N4r.Lanz-i'sstatementsdirectedtoward her.
Ag e D iscri nti n atiort I{ arassnrcn / I ncident
On Juiy '.,0,2,0i6,I read and reviewed]rrIs.I-awson'sletter addrcssedto MrI{orvard Maflin. Tlie letter outlined separatedatesand accounlswhere Ms- Lawson
f,t*
asrertedthat JvIr.Lanzi spoke direct$rto her about hti"a'gF.Ttic fnllhwing inltdbitt"i AiCt::'*-}.
taken directly frorn the ietler':
Ms. Larvsonstatedtirat on an averageof at least once a week, Mr-Lanzi makes
sornetvne of comment about how old she is or asks when Ms. Lar,r'sonis going to retireThe conciuctwas refl.ectedin recent incidents between Ms. Lawson and Mr- Lanzi. Ms.
Larvsonstatedilrat on July 13,2016,Ms. I-anzi rvas in Mr. Patlerson's office and walked
out. Ir4r.Lanzi,tvIs. Ir4iiler, anclMs. Green were talking about tire new phone game
Pokemon Go. Ms. Ir4iller askedif ]r{s. Lawson hacla Facebookaccount and Ms. Lawson
saidthat Mr. Lanzi replied, "Sandy's too old to have lracebook-"
lr4s.Lawson assefledthat on July 12, 2016, Mr. Lanzi carneto the fi'ont counter
and told lr4s.Green and Ms. I-arvsonthat Ms. Bissetl rvantedlr4s.I-au'son to take
sonrr:thinpfror.nhis desk to Ms. Ilissett at City l{all and sheneedeclit quickly- N4s.
,

Lau,sonaskedwhy "nre" insteadof Ms. Green or L{s- Miller: (lr4r.Lanzi's Administrative

Assislant).N4s.Lau,sonassertedthat lr4r.Larzi said, "'It's becauseAirnee knorvs that
Sandl,isn't cioiugan)/thillg,"and laughed.Ms. Larvson said she rvould lake it and asked
Ir4s.Green(Ms. I-an,son'ssulterlisor)if shervantcdMs. l-awsonto takc it sinceN4s-

Ms' Gteensaid that she

Greenu,ouldhaveto co\/erthe fi'orndeskfor Ms. Larvson'
would take it to Ms. Bissett.
Lanzi was rvalking by
Ms. Lau,so' said that sometimearoundJune2i ,2016,Mrsaid Mr' Lanzi asked I'rcr
the counter going into Mr. Patterson'soffice- Ir4s.Lawson
very loud and the
u,hen she u,asgoing 1oretire. Ms. Larvsonstatedthat Mr. Lanziwas
and fellorv gmployees' Ms''
lobby u,asfirll of peoplc,includilg citizens,cttstomers,
Lau,son statedthat she believcd Ms. Mauladad was walking

by and heard the statcment

about hcr agc.

going on fbr about a year'
Ms. Larvsonstatedthat this kind of behavior had beel
make a derogalory cor:-nietrt
at least once a week, where Mr. Lanzi walks by and will
about her not rvorking, being too old, or asking her when

she is going to retire'

SECOND 1]AI].ASSMENT CI,AIN4

Interim City Manager' I
Prior to receiving this lefler of appointment frotn the
facilitated tire Ilarassment Preventiontraining as part

of the Ilurnan Resourcestraining

referred to as Ms'
program. one of 1]reatlendees,Ms- Emily Loiselle, hereinafter
had a situation
Loiselie, carrleup to me after the training and said she

that was similar to

that strteu'as required to speak r'r'ith

the material sharedin the training proglam. I told her
set up an apllointrnerlt so that sire
sorneoneabout the situation and if she rvould like I can
may coITIeover and sirareher concerns'
office and rnet with
On July 12,2016,Ms. Loiselle carneto the Iluman Resources
in otdcr to fulfill hcr obligation
myself alcl lfumal ResourccsConsgltalt Ms' Carri Byrd
rcgarding reportinga possiblesexualharassnrentcomplaint

betu'eenone of her

slllplevees and anothercmployeeu'ithin the City of Denton'

Se;:rt oI II or ossm enl D iscr i nt i n ali ort I n cidertt

Ms. Loiselleoffereda stateilentregardingirer employec'sinforn-ralconrplaint
aboutthe possiblesexuallyliarassingbehaviorof AssistantBuiiding Official Mr- Lanzi

hereinafterreferredto asD-

against1)rccomplainant,

cameto her on Friday afternoon

Ms. I-oisellesaidtl.ratlier enrplc'),ee,I[l

of July l st and told lr4s.I.oiselle that lr{r. Lanzidirected the foliowing commeut torvatds
she,along with Cathy Welborn, enteredhis office to ask a question

If:rvhen

about a fee for a Ccrtificate of Occupancy.The first contment, in effect, said "Hey it's . .
beenalong1I n c .\\,e Sh o u l d m a Ke o u 1 .' .l JurIngrnIS S al ncI)r5U .-' ..IE Jol uJIIv

rvent to a rvhite board in the office and drew a little picture for the July 41hweekendtold her Mr- Lanzi made

While she u,as at the board, lr,[s.Loiselle said

another cornment. Mr. Lanzi said, "I am staring

- at your butl right nou'- You have got a
nICe

ass.

Ano

IIn a lIy,

.t' ls.

L OtSclI

5 5tatcl l .tE l l t

rLaruu

LrraL 4r |E

Mr. Lanzitold hcr "we can turn out the lights, close the door, and ail of us can make out-"
According to Ms. Loiselle,|D

said no and walked out of his office'

Then,Ms.I-oisellesaidthat|Eor,erheardthedepartInerrtdirector,Ainree
Bissctt, Sa1,"6irr', you shouldn'I sa1,thilgs likc that." Ms- i-oiseile's statementindicates
tha tffi r ,va supsetanderrrotionalrv] re n s h e e n t e re d Ms . L o is e i1 e ' s o f f ic e t o t e 1 1
lier about the inc i.cnt.
Initially,

.:
rvould not make a fonnal statementbasedon her

-I
for retaliationfrom Mr. Lanzi and/or N4s.Bissett- \tr/hcnslte u'as
overrvheimingconccrn
inlormed lhat a formal investigationfi-om the City \rlanager's Office had been initiated,

bascd on sexual
slre :rade a statelrent regar-di'g tlc pcrceived hostiie work envit'ontlelrt
harassmentu'ithin ilre Development ServicesDepartment'

o n A u g u st2 ,2 0 I6 ,ru o f|e redher statetr r er r tinr ejationtot1r esexuaI

essenccol
harassmenlinvestigation.The follorving is the direct quote that reflects the

IEcomplaint:
waS ;
One time iast summcr,j had a dresson ar)dit wasn'teven low-cut, he
i
to
stop'
him
told
i
today-'"
huge
look
like "rvhoa iook at ycur boobs,1.hey
when
iJe says stuff abouimy boobs a lot- I specifically remember the time
things
I rvaswearing the dreis. Other tirnes he's said things- When he says
be
to
iike "whoa look at your boobs,"it bothersme kcause I'm trying
not
mociest.Iie says siufiabout rny butl and boobs- He's said it probablv
of
even monthly or rveekly thing. Now thal he's in the of{ice more because
seehirn more oflen. When he was aroundme, he u'ould
his position,l
-^y
say sometiring.
The continuation of the incident is taken directly as a quote fromlE

statement:

that
In the aflernoon around 2 or 3 p.m., Cathy had someoneon the phone
the
have
didn't
had actirrepemrit to open a bar. She called becauseshe
other
money to do the rvork that she had permitted. She neededto keeplhe
to
a
solution
half of her bar open. I called Emilybecause I was looking for
hclp the busincssowner.
while
Emily said rve sl-rouldbe able to give her a CO to open the one side
of it
sire'sworking on 1i-reotirer. Since there was an active permit an-dpart
yet' So,
was to prrt up-u firewall. The inspectorsweren't back in the office
I told Cathyiet's go talk to Clujs becausehe's been there and he knows
what's going on. Ife rvould be abie to issue a CO'
Ile ir.adCari I{ager in his office. We stood to the side until they finished'
rvant
\tr/hcnrve rvalked in, he said oh what do y'all want? I{e said do you
to make out? Close thc door, let's make out?
Car-llaughcd it off l; i'.cu,hy is ire saying that. IJe seerned.like he felt
'
tire
arvkward but didp't know what to tuy. itota Chris not today' Carl lefr
he
office. Cathy and I told irim about the CO issue that we neededand
agreeId].
Vrhile \\,e are lalking, I slartcd drawing on his rvhiteboardfor the 41r'of
lulv. cath), had }eft and chris and I were alone in his officc. Ile tclis me

...1'r1
lOOkingat lrour but1."I said,"so." I{e said,"llo, i'r'nlooking at your
and left his officebutt." I said "rvl'ratever"
Aimee was acrossthe hail ald yclled "you'rebeilg prett)'ir:appropriate
"oh, you u,eren'tsupposedto hearthat." I didn't
over there."I{e 1,311s6
cxpectirim to saythis, but it didn't surpriseme. I can'treally recall him.
ever sal,il-rgthis sort of tliing towards other people.\\/hen he rvas potnting
out my boobs, I told hirn to stop.I{is beiraviortorvardsme is unwelcome'
The rest oI'the time i just tried to ignorehimh statcdthattIriskindo.|be1ra v io rt o . wa rd s I re r\ ^ , a S a re g u I a r:
:

occurrencewith Mr. Lanzi.

Initial Action ITollowing Inlerint Ci4t Manager Letter of Appoirttnrcnt:

Ms. Byrd and I starte<lschedulinginterviervs. A summary of the information

determincdto be reievantto eitherCll

and/brMs' Lawson's ciaims are set out

were
in the foilowing paragraphs. I created the list of interviewees based on whether they
rnentionedin either statementand iooking at the employeeswho couid have possibly
seen or heard any pertinent information based on their ploximity to the events involved in
the complaints.
The Witness/Interview List
Mr. Joe Stapleton

Ms. Munal Mauladad

Ms. Aimee Bissetl

Ms. Janelle

Mr. Rodney Patterson

Mr. Cluis Larui

Montgomery

Vasquez
Ms- N4a1,ela

Ms. Athenia Green

Ms. CathcrineWelbom

Ms- Emily Loiselle

Ms. Brittany Miller

Ms. Nichoie Elkins

\4r. Carl I{ager

lr4r. "Lewis" Carl Parlin

Ms- Karen Ilerrnan

Ms. Carrie Frazier

Ms. Sandl'Larvson

lr4s.Glcnda Gaillaird

Ms. Nicole Chew-Jones

S]'ATE,MENTSUMMARIES
- has$'orhedfor
Inspections
JoeStaplcton- PlansExamincrII - Building
I)cvelopmcllt Scn'ices for six months'
set
sunounding olle of the occurrences
Mr. Stapieton recalied tlic circumstattces

Mr'
osfi1ework euvironmentcomplaint against

out rn

Lanzi'

to get
"I rememberflre projectabouta bar andneeding
^ 9"ltit*:,:i
o c c u p a n cy.Iw a sn ,tp a yi ngallentiontospecific.dialoguebetweentlr e tw o!
. o f t h e r n .t]rn r\';i t" ;;,.j r i Itse er nedlikeaquandar yand
the office duringthe time
theywereunsureasto what,o tE,ieft
anaI havea closeworking
shewastuortlrrgo" tnit issue-I
iot. when shecameback to the
reiationshipand-confidein eachothera'iire
that -was
emotionaiexpressioi-t
kiiter'
off
rvas
she
ilrat
noticea
i
office,
, o n l r e r f a ce sh o w e d th a tsl re w astr oubled,butlcouldn' ttelltowlr
at
of time working with
a
lot
ul'o
and
cop
a
be
to
,r."j
f
degree'p""d

I[}"

sen'ices Departmen! Mr' Stapleton

Regarding the leadership in the De.velopment
and run the
,,thereis a group that is close in nature (clu-is, Aimee, and Athenia)
said,
reflecting
Stapleton offered another statement
department based on that." In addition, Mr'
behaves' Mr' Stapleton stated:
the manner in which the dcpartmenl's lcadership
Thedaybeforeyester<iay,Car-icomesinmyofficewithllinthere'
like she's-goingto u-,
carl said that "Aimee dressesinappropriately
seen enough inapproprtate
nightciub and trying to get laid.'" i .uia I've
dressaroundl-rere.Becauseoftheclosereiationshipb"]*.:".I'j:
the
are in charfe of and running
Aimee, and Atlierria, it seem, .nu. ilrey
dePafllnent."
before and
that I've worked at other places
Mr. Stapletonfurther stated,"I can say
i'regards to
sa'idhe hasn'theard anfhing
I've ncver seenanythi.g like it." Mr- Stapleton
anyone's age or

'eeding

heard any inappropriate

to retire. I{e also said that he had not

corumentsnradeit work.

M1. Staltlctonsaid,"Tire environrnentra'henI rvalk up fi-ontis tense-It givcs me

2n nne2svfe.elinqand I'nr a pretly laid-backguy. Conversatiousstop and people give
caclrotirer fur-rnylooks"ald the statementstl-ratMr. Lanzi tnakes around
When askedaboutriJreananner
the office, Mr. Stapletonsaid, "I've heardCluis say somethinglike 'I can do whatever I
u,ailt.'i don'l thirik he rireansit and is being sarcastic.IJis ovcrall dispositiongi"'esyou
the irnpressionthat he is in charge.Ile did it in a marlner of 'I don't have to be
questioned."'
JanelleMoltgomery - ComrnercialPlans Examincr - Building Inspections- has
q,orked in thc Commercial Planning scctionof DevelopmentScrviccsfor about
seven)/ears.

Ms. Montgomery

fbr about eight months- She

then moved.out and currentlv works in the office

RegardingMr.Lanziandthebehar,iorlrewou1ddirecttou'ardlEwhi1eshe

ffi,Ms.Montgomerysaid,
CluisusedtocomebyGat1e a s t o n c e a we e k o rmo re o f t e n w1 re n
about work'
- Ife didn't come in to talk to her
is
Ife rvould just come and hasslc her. The probiem with Chris the things
he says.I wouid just write it off as his personality. I{e can be abrasive and
loud and boisterous.Ife ca.nalso be inappropriate.I just think it's just
Ciuis and that'sjust the way he is.
I tirink iie thinks hc's being fumy, but in today's world it's not really taken
as fumy anymore. Ifis abrasivenesscan be intinr.idating and i thinl< irc
cornesi]9rossthat way. I{e's vcry mattei of fact anC comes across that rvay
to m.e.I{e knows that I rvill come back at him and Lredoesn't rea}iy sa1'
Angela probably wouldn't say
thilgs to rne. I wouid say that Gana
is young and maybe doesn'thave the
anl'thing back to him. f
of knorvigg how to handie the situation. Angela is new and I
"xlr".i",rc" rvlt;'
shc wouldu't say any'thinglhink lhat's

'ili']iiiif
r{esaidso,,}erbings"o:u'#"HHi."
tt^]
*^r.'tg
shciraslold mc things

u.1,2;,
5i:1""
"* ll:]]:,t"i]t:::,.
goi ng :: "t;5i;
enougb o'er
^ra ;^r irappened
q
lui l"o,-,.,"rr-,in abour a whilelc
litJmat for
a reguiar occuilence'
"l*n'"n"
time that f'"tu'n"
't

RegardingtlreleadershipintheDeveloprnerrtalsei.,licesDeparlment,Ms.
of our
trre drne because
of
a*
wanf
r
,,"I can do
'vrrat
heard cluis say
has
that'e has
Montgonery
o'the reiatio'ship
cornmented
furlher
Ms. \{o'tgorrery
nerv ieadership.,,
with Ms- Bissetl

bY saYing:

*^,.utun:i::ti;|"l?I":"t-i:
aposition
hesot
how
know
to
,,drike

:J:x*T:'ili4JJ*i':'l^i'*!
**i"*;:'l"ffi
Y"" !t;ioioroo*"1T:
:l'iH::;;fr1f;
anrlconnection'
mutu:#iitdffi
a
rrs
rheyare"s,;i;;;'

him wrt"'' '"

sn" n*,tmpowered
tt" *'u' ""1fv u"d

MrLanzr
trktL]:*"ffi:W"ry*:::f:":J:::d
Ms' Montgomery

specificallyoffered

situatrons

stated:
Ms' Montgomery
reiationship'
Bissett's
andMs'
relationship-During
mote lt11 u work
I believe that Aim-eeTd :lti'have

:,1:;"ffi'#i'"'"'
o,,,.o.iul1"1,j:3T\T"#n:*il:*;*rfr
t'"'"'";"..,tbehave
thatway'
ftan just a fr-rendsrup' we do not behave tnat
it's stitrLai;"p#;d
situati'on where
offered another
Montgomery
soclal hours, Ms.
In addition to the

Mr.Larrziand]r4s.Bissetlseemedtobeveryclose.\{s.Montgomerystated:

:ffi'Lili'"
ffi5:i;.ffil
ly i}"Jft",'
i5i"'iiJJl*::
ff;;*::ti;tilr,'5";il:il$::ilI3'*##I.?5i:i!ii;!";
o*"
a'd I weret'T'ott;n;i,"r',"t"
A*b;:, ii','tir, itit".hl,i";
-1,1:.o

l}"'
il{il1
xi
:1,$"J
i:g*i'!?
rffi
,:it
i;T;lj#,:*
"T
e'dI
tt
and
they would stop
^Tt
directlons:tt,*t
Nor-rlally'
rhen-i.

r,crvrri )'
i;;"i ;. ",:T:
tiJ.'
TI*
r,u.,
:ffi
:
;ll._
X#,n:
'=
drlnK
"
us' I'r'e secn theirr

speaking 1'o

Ms. Montgolrery indicatestiiat the reiationshipbctweetrMr. Lanz'i and N4sBisseujiad an effect on l[t

fear and reluctanceto come for-wardwirh the

^^.--.-I^:-i
u\Jr
rrprarrlL. l\/1'15.l\/^,
1'rvr)t$otn eLy' S statenrent also says :

has told Cluis to stop, but I don't think he takes her

I lcriorvEf
seriousiy.She tries to be conviircing, but I don't tirink he seesit that wayand all of tire staff know that Chris and Aimee have sotne sort of
f
wantsto openup this can of wonns,
relationship.I don't tn;nt t
especiallyit tl,ut ievel becat,secf feal of retaliation..Wl-ratI find odd with
Aimee is that she shows professionalisrnin her position and it surprises
me that she rvould allow this relationshipto go to this levei'
In regardto a patlern of conduct, Ms. Montgomery said, "I don't think there's any
tirne that Chris has come to lEoffice

and not said sornethingderogatory towards

her-"
.

Ms. Montgornery also said that she hadn't heard Chris directly say anything about
:.

someone'sage.Regarding Ms. Lawson's complaint, Ms.Ir4ontgomely stated:

Sandy commented to me that Chris was rude to her and asked her when
she was going to retire becauseshe doesn't do anything anlrvvay-Sandy
told me that he doesn'tunderstandwhat she does-Sandy has a passive
personaiity. Sandy has also told me that there is another person that treats
ircr unfairiy. Nicole Chew-Jones is anotherpowerful personality and can
makc Sandy cry sometimes.

Cathcr-inc\\/clborn - Perm.it Tcchnician - Building Inspections - has rvorkcd in tire

Dcvelopmcntal ScrviccsDepartment for five monthsWithin ]rer statement.Ms. Welborn discussedirer recoilection of flre events that
took placeon July 1,2016. This was the Friday beforethe July 4th holiday. Ms- Weiborn
.:
said :
'fhe Irr-ida1,
before the July 4th weekend, I was in Cl-rris'soffice with Clrris,
and I welt tirere to ask Chris
Carl IJager, a1d D
was
about a certificate of occupancy for a bar' when we rvent in'I!
drau,ing on his rvhiteboard sor-nesorl of fireworks stuff. I was sitting in tl-re
on the otiler cl-rair-Chris said something along
chair and she was kneelir-rg

_.

looking at
tire linesof "l'tl clieckingyour butt out right lfow'" I remen-:ber
ans\\/er
got
my
I
l'rimlikc did you just sal'1ilat'Cari rvalkedinto the office'
bar quickly to
and then I ieft becauseI had to get back to 1heowner of tl-ie
I
give her an ans\ /er-I don't recali irearinganything else inapproprlateu'lth this
was really focusedor-ineeding an answerand getting back
don't
person.Ti-rerecould have beensomethingelsesaid,but I reaily
Iatow.
.

Ms' welborn
ln rcgardto Mr. Lanzi',s conduct in and aroundthe department,

stz,tcd:

an1'thingelse
I knorv chris is a big joker, but I've never heard him say
I{e may have
about anyone'sbody parts. I've only beenhere six months'
up front,like you
said sornethingto sanay or someoneelse who is sitting
you can iiear liiia v;hen
need to retire Ir somerhing.Chris speaksso lo-,i3,ly
do." i just take it
he,s speaking.I,vc hcard ct,ri, .uyi'I do what I y*, to
Nothing has
rvith a grain of satt and lhink h"'stne of those kind of people'
ever happened,but hc does say that a lct'

- has rvorked in thc

Carl I{ager IV - I}uilding Inspector I - Building Inspections
Dcvclopmenl Sen'icesDepartment for about three rnonths'
I've known Chris
Mr. I-lagercharacterizesMr. Laruias l'loud and straightfonvard'
I{e jokes wilh me' but I'r'e
for a rvhile so I know how he is. I've been around him before'
parents becausethey work at
never heard him say it to anyone else before- I{e knows rny
the fair stuff togetirerand I've been around him'"
the Friday before the 4thof
Mr. I{agcr offered this recoilection of the situation on
July holiday. Mr. IJagerstated:
I was sitting in
Tiie Friday before July 4th weeken<Iin the aftemoon,
and Cathy came into Ciuis's office' I
i"if.irg il fti- Ef
Chris's
"fn*
Cluis said whoever had drawn on
dlu*rng offi-d.
..-"'-rb"rf
rvas drau'illg ovcr what rvas
it beforc u,asgoing to get maCbecausell
saf ing "your butt
clrau,non the board. I don't recall anlhing about Chris
out'" I recalled
looks nicc" or "do you wa't to make out/lit's all rnake
an1'1hingout of the
if
on the board and I would renember
llaruu,ing
hal\vay sayilg
lonn was said-I don't recall Aimee rvho sits acrossthe
anything during that time.

Mr- IJageris an inspectot-inreiationto the atmosphereu,itir other inspectorsand

Chris,I\4r.Ilager said, "the inspectorsgo back and forth a iot giving eachotirera hard
tinreaboutneedingto retire or tliat one is going to retire beforesorleoneelse.I've heard
someonesay that you't,ebeendoing this too long and we needto get a fresh set of eyes
on stuff. I took it as u'e need to havc some of the new/young guys hurry up to get up to
speedon inspections."
Mr- Hager said that he loves working hcre and that's why he carre back to the
City- I{e said, "I enjoy being able to get out, but also have a workspaceinside. I'm cxcited
about the movc to the new building and tJleleaming opportunitiesthat I have been
Pivcn-"

Carl Partin - Plans Examiner II - Building Inspections- has rvorked for thc
De.r'clopmentSerwicesI)epartment for three
]'cars this OctoberMr- Partin offered his opinion about the nature of the environment in the
Development ServicesDepartment.Mr. Partin said, "Over the past year and a half, I've
heard cursing some amongst coworkcrs. I've heard Chris say 'I cal do what I wart,'when
Ite bccameInspectionsSupervisor,and then the AssistantBuilding Official."
In regard to specific behavior of Mr- Lanzi,Mr. Partin recaiied a meeting where
Mr-Lanzi appearedto bc out of line regarding a phone call. Mr. Partin stated:
I've heardliim say things to other employces.I?orexample,we were ail
gathcringin a meetingto discuss.thenew site plan. A few of the atlendees
had not shown up. I{e sat down arnongstever}rone.IJe rnakesa call and
.says"horv come you didn't answerrny call when i called?I'rn your boss
and you'li answerme when I call you." In the rooln was Rodney Patlerson,
Aimee Bissett,myself ald a few other people.Rodney said "rviroa Clrris
that'sa linie nlucl]." Aimee then laughedabout it. So, that made me thinl<
that u'hat Rodnel,had just said was negatedbecauseAimee is the Director
of the clcpartment.

I'r'e been around long enorigh to klorv what it looks like rvhen tu,o people
are l:aving an affair.

hi anotherepisode,\4r. Partintalkedabouttire beiraviorbetrveenMs. Bissett and

Mr. Lanzi-Mr. Partinsaid,"I rventout to Dan'sSilverleafone eveningbecauseI'm into
counlrymusic. Onc of my bandswas playing and Chris and Aimee were there.i think
Aimee'shusbandrray iravebecn there,but I'm not certainbecauseI don't knorv him.
Aimee and Cirris were at thc bar right up next to each other.,,
Mr. Partin also reflected on how Ms. Bissetl talked about getting funds for the
deparlmentand horv it appearedthat Mr. Larui was in chargeof tlie Development
ServicesDeparlment. in this regard,Mr. Parlin stated:
Standing outside of City Ilall West on a break, I overheardAimee say to
Chris and one of the Inspectors,"after i get a couple of drinks in George, I
can get rvhateverI want." Among my workgroup, we ali believe there is
an inappropriaterelationship going on with Chris and Aimee. It feels like
clrris is running the rvhole department now even though he's not the
director. It seemslike whatever direction Chris wants to go that's where
we go becauseAimee just does what he says.There are very few times
that Chris actsprofessionalat work.
l\{s- Sandl' Larvson - Administrativc Assistant III - Planning and Development
Division - u,ithin the DcvelopmcntServicesI)epartment.
In regard to where Ms, Lawson physically works on the Main Floor of City l{all
West.shc said:
I work at 1hefront count at City ifall West in the Plaruring Division. There
are severalslaff r.r&owork on this floor and walk by my desk at any given
time" There are two deskshere,mine ald one that Nikole Chew-Jonesor
Allrenia Greensit :rt rvhcn thcy arc lielping rne or covering for rny lunch.
To 1heleft of us is Building IirspectionsPernif i-echs,Nikole Eikins,
Mayela vasqucz, and Linda Ames. Across the hall are Rodney patlerson,
Kalcn I-lenlann, and Muzaib Riaz. Brittany Miller is at tlie end of the
halhvay and GlendaGailliard and Emily Loiselle have officcs at that end
also. Munai N4auladadis at the other end of the irallway acrossfrom Chn-is
Lanzi's office. I sa1,15it becauscany of lhcm at any timc cor-rldbe walkiirg
to the fi-ontor by our customers-

Ir4s.Lau,sonstatedthat on an averageof at least once a week, Mr. Lanzi makes

sone typc of conment abouthow oid sheis or askswhen Ms. Lawson is going to retire.
TI'reconducl u,as reflectedin recent incidentsbetweenMs. Larvson and Nufr-Lanzi- Ms.
Larvsonstatedthe foliowing regardingan incidentthat took place on July 13, 2016:
Chris u,as in Rodney's office and walked ou1.Chris, Brittany and Athenia
were taiking about the new pirone gamePokemon Go. Brittany asked if I
have a Facebook.Cluis replied,"Sandy's1ooold to have a Facebook-"
Ms. Lawson, referring to anotfuerincident on July 13,2016, stated:

Chris came to the front counter and told Athenia and me that Airnee
Bissett wanted me to takc somethingfrom his desk to her at City I{all and
sheneededitquickly.Weas]<e.jwhy..[Ie',insieadofAtheniaorBrittany
Miller (Chris's Administrative Assistant).Chris said, "It's becauseAirnee
knorvs that Sandy isn't doing anything," and laughed.i told him I would
take it and asked Athenia (my s-ilpervisor)if she wanted me to since she
would have to cover the front desk for me. Athenia said that she would
take it to Aimee.
Furlher, Ms. Lawson said lirat sotnetimearound June 21, 2016:
Chris was walking by the counter going into Rodney's office- He asked
me when I was goi.tg to retire. I{e was very loud and the lobby was fuil of
people, including citizens, customers,and fbllow employees. I believe
Ir4unalwas rvalking by.
Ms. Lawson statedthat this kind of behavior had been going on for about a year,

at leastonce a u,eek,where \4r. Lanzi walks by and will makc a "derogatory comtnent
about irer 1ot rvorking, being too old, or asking hcr wheu sl'reis going to retire."
In regardto h4s.I-awsonsendinga lettcr directly to lr4r.Martin, Ms. Lawson
statecl,"l arn fcarful of retaliation,so I don't want rny supervisor,Athcnia GLeen,Aimee
Bissett,or Cluis Lanzito seetitis. Alhenia and Clrris are friends and Aimee and Chris are
friends."

-- I)cvclopmcnt Scn'ices
Illunal Nltauladad- I)cpgt1,Dir. of f)o,clopment Sct-r'iccs
Ms. \4auladadstated:

on Jul1,20th, Sardy Larvsoncame1ome \/ery upsetand we taiked-Shc

told rne shefelt shc rvasbeing discriminatedagainstbecauseof her ageShetoid me there had been severalremarks over the past year such as
"you'retoo old, w1-iyare you still here,aren'tyOuretiredyet, you do not do
anything anyway." I have witnessedMr. Chris Lanzi say thesethings to
Ms. Lawson at the front desk as I passedby to go down the hall and stairs
to lire restroom.This happenedregularlyover the courseof six monthsMs. Lawson said it made irer feel unwantedand I assuredher that she was
rva:rted.Ms. Lawson raisedanotherconcem to me that prior to July 20th,
Mr. Lanzi came by her of'fice and said he got a messagefrom Airnee
Bisset-tand that she needssomeoneto bring somethingto City Ifall and he
said to Ms. Lawson "Sinceyou don't do anything anyway, why don't you
take it." I have not hcard anyone else say thesethings directed to MsLawson.
Ms. Ir{auladadsaid l-hatothersincluding Mr. Patterson,Ms. Miller, and Ms.

Chew-Joileshad heard the stalementsas well becaule of their cicse proximity to MsLawson's desk. In regard to Ms. Bissett'sconduct towards lr4s-Lawson, Ms' Mauladad
said, "to my knowledge, Ms. Bissetl has not made the statements,but I have heard her
iaugh when Mr. Lanzi saysMs. Lawson doesn'tdo anything anyway."
Ms- Mauladad said that she has talked with Mr. Patterson,Mr. Lanzi's direct
supervisor,about his behavior and Mr. Pattersonsaid, "[H]e is not going to get involved-"
Ms. Mauladad reported that Ms. Lawson is afraid of retaliation. Ms- Mauladad further
brought up Ms. I-arvson'sreluctanceto go to I{R saying that Ms. Larvsondid not trust IfR
and tlrat tlris inl'orrnationrvouldbe reveaiedto Mr- Lanzi, Ms. Bissett,and Ms- Green
rvho rvould retaliateagainsther. Ms. Grcen is iMs.Lawson's direct supervisorIn regardto thc fear of retaliation,Ms. Mauladad said, "she [lr4s-Larvson]said
norv that \4r. Lanzi's is so pou,erfulbecauseMs. Bissett lets hirn run the show- I asked if

comforlablegiving
sl-recould scnda letler, who siteu'ould sendit to. Sandysaid shefeit
it to I-lorvardMartin."
said that
In refercnceto lr4r. Lanzi's conduct withil the departincnt,Ms' Mauladad
is Airnee'" In
Mr.l-anzisaysthings such as "I ow'nthis place.I run this place-My boss
Mr' Lanzi's
addition, Ms. Mauladad offered further tiroughtsabout how she tliinks about
"Mr'
1t ServicesDcpartmelt. in tliis regard,Ms. Mauladad said,
roie i1the T)evelopl-ie
and says he
Lanziu,al],.sdorvn the hailway where the Plans Examiners are located

'owns

Mr' Lanzi and

fhis place and he's the boss.' Becauseof a perceivedrelationship between
fear of retaliation'"
Ms. Bissett,people are afraid to come forward and say anything in
affair u'ith Ms' Bissett
Ms. idariladad also said "there is a perceptionthat he is having an
and Ms. Grsen."
with lr4r'
Ms. Mauladad referred specifically to her own working relationship
Lanziand her position in the department by saying:
have been
Since March 29, Mr. Lanzi has barely spoken to me- Interviews
that I
positions
conductedand individuals hired for Inspector Supervisor
from the
havc not been consulted or included. On March 29, I resigned
i told Mr'
city of Denton. Jon Fortune askedtne to rescind rny resignation'
the work I
Iiortune and Ms. Bissett that I was not receiving credit for all
and
have done as it relatesto processesand organizational structure
introducing a change in the culture.
was a
Ms. Bissetl |as taken credit for my wo1k. I told hirn that there
that rvas
perception tliat Ms. Bissett and Mr. Lanzi are in a relationship
tireir
i,.appropriate.Mr. Forlune disrcgardedrny statementsabout
staff is
relationship.I also mcntionedthl excessivedrinking and that
and asked
acumen
talking about it. I{e told rne I didl't have the political
rvhat it rvould takc for me to stay.
Bissett to
I rold hiln 1u.,othings - Il-cceivecredit for rny work, and for Ms'
responsible
infonn my roles u,i r"rpo,isibilities to ali three divisions I arn
on
Builalng Inspectionand Gas Wetls' She touched
for, tirat is, Plannir-rg,
thc divisions'
n-r),1i1lcat a Building Inspectionmeetingbut not the rcst of

lr4s.N4auladad
saidthat slie had not brouglrttliis to anyone'sattenlionbecauseshe
said,"I
felt Iikc shcu,asbeingsingiedout andpushedaside.Specificaliy,Ms. N4auladad
havenot brouglttup Ms. Lau'son'sconcernsto Ms. BissetlbecauseI fecl there would be
u,hich is happeningnow, but I feel it rvould be
i'etaliatior-r
or characterassassination,
arr-plified."
In rcferenceto her own position rvithin ilre DevelopmentalSbrvicesDepatlnrent,
Ms. Mauladadsaid, "I, mysclf am emotionally drainedby trying to figure out what is
going on and concemedfor myself and my family that I may be pushed out and lose m1'
job." She said she is not comfortable approachingMr. Fortune rvith her feelings and
could not go to Ms. Bissitt becauseshe was involved in this. She tvent to Mr. Mhtir^ andsaid it was her responsibility to report the incident to him regarding the incident raised b5'
Ms. Loisellefrom July.
RegardingtheJulyiincidentbetweenEandMr.Lasui,Ms.Mauiadad
said that she was not prcsent that day but it was reported to her by Ms. Loiselie and she
reported it to lr,{r.Martin on July 5tir. Ms. Mauladad's statementincludes why she thinks
tirat Ms- Bissett and Mr. Lanzicould be perceivedto have an inappropriate rclationshipMs. Mauladadsaid that one time shc was locked out of her office and did not have a keyShe realizedthat Ms. Bissett and lr4r. Larvirvere bchind cioscd doors in her locked
officc. She said shc rvastold that they rverein her and N4s.Bissett'soffice. She texted \4s.
a frw rninutesthe door \\'asopened.
Bissetl and r\:i1-hin

llodncl' Pattcrson - Building Official - Building Inspcctions - hc has t'orkcd in thc

Pl:rntlitrg and Devclopnrent department for 171's"-t' I{is supervisor- is llls'
A{aulaclad :rnd Aimcc Bissctt is Iicr suDcrlisol- and Jon Iiot-tune is I\{s- Bissctt's
d ir-cct s uIr cl-viso r-.

Mr. Pattersopdescribedthe sitting arangementsand Iocalion of eirployees on 1he

main floor of Cit1,Ilall West.
Mr. Pattersonstatedas follorvs:
I rvotk on the nain floor ofCity I{all West whereyou first rvalk into the
buiiding. My of{ice is locatedto the left of the front desk. \\/hen you are
facing the front desk, you tum Ieft and my office is on tire lefl- In the
office to my left as i am locking out.of my of{ice.[,] Muzaib lUaz and
Karen Ilernam are in the same office next door to me'

Immediately outside of my of{ice is the Planning front desk where Sandy

Lawson sits and there is an empty chair where Karen I{ennann used to sit.
Aiier Karen was promoteciaround a couple of rnonths ago, Athenia oiNicole sit there on occasion.To my right, is the Building Inspections
counterrvherePennit Techs sit and pasttirat are two more desks for the
Permit Techs (lr4ayalaVasquez,Nicole Elkins, Linda Ames, and Cathy
Welborn.)
from,the front desk, Richard Van Pelt, nerv
As you go down the hallr^.ray
Fire Inspectionssupervisoris on the right. Pastthat is Aimee and Munal's
ofhce on tfie right corner. Chris I-alzi's office is acrossfrorn Aimee and
Munal's office on the 1eftas you look down the hallway- Nicole Cheu'Jones' desk is al the end of the hallrvay betrveenMunal/Aimee's office and
Chris's of.fice.
Mr. Pattersonstatedthat he has a close working relationship with Mr. Lanzi. He
also statedthat Mr. Lanzi,Ms- Bissett, and Ms. Green have a close relationship' Mr'
Patlersonsaid he has a close working relationship with Ms. Mauladad- Further, he said
and Ms. Loiselle seemto have a close working relationship'
rhat Ms. N4auladad
Mr. patlerson characterizedMr. Lanzi as being very boisterous-Ife also said that
Mr. Lanzi is constantlylaughing andjoking and his voice carries,Mr- Pattersonsaid
sotnepeople do not respondweli to that kind of personality.In regard to his boistelous
personalify,Mr. Patterson1ecalleda staff meetingwhere Mr- Lanzi said a curse word'
lr4r-Pattersonstaled:

\\/e rvcrein a nreelingivith thc i{caltir Jnsltectors

that Chris iradrecentll,
promotedto supcrvise.Afler the irreeting,J ltad a conversationwith hirn
tl-rathe rnight u,all to considerwhat ire saysin front of staff rnembers.I{c
said he thoughtit was his first amendnrentright to say whateverhe wanted
to sa)/.I explainedthat at work lie needsto keep it professional.I{e said he
neededto learn this kind of stu{l Ile mentionedthat when he became
supervisor,he nevergot caliedover hereto meet witir John Whitmore. I
lold him rve neededto set him over hereto do someof the IJR classes.
Rcgardingtlie particularsituationraisedin Ms. Lawson'sage complaint,Mr.
Patlcrscnsaid:
I did overhearCluis say "she'stoo old to have a Facebookaccount." I
respondedthal I don't even have a Facebookaccount. Chris, Athenia, and
Sandy were at the front desk when the comment was said. I couidn't really
sec anyone,but I just heard their voices. When I'm engrossedin work, I
pay attentionto what'sgoing on. Somepeople'svoices carry
don'1reall1,
rnore than others such as Chris, Athenia, and myself.
In addition, Mr. Pattersonsaid he had a conversationwith Sandy about when they
were going to retire. Ile said that he meets with everyoneon the staff once a year to
discussthe stateof their division. Mr. Pattersonsaid he let everyone know that his goal is
to retire in four ycars but he didn't want to be retired in place. He said he is committed to
being productive whlle he's here.
Mr. Patlersonsaid that others in the departmenthad rccently come to hirn to talk
about their pcrception regarding al improper relationship between Mr. Lanzi and Ms.
Bissett.Ir4r.Pattersonsaid he instructedall of theseindividuals to contactMark Stephens
about their concerns.Mr. Pattersonsaid, "I havc heard Cluis say stuff like 'Rodney said I
can do rvhateverI want to do.' Whcn I was out someonesaid 'Chris fired rne llrree times
rvhile you \\/eregorle."'
Ir4r.Pattersonsaid he had not heard anv commentsof a sexual nature coine fi-om
Mr. Lanzi. In fact, he saidhc iradnol ireardanyonesa)/tliat Mr. Lanzi has said anything

portion of rvork ofl'

of a scxualnalure.Ir4r.Patlersol saidt|at Mr. Lanzilrastakena big
hard,
of him. \\/hen Mr. Lanzi first took over a superuisor,he woiked really

would cotle

ire
late to make things better.Mr. Pattersonsaid,"to my knowledge,
in early and s1a1,
seenMs' Lawson
docs a lot of good work still'" Finalil" Mr- Pattersonsaidhe liad not
shou'fear aboutMr. Lanzi and his behaviorFurlher, while Mr. Pattcrsonwas the Plans ExarnindrSupervisor
Lanzi and Ms'
never came to talk to hiin about Mr. Lanzi- Moreovcr, regardingMr.
sexual relationsilip
Bissetl'srelationship Mr. Pattcrsonstatcd,"as far as an inappropriatc
that is going on' I have no
betvreenAimee and Chris, I do not seeanylhing that indicates
rnaking their
reason to believe t]-ratAmber or Sandy would be untruthltl about
statements-"

- has been in the

Mayela Vasqucz - Pcrmit Technician - Building Inspections
Derlelopmen?alScn'ices Department for about five months'
into city Hall West' in
Ms. Vasquezsal,from the vieu?oint of a person walking
age discrimination
the seatto thc lefl of the front counter. In regard to Ms. Lawson's
anything about Ms'
claiin, Ms. Vasquez statedthat she did not recall Mr- Lanzi saying
conduct around the office' Ms'
Lawson and her age or retirement. In regar-dto Mr. Lanzi
Vasquezstated:
Atirenia' So
cluis usescurseu,ords.My coworker cathy is friends rvith
to Cathy' One
Clrris, Ca,.hy,a1d Athcnia are ell pla1rfirl.Cliris stopsto talk
"why
cathl, asked ciuis how he was today- cluis said
da1,1 ,"'''"-t"r,
ti r eFdol'eu"u'"?"Cathysaid" Ma y a la ' y o u h e a rd t ira t ' Y o u ' rc my
because
u,itness.I'm goir]g1o take him to I{I1." I told her, I don't know
u'itl^
that
like
jokc
arour-rd
),'all arc at.rislJki,.g around.I u'ould''t
Catiry are
utlyo""' I just trl' to stay out of things' Cirris' Athenia' and
this tinrc
alu,a),sjoking around and l try ro atuy out of it, but I rernernber
]-reuscd the curseu'ord.

ar-rdMs' Bissett'swor-k
\4s. \/asquczalso statedrhe lollorving regarclinglr4r-Lanzi
and sometirlresCluis and
behat,ior.Ms. Vasquczsaid,"CiI-iS'sdooi is closedsometimes
to itave a relationshipand
Airneearc in theretogethersotnetimes.Chris and Aimee Seem
could
spendtirne together."This is as detailedas Ms. Vasquez

get regarding their

r cla ti on sh ip
i;i hcr judgrlent' She
Ms. Vasquezsaid that sometimesN4r. Lanzihe was meall
and Caliiy- She thought his
said that she had seenhim bc mean lowards Nicole Elkins
and Cathy rvere okay with it' in
treatmentof them was not very nice but, maybe Nicole
that Cluis.says "I do what I
regardtwo Ciuis's behayior as a leader,Ms- Vasquez slated
want." She thought ire said that pretly regularly'

Inspections - is a long-time
Bmil5, Loisellc - lrlans Exarniner Supervisor - Building
cmployeervith the Devclopment Sen'icesDepartment'
irect supervisor. In regard to the specific

Ms. Loiseile is

Ms'

Lanzi atdllD'
scenariothat is the basis of this complaint belu,eenMrLoiselle statedthe follorving:
on or about July i ,2016'iate in the afternoon'
'Wc'\'e been corvorkersfo
officem),
r11)'vrrrvv-D

came to
;- I'tn nou' her

a ycar ago' She said

ul,:t,i,]_:^
llrrle over
sor-a little
supen'isor- I u'as promoted to supentrsor
r ^--; 1-1..ic
chris
codeitemswith Chrisr'anzi'

il:;ffir^r

tr."i"rl talkingabout

Supetvisor (prior to
usedto be on thc samelevel as rne, aSthe Inspections
I believe he was less
that ire was an inspectorand reportedto my husband.
opcn aboulhis ilchaviorthen-)
official' chris
Abour a month ago, he got promoted to assistantbuiiding
rvho reports to
anclI both repofl to Rodncl' Patterson,Building Official
who then
Ir4u'al Mauladad,Dcputy blrector of De'clopr'ent Setvices
told
|I
rcpofls to Aimec gisseft, nirector of DeveloprnentServices'
her
to
Clrris said
me tliat after the1,got done discussingthe code it-:n.t:
u'ere otlter
Tirele
"1-ie1'
beetra long titne, you rvant to make out?"
11'a

Catherine
peopiein the roonl SoI think Cl'uisrvantedto irnpresslirem'
one of the
l{ager,
carl
welborn, nervPermjt Tech (reporlsto Glenda)and
office when
nervinspectors(reportsto Chris)were alsopresentin Cllis's
this happened.
"\I'e can shut the dOOr
Shesaid "no, I don't ll]ink So,not today." IJe Said
two cnarls 11-I
and aii nrake out-" Chris was sitting at his desk-There are
i"" elservas sjtting or standing I
there,but I'tn not surewhere
"t'"tf
that I
said u,hateveras they all *,"." i"u,ring Cluis's office- I told C
said
couldn,tbejrevelie did tirat and askeJrvhat Aimee said-f
"Cluis, I think that's a
Aimee poked her head into Chr-is'soffice and said
of iris office'
iittie inappropriate."Airnee l-radovcrheardit from outside
heard il bccauseher
Cluis speaksloudl1''Nicole Chew-Jonescould have
an office across
desk is outside of Chris's office. Aimee and Munal share
i]re comment' Chiis
from Chris's oifice, I cio not beiieve that ldunal heai-d
to hear that'"
madc some comment about "Aimee wasn't supposed
arrd realized that it
Ms. Loiszlle statedthat she went to an IiR class on harassment
IIR' She said that Mr' Lanzi's
was somethinglJratneededto be brought to the attention of
behavior has been swept under the rug and consideredas
talked to tl
said
f

normal' Ms' Loiselie said she

Loiseile statedthat
again this past week [the week of July 1lth]' Ms'
behavior happeneda lot and
she was oka1,.Ms. Loiselle'asked if that type of

inappropriate
said not a lot but it has happenedbefore that he makes

cornrrlents'

AccordingtoMs.Loiselle,Ffe lt s c a re d f o rh e rjo b b e c a u s e Ch ris a n d

that Ms' Bissetl is in Mr' Lanzi's
Aimee are so close. Further, Ms. Loiselle has noticed
has an office and is in there rnost
office quite a bit. Moreover, Ms. Loiselle stated,"Cluis
her quite a bit' Mostiy meetings at
of the day, Aimee tendsto take chris to meetingswith
also refened to \4r' Lanzi's
City I{atl acd thcse tyites cf rneetings."Ms. Loiseile
promotion and her collcerll abouthis qualifications and
postedfor othersto apPl1'-

why the positioll was never

-BuildingIllspections-lrasu'orliedfortlre

Ciiy forlJ,""..

iiffi?Iffiltio"s'rvithi'

theDe'clopmcntSc^'iccs

Dcpartment.
m sta tedthatitdidrr'tnratterifs o n re o n e wa s in ire ro f f ic c a ie rro t .
to irer' She
When \4r'. Lanzi carneby lie u,ould say ilappropriale lhings

statedire said so

somcthing
things that she tendedto forget becausehe aiwal's had
rnany ir.rappropriate

to

saya b o u therbod1,.mspecifica1lyr e mc t n b c re d a n in c id e n t t h a t h a 1 lp e n e d irr

the surrlner of 20i5 where shesaid:
even iorv-cut,he was
One lime last summer,I had a dresson and it wasn't
..wclJlook al youi boobs,they look huge today." I told him to stoil'
like
the tin-reu'hen
I{e says stufr about my boobs a lot. i specificallYremember
When he saysthings
I was rvearingthe dress.Other tirnes he said tliings.
,,rvelllook at your-boobs," it bothers me becauseI'rn trying to be
like
it probably t'tot
modest. I{e saysstuff about my butt and boobs- I{e's said
more becauseof
even monthly or rveekly thing. Now thal he's in the ofhce
oflen' Wiren he was arou'd me' he rvould
his position, I may seeitim
-or"
say something.

{FspecificalIydiscussedanoilrerincidentthatisthefocusofthis
to talk rvith Mr- Lanzi about an
irrvestigation.She statedthat on July 1,20!6,she needed
active permit to open a bar- nstated

ilre foilowing:

on thc pirone that

in tire aliernoon around 2 or 3 p.m-, cathy had someone
didn't have the
had activc pennit to open a bai. She called becauseshe
to keep thc other
rxoney to do 1]reu,ork that sire had pennitted, She needed
for a solution to
half of ircr bar open.I called Emiiybecause I was looking
ownerhelp the busir-ress
the onc side rvhile
I]mily said u,e shouldbe able to give her a co to open
sh e ,srvolking.,;11theol]re r. S in c e l-h e re wa s a n a c t iv e p e rn rit a rrd rra r|. o f i t the office )'et So' I
rvasto put up a firervall.The inspectorsu,eren't back in
and he I'erou's
told cathy let's go taik to cluis becausehe's been there
u,ltat'sgoing o,t. I-1"rvould be able to issue a CO'
until the)' fir'rished'
l le haclCari lJager in his office. Wc stood to the side
said do 1'ourvant
\\/ire3 we rvai]<edip, 5e said oh u,hat do )"ali u'aut? Ile
to make out? Closetile door let'smake out?

Carl Iaughedit off like u,hy is he sayingthat. I-leseemediike he felt

but didir'tknow rvhatto say.I toid Clu-isnot today-Carl iefl the
ar.r,ku,ard
office. cathy and I told irim aboutthe co issuelhat u,e neededaird he
agree[d].
\\ihile \ve are talking, I starteddrau,ing on his wliteboard for the 4'r' of
me
Ju1y.Calliy irad ieft and Chlis and I rverealone in his office he tells
..I'm looking at your butl." I said,"so." I{e said, "no, I'm looking at your
butt." I said "whatever" ald lefl his officcAiniee was acrosstire liall and ye)led ")'ou're being pretty lnappropnale
didn't
over l-herc-"I{e yeiled "oh, you weren't supposedto hear that'" I
him
recaii
really
expect him 1o say this, but it didn't surpriserne. I can't
soying this sorl o1'thingtowards other peoplc' When hc was pointing
".v"..
to stop. I{is behavior to'waldsine is unv;elcone'
out rny boobs, I told hiir--,
The rcst of tlie time I just try to ignore him.

Rcgar<iingthereiationshipbetweenMs.Bisset1andMr.Lanzi'tf,said
including
ilrat they seemto be together a lot. "They've taggeCeach other on Facebook
Athenia..,f,remetnberedacontractor1unc1reonwhereMr.Pa11erSonwaS

goingover the energy

"od".IlEstated:
was one chair over from
- . . Aimee sat at the head of the table and Chris
phone'
irer. Tire entire meeting one would be texting and put down the
Tiren the next o.r" *o,rld pick up their phone and read and respond.
phoneTircn he would put his phone down a]]d she would pick up her
wcre
rras cllaning up after the luncheon, Chris and Aimee
While
"r"ryon"
ride' we
not there. Rodney askedrvhere chris was becausehe was his
offered to give him a ride and ire said it would be okay'
the building
Chris and Aimee cane walking up ip 1heparkilg lot towards
the
across
went
aS\\,e rvere coming out of the ttrriiaing. Tliey said tirey
20
strectto look at some ccpstruction.They were golle for at least
if tlre)'
as
together
minutcs. I'r,c seenthcrn rvalking fi'om o.rr.pur-i.ig lot
had just colne fi-omsomeivhere.
M or esilecificalI),,llE stated, . ' I f e e iiik e lrc ira s a n iiru , it irA irn e e a n d
aboul Ci-rrisit
shc'sthc director- I feel ]ike tirat if )'ou tnade a cotnplaint to Aimee

1"'

ren]orseabout
\\iouldn'tgo au)/\vjtercbecausethey are so close.Chris irasuerrelshovurr
his behaviortou,ardsrne and he continuesto saythesethingsto me. I{e seemsto harreno
filter."
J(arcn Ilcrlnann - Planning Technician- Planning and development- she has
and four months'
u,orl<cdin the DcvelopmcntSen'iccsDcpartrnentfor thc 1'921'
Ms. I-lerrlann spoke directly to the assertionsregardingMr- Lairzi by stating:
Irm sumrisedto hear that Chris is the one that has said somethingto
Sandy.I've directly heard Nicole Chew- Jonessay stuf{to Saady like
"rvhy are you still here" or "when are you going to retire?" She made
Sandycry quite a few times over the past severalmonths. Sandy has her
glasseson a string and Nicole says "why are you doing that, are you that
old ?"
'She'salso said to Sandy "do you needa hearing'aid?"'Chriscould irave
said something like that to Sandy in a joking way. Chris has a loud voice
and you can hear him. I usuaily just ignore him. I've never heard Chris talk
about Facebookor Pokdmon Go or anything iike that'
Ms. Herman discussedher relationship rvith Ms. Lawson by stating:
When I worked with Sandy, I enjoyed working with her. She's very
productive and hclped me out a iot. I think as a deparltnentwe would lose
i lot of i.tforrnation if she decidedto leave. When I wanted to do a direct
deposit change,I asked Sandy for help on what to do. She trained me and
sire did a greatjob of training me. I got it and was able to move up.
I've hcard her say things about not feeling like she is valuable. I told her
not to listen to pcople and told her all of the things she'sdone and
continuesto do a lot. She'snevertold me who has said thesethings to her'
I just lcrorv of Nicole becauseI rvas sitting there. The front desk can be
very busy at tin-res.Peoplecoming in and pl-ronecalis'
l{egarding thcse statenelts that \{r. Lanzi he rcgularly rnakes around the
t

joking person' He jokes

department,Ms- Ifennann stated,"I paSSCiuis in the hall, Ile's a
do u'hat
a iot. Ife likes things to be black and white. I'r,eheard him say single quote I can
I wallt-"'

- she has
- pcrlnit Tcchniciansupcn,isol-- Buil<IingInsllcctions
GlcnclaGailliar-cl
i\/Is'
for about 14 )'cars'
v,orl<cd.rviththc I)cvclopmentSen,icesDcpartlncnt
\\'lto reports to l{unal l{auladad'
Gailliard is supctliscd b1'N{r' Rodncl' Pat?crson'
t,ho thcn r-cportsto Aimcc Bissctt'
on tire main floor' whell a
ir4s.Gailhardoffice is iD the city Hall west building
pcrsoncolnesirrroCitlil]a.llwestandislookirrgattlrcfi-ontcoutrtel,thepelsonrvould
in her office is the last office
take the irallway to the left and go to tire end of the hallway
said she can sometimeshear Mr'
on 1herigl-rt.prorn rvhere she is located,Ms- Gailliard
usually doesn'thear the people up
Paltersonbccausehe is pretty loud. She also says she
front uniessthcY are being ioutistating:
Ils. Gailliard refcned to Mr' Lanzi's demeanorby
he comes tiuough the
ctu-is Larviis hard in his tone and demeanor as
I have heard Chris Say "I
front area. Chris can to be disrespectful at times'
do wh atl.ivanttodo.''Chrishas c o me d o wn t o o u ra n d t lrro wn o u t a
commenttoBrittany,,you,renotdoirrganything..'Idonotrecalihearing
thai he was talking to Athenia'
him say anyrhing about Sanay. lt *uJ*oi"
RegardingtheeventsonJulyl2,20|6concerningMr.Lanzi'sstatementstoMs.
Gailliard stated:
Lawson about being too old to have Facebook' Ms'
WeweresittirrginoursupervisorrneetingonTuesdaythatwehavewith
it to Rodney's office yet
Rodney, irl Rodrrey,sofficc Ciuis hadn't made
said he had to get on
becausehe was getting something for Aimee- chris
to get off her phone and
1o someone,I rvant to say aUr"niirr, rvho needed
Rodncy's office and is
takc it to Aimee. Sandy sits at the desk acrossfrom
typically at rvort and sitting tirere'
wSen offerir-rgcontext about thc July i incident betweenilEl

and Mr'

Ms. Gailli ard stalcd:

l-z.it,.i,
tl'relady-trying to
I remember rvorking on an issuc rvith Kathy regarding
June 30' 2016' I
operl part of a bar- Tire follorving day' Thursday'
becausehe rvas tire
colrntulicaled rvilh Richard nlg"u' a gtt clarification
'firere
julyseemedto,be some
inspector.I rvas out ot-itlie Frida"ybefole 4
sheirad to
on thc issue-iVl',.tt I rctumcd, Kathl' told 31
misunderslar-rdir-ig
to ger Ciu-isiuvoirred'
get serreralpeoplc invoh,ed-Silc saicitirat sireirao

\4s' Gaiiliard
In regardto the relalionshjpbetrveen]\4r.Lanzi andMs. Bissett,
froln
is acrossthe 1-ra11
said,"l'r,enoticedthat Chris and Airneecornmunicatea iot- Cliris
office door on
rvhereAi'ree and Munai,s olfice is located.I sceAimee standingChris's
severaloccasiotts."
- she has
Aimec Bissctt- Dir. of DevclopmentSen'ices- Planning and Developrnent
a half'
bcen thc Director of I)evcloirnientSen'iccsfor over 2 )'car-and
regarding
Ms. Bissetlrccaliedlhe eventsthat part of the focus of this investigation
thc incidcnt betrveenlr{s. P.odger:and \4r. Lanzi on July 1, 201(r
foliowing:
Ms- Bissetl was in hcr office that aftemoon. She recalled the

On July 1, the Friday before 4 July, in rhe afternoon,while Iand

along the
Kathy were in Chrisls office, I overheard Chris say something
,,oll, I know you're just here to Seeme becauseyou want to make
lines of
' "
I
out." I was in my office acrosswhich is acrossfrom Chris's office'
if an1'69
leanedinto fte hall and said "inappropriate."I don t remember
supposed
them heard me or not. I d;d not i"- ennr say "oops she wasn't
working it did
to hear that." After I said that's inappropriate, I went back to
to
not hear anyhing else. I muy hurr" gone over to his office afterwards
discussthe CO, but did not discussanything 6ise'

walks throughout the

Further, Ms. Bissetl talked about Mr. Lanzi's conduct as he
dcparlment:
Generally '
Cliris does say on a regular basis, "I can do rvhatevcr I want-"
the edges and
my observationof Cluis is that he's a lit1le rough around
never heard
I've
to do that to irimneedsomecoaclring.I've attem.pted
in that
al14l-ringthat would rise to a sexual harassmentclairn- I'rn only
I can
whcre
office
office maybe tlrrce times a week- I'm only around the
Itearliitrt a fcu' liours a wcekTlle only
IIe,irasa tenciencl,to be flirty as sorneof the ladies in the or'hceiaughed
She
i
July
'
was the day of
titiltg I've cver l.reardhirn say tolJ
joking
aird then rvent on to taik business.It seemedlike a rnutual,
ut" ttot
Says
relationship rr,,iththcrn. It secmslike tire tirings that ire
of
guardedare rvith people who ire is friends with and has that kind
relationsliilt.

betweenMsN4s-Bissettalso offeled ller ulcleislandilgof tile relationship

never}rcardhin-r
Mr- I-at-tzi.Ms.Bissetl slated,"iu regardsto Sandl',I have
Lau,sonar-rd
carryingher weight
say any'titingdircctly to Sa1dy.I've heardhini jokipgly say she'snot
got the irnpressionas it u'as
and shouldrctire.Ife,s saidthat he'ssaidtliosethings to her. I
Regarding
portrayedto me that it was a mutual joke betweenthe two of them-"
brought up a varicty of
conversationsr,r,ithMs. Larvso:r,Ms. Bissett statedthat Sandyhas
brought
things with her, but never about Cluis- Ms. Bissett said, "she has
about Nicole, though nothing about her age.She feels like Nicole

up frustration

gets away with coming

in late and is hcld to a different standard'"

be intirnidated by Mr'
Ms. Bissett reflected o1whether she fclt employees could
Lanzi by saying:
people
As it relatesto employeesfearing Chris, it surprisesme because
with irim
seemdrawn to him. They ,".ro io come looking for interaction
appear afraid' It
and teasewith him. I haven't seen wirere anyone seem to
to come talk to
seemsunlikely, but I may only be seenwhen people want
of his behavior'
him and joke and not the other side of thern Uling fearful
I've heard
chris can be a iittle tough on some of the front counter staff'
ilrat in a public
him cuss before, but hei usually good about not doing
Sandy would not
setling aware anyone could orr.rit.-"ur.It troubles me that
or
wanr ro come talk to me about chris basedon Iny relationship
talk.to me
to
perceived relationship with Ciuis. Sandy has been very open
be comfortable
about work related- stuff. I would have thought she would
coming to taik to me.
Division - has
Clrris Lanzi- Assistant Building Official - Building Inspections
u'orl<cdfor the Citl' of Dcnton for 16 )/cars'
Upo. ireating aboutthe incident i'r'olving fE

for July' 1' 2016 that is

statcd:
pan of the sexuaiharassrrentdiscriminationclaim, Mr. Lanzi
the commentsyou
On July 1, I recail safing sometilingaiong the iines of
and
and I have koo.tn each other outside of u'ork
just described.Il
togetl-rcroutside of
itave a fricndsSip. \\i e l'raddr-anktogether aird hung out
un\\Teicorre'
r^,,orkWe jokc ur,rur]dand I didn't Gel like the joking was

joking aroundrvithilI
\\ie are friendsand I feel corlrfortablc
outsideof tire of'fice'
Alhenia,and I have bcen friendsand harrgout
take anythingI said
I,n shockedbccauseI nevcr thouglrtshervouJd
me anfl]ing \\7as
and 1othiS ievel. I don'trecallher everteiling
ser-lousl1,
mole than happy to offer
inapproprialcor that I neededto stop-I would.be
]ravetalce. anythingI said
her ar apology.I neverthoughtthaishe wouJd
her concernshad shetold rne or
seriously.I iituld havc addrcssed
Rodney,orrnovingalithatshewasupsetabouttiresituat.rorr.

if giveri thc opportunity in

I rvould offer m1' sincereapologiestoG
eno.gh friends that she
personor in *riiirrg. I thought *" *.rEilose
wa!. I mcant them in a
world not havc taken my commentsin the long
joking lnanncrthat in front of other staff
If i iracirneantanyliling, I woulti not have <ione
Dir. couid have heard thatrnemberswere rvheremy Director or Assistant
ourdepartnrerrtiscxtrcmelybusyandundera}o-t'ofstress.Wetrytokeep
.lehl rvith'
a loose environment to easethe stressthat we
Ms-_Lawson'sage discrimination
After hearing one of the incidents involving

harassmenlclaim, Mr- Lanzi respondedby stating:

o{rer.statementsyou just
In regardsto the comments on July 20 and
making solne of those things'
describedtirat I made to Sandy, iiorr't recall
I don't 9:y her that
with
I <lon'thave a close, lriendly t"iutio"'nip
?iaY'
February 2015' I did say to
rvell- She told rne once that she was retiring in
yet'" It was not a constant or
her on a few occasions"aren't you retiring
r egularthing.Inrayhavesa id it o n e o rt wo t ime s ilf t -' la s t v e aretrnng'
r' ' |s a id it
me that she was
in a joking iurtrr", to her basedon her telling
.fhat,s
r,l,ouldnot have said that
the only rcason I made that comment. I
or huilful'
statementif I thouglit it rvas inappropriate
Mr' Lanzi stated:
Iir regardto his relationshiprvltir Ms' Bissett'
year and a haif ago' Aimee
\\i hen Aimee took over our deparlmenta
a working relationship a:rd we
offices actossthc hali fro,',',me- we l-rave
gone to happl'hour
<1inner,
are also fricnds outsideof wolk. We had
talk a lot- She rvill
we
and
me
fi-om
irall
ihe
acros:i
together,lltc. She's
co ]rlcintonryofilceand]rav e lre rmo rn in g c o f f e c . I u ' o u ld t lrrn
kthat
I'rada cornplaint
somcone
if
*ork,
of
outside
regardlessof our friendship
it the walr 5hs u'ould
that thel' took it to Aitlce, she would handle
r egardlessofrvlroitrvasth a t t h e c o mp la irrt rv a s n a d e a g a in s t .
respottdedby statingtl-refoliou'ing:
ir4r-.Lapzi sur-;rrarizedthc accusationszrud

]co n sidern-r125s11^adecent , re s p e c t f u l, a r-rc lf u n p e rs o ll' I lry t o k e e p t h in gs

j obs' I didn't think
light in the officc becauseof the stressfulnatureof our
cornplaints' I
I had ai.r1'enemiesin thc office' I feel attackedby these
blou'ing up 1lly
coujd',t talk to anyoneaboutthis and peopiehavebeen
phonewhcn I was out (inspectors')
I rvould be out' then it
Wi-renRodney explainediu an etnail to my staff that
behavior is
slou,eddou'n- I't'e tiever and sat dowri and said five
inapltroPriate.

'

over ther""
t?t
,{in-ieemade a comment ilrat "that'sa little Over-tirc-top
a big dcai' Aimee and her
shelauilhcd after she said it. I thought it rvasnit
all
and her husband' i thought we were
husbandirave been out with E
friends.
rvhat I've said was
iras never sat me <iownan<isaid anything about
R.o<iney
departrnent'We are
inappropriate-Pcoplejoke around every day in our
professionalconduct'I
professionalat rvhatwe do. we needto ttav" a
ior't't knorv if there are training classesor something'
whal is appropriate and
You probably need to go to those to understand
what is not.
Ifeelitisconvenienttlratthesetwocompiainlsarecol|ngatlheS.ame
timetoal6yearenrpioyeewholrasn.thadanylhingofthisnattl3]'*y
fi]e.Rodneyandldon.thavearelationshipoutsideofworkandldon't
up to him'
understandwhy someonewouidn't bring this
I,veworkedfortheCityforl6ye a rs . No p rio rp o lic y v io la t io n s othe
f t hpolicy
is
year and bee' on
I have been promoted twice in the last
'ature. conunitlec a]ld emergencyresponsecomlnittee for the city' I have
revierv
our Dcpartment Bu.ilding
been on our Deparlment Eve't iommitLee and
Appeals corrulittee
Reiocation conmrittee.I sat on the Environmental
a p p ointedbyGeorgeCarrrp b e ll. I lra v e s e rv e d o n t h e Cit y ' s E o C.

Planning and Devclopment Atficnia Gree' - Administ.ati'e SupetwisorDcpartmcnt for almost 8 years'
shc has *,orkccl i' the f)c'clop're't Sc^'ices
Ms. Grecn recalledrvhat slreundeistoocito take Otu""

regarding the circumstances

ciaim' In regard to
sunoundilg thc incidentsi1Ms. Larvson'Sage discrimination
that she could take paperwork to
Ms. Larvson's ilcident about Mr. Lalzi statilg
Ms- Bissett bccauseshe tlevcr did anl4hing' Ms'

Green stated:

Sometiruein ntici-Juiy,Cirriswas goingto l{odney'soffice 1omeet' There

\\/eresorre documenlsrelated1othe conp study or soraelhingthat uras
confidentialthat Aimee needed.Chriscameto the front desk and said
Ainteeneccjedme to take the papenvotkto City Ilaii. Sandywas sitting
there at the front desk- Chris snatchedup the paperwork as I passedhirl in
the halirvay. I was textiirg Aimec and Chris told rne to get off my phone
and he reai11,neededne to take the paper-workald to slop rnessiugat-ound,
that this u,asitnportant and neededdone right flren'
I believehc rvasjoking, but with Cluis you neverknow if he'sjokiltg or
not. I tolcthim not to taik to me likc that. I told l-rimhe didn't needlo taik
to me that rvay in front of other customersand staff. Chris said i thouglit
we were frlcnds and that we could joke around. I told him we are, bu1
sometines rvhat he says is over the top and he necdsto be rnindful of how
he speaksto peoplc and that othersmay not know when he's kidding or
not.

In regardto the perceivedrelationship betweenMs. Bissett and Mr' Lanzi,lr4s'

Green statedthe following:
just
Aimee and Chris have a pretty tight relationship.It could be
coincidentalthat he's been promoted and continuesto ask for pay raises
and promotions. Two to three times some weeks, Aimee and Chris go to
lunJh together.I know that when Brian and Nikole werc like that, people
would rnake commentsand wonder what was going on. Aimee and Chris
go to happy irour together and even the Inspectorshave made comments
about it.
just becauseI
I go to huppy hour rvitir them sometimcs,not to suck up and
*a,1t to gei ulong with them. We talk about kid stuff, items ftom
committeesthat we work on, the new building, etc. I could seewhere it
u,ould be seenas favoritism, but I don't really seeit that way- They work
togetherand get along.
Ms. Grcen spokeabourMr. Lanzi's tendenbytc'mzrlcea joke regarding
joke' i heard
Someonebeing too old to have pacebook."It's pretty nuch a rururiirg
hirn say tliat in holt of Saldy on severaloccasions-"Furtlter,Ms' Green stated
"Sandy
tl-ratMs. Larvsor1could get upsetabout Chris's commenis-Ms. Greel said,

can get offendedby old contmetlts,but sheu'iilturn to t-uealid say somelhing

aboulrre bcing youltg ar-rdu,ill ieam. Shehassaidthings to Nicole about

being

disabledright now. Shedishesit out sonetimes'"

peopiein
Ms. Greel spokeaboutMr. Lanzi's behavioras he lalks to other
thc department.Ms. Green said:
Wiien I rvas going tlilough ny promotion, Cluis said things to me thal
ilade rny blood boil. I'rn use to him and the tirings he saysllich is fine
that
exccpt if there are people at the front. I telt him that he should not act
He
*uy in frolt of other people becausethey may not iclorv he's kidding'
voice is
sayscuss words at the front counterand from his office, w}'richhis
Ioud and carries down ihe hallarOund
Likervise, Ms. Green said, "now that he'sbeen prOmoled,he runS
thc buiiding being rogue and doing whatever he wants- Chris and Aimee

have a

to Aimee'"
close relationship.Chris w!11trurnpRodney and Munal and go directly
Brittany Millcr - Administrative Assistant III - Planning and Developmcnt
Department since March 2015'
has rvorked in the Dcvclopmcnt Ser-v'ices
as ire works
Ms. Miiler statcd the following about Mr. Lanzi's general behavior
rvith others on the main floor of City Hall West:
yo,9would
chris has a deep ioud voice. At the front if he were speaking,
Chris' I-le
knorv
get
to
know it was him speaking.It takes a iittle while to
joked around a
didn't joke with me at first. When Marbella was there,they
at first
iot, but nothing inappropriate.I startedjoking with hirn a little and
he u'as standoffish,but thcn he realizcd'I was ok and was rlore
comfortablearoundmeMs. Miller briefly discussedthe way that Ms. Bissett and Lanzi
Aimee
with eacirother.Ms. Miller said,"l've noticed that Cluis and
commur-ricate
pretly
go to lr,rncira few times ar1dgo into each other'Soffices to talk- They Seeln
cIo sc."

- shc has u'orlicd

Nicholc Ell<ins - Pcrmit f-echnician - Building Inspcctions
for thc f)cvelopmcnt SctryicesI)epartmcnt for onc 11921-'

N4s.Illlcjnstalkedaboutthe socialnight and the happy hours that PeoPle

about
wouid go to on Thursda;'sin tire department'In regard to the specifics
happy hours, lr4s.lr4iiier stated:
tu'o after a,
It's usually the samegrc)upof people.I've hearda da1'or
Tlrursdal,iriglrt,arheniawillta]k:lbouthor,vdrunktlreygotorlrowbad
also hear-d
tliey ltlt and-wirylhey didn'1come to rvork tl-renext da1''1't'"
I've never
chris Sa1,1ro* much ire cnjoys drinking and getling plastered.
heardthe inspectorssaYthatdepartmeut,
In referenceto the way ir,Ir. Lanzi speakswith others in the
Ms. Elkins stated:
about it"If he
I{e expresseshis opinion ancl',ioesn'tcare'what m1r6n" says
when
manner'
were a cloctort *oua say he doesn'thave the best bedside
me' Ife's loud
ire talks, sometimeshe tirrows cusswords- It doesn'tbother
not heard
I',ve
to everyone,but somepeople take it different than others'
retire orwhen she's
Chris say anything to Sandy about when she'sgoing to
been here
(Sandy)
going to leavc. i'r,e heard him say sometiringlike.she's
Iracebookto
for a really long time. I haven't heard anything said about
SandY.
rvalt here'' I've
Ms. Ilikins said, "I've hearclhim say, 'I can do what I
just got a prornotion and he
ireard it more than once, but not sure how oi1en.I{e
become more 'rvhat
tl,rinkshe,sthe big nan. I{is behavior iras change<]in that he's
Ms- Eikins said she
do you rvant,)'ou,rewastir.rgmy time kind of thing."' Finaily,
Seryicesdepartrnent-In regard to the
enjol,ed the euvirotrlnent i1 J)eyelCrpmeut
)Sveryoneis reaily
ent,irorlnent,Ms. lllkins said it's a nice rvork cnvirontnent'
go o d .

_-she has v'orl<cd

Carric Iirazier - l'lans Examincr II - Iluilding Inspcc{iolts
for thc Dcvcloplncn(Scn'iccsDcpartmcnt for fil'c )'ears'
Jr 4s.lrrazierrvorksirrt1reS an e a re a a s mI l. S J re ira s h e a rd Mr.
behavior towards
I-anzispecifically say, "I do rvhat I rvarlt""In regardto liis
wornenanciin particular-she

stated:

rnakes
Chris itas alu,a),sbee' flirty- SornetirnesCiuis inappropriately
on horv irer
c()mnents tourardswonen- I've heard him commerrtto il
big today'"
shirt llt acrosshcr chest.I{e's said,"wow, your boobslook
has said things
C]uis is loud enoughto hear becausehe speaksloudly' Ife
been
has
he
Iikc this multiplc times orrerthe past six months since
promoteci.Latciy, it iras happeneda lot inside our pianningareaN4s.Frazier offered specific concernsregarding the relalionship

between

Irds.Bissett and Mr. Lanzi.Ir4s- Frazier stated:

ald
be sorrresort of relationshi.pbetrryeenAimee
i feel like there
'ray
Chuis.It feels like it is more than just a work relationshipthat we are
It seemsto have an influence on the set-up of our nerv building
being shou'n to
going to be moving into. It seemslike there is favoritisnr
is going to be
Chris and his InspJctors,u,hereas,Emily in our group
placedinto one big room.
that:
Ms. Frazier, referring to Mr. Lanz-i'soverall behavior, stated
be becauseof his
Chris' behavior and l-risenlitlement mentality seem to
boobs or
rclationship rvitir Aimee. Whethcr it's talking about someone'S
Ifere
actionshis
gctling a big-office, it seemshe has no consequencesfor
to another levcl
iately u,c hacltaiked abor-rthow he has taken iiis behavior
and that he u'ill not changeliis behavior'
-Planning and
Nicolc Chcn,-- Joncs- I'lan Adrninislt-ationSpccialist
Sen'icesI)epartment
Dcvelopnrcnt- slic has *,orjlcd in thc Dcvclopment
si ncc Au g u st 15, 2005.
N4s.Cherv-Jouesstatedlire foliou'ing in her statement:
thal she rvas
While u,orking at the front counter with Athenian, I noticcd
and 1hetrvins
lexting a lot. Rtliena and I rvere taiking at the front cout]ter'
i asl<edAtiieniaii
lJartiey) c:u* to tire c''oullrer(I)ustin 'lirlbs and 111'an

u,ho shewas textirtg u,ith and shetold mc Aimee and Chris and tire)' u'cre
to go to the bar. I askedrvhich bar and slie said
makingarlartgeruetrls
Dusty'i on EIgr St., i belieyeI askedher ra'hythat one, shesaid because
Aimee cljdn'tu,antanyoneto Seeher. I said oh. Sincethe twins wele at the
d rhat t|c1,shouldgo rvitil Athclia to nrectup witir
cour'ltcr,I suggcste
'fhel'
5216no. Atheniasaidthey don't go anymore'so I
Aimec and Cluis.
askedirer u,hy,not.She saidthat the lasttime they u'ent Chris got so drunl<
that he startedyelling and taiking cfazyto them. She said ire even said
sometiringabout liring Dustin. She said after tiral nobody goes rvith thern
all)/more-No onc gocs u'ith tliern that I'm au'areof'
lLr:gardingM1. Lanzi's beliavioraroundthe office, Ir4s-Cheu'-Joncs'said
"I'r,e heardChris say that Sandyis too old and tirat she shouldretire-I'm
thinking it u,asChris and Athenia in his office talking to each otirer beforc
t]re1,91...6 tire cloor.IJe saidsomethingabout "her old ass-"Alhenia
joke
actually made a slatementabout our agetcldaywirile tiying to make a
ziboutif- First, sirc saiclit to Sandy,thcn rne. She stretchedlier arms out
saying isn't this irou, olcl peoplc have to look at stuff. It \\/aSa picture on
hcr phone.
Cluis has said to tne "rvhat ale you doing Jrere.Yori don't do an1'thing
He's said it to Brittanli;and he gives her a-hardtime- He uses
3J11rqr2y."
curseu,ordssuch as the F u,ord, G-Darnn...I{e tells peoplehe's going to
fire them. Ile comesup to the frollt desk and says all kinds of crazy stuff'
"I
Ile'il just sa)/an),th'ng.B."uu.e I'm the boss and I'm in charge.IJe says
can do u,hat I u,aut to tlo becauseI'm in cltarge." I think people believe
hin.rand take hirn very seriously becauseof his relationship rx'ith Airnee'
We have a lot of nerv people- Cilis does what he wants and says wirat he
wants.

Findings
I flnd the
Based on the intcn,ieu's conducted and informatioir gathered, Ms- Byrd arid
follorving:
is loud,
A revieu,of the staternentsshorvsalrlost unanimottslythat Mt. Lauzi's conduct
in the
boislerous,rougl-r,at tirnesrude and at timcs disrespectfil botii to men and u'ornen
Tlo
',^
1 ,.^ ,-o -r
Yvrvlrrrr
r..

a1 Q ar y lCCS l) epaf t m ent .

that rvithin his rcgulal conununicalionswith

A revierv of tl'rcstalemcntsclemonstrates
enployees o1 a1)/ level g,ithin the DevelopmentServicesDellattment he lias repclitivell'
that
statedthat hc can do rvltateverhe rvants.lr4oreover,a ret'ieu'of the statemeritsshou's
at timcs, cven u,ith long-timc co-u,orkers,the erlployees rvithin the I)evelopnent
u'hett
Serlices I)eparlmenrdo not l-nou,if N4r.lanzi is being sarcastic,joking, or serious
completeautonomyu'itirir-rthe Development Services
he stalesthat ]re 1los:jesses

Departtr-ietl1.
majoritv of tle emplol'eesrvithirr
A Lc'ieu,ol lhe statementsslrou,sthat an overwhelming
tl-ratMr- Lanzi and the
tlre De'elopme't ServicesDepartmentthinj<and/or perceive
a closerelationship' Further' a
Director of DevelopmentSerrlices,Ms. Bissetthave
not more, of tire ernployeeswithin
review of the statementsipdicatesthat a liajority, if
perceivethat tJrerelationship is
thc Dc'elopmcnt Sen,icesDeparlmentthink u.riio.
1o indicate that
had sec'
i'rproper. I3venthough one siatc'rent i'dicated thatihey
'othing
had no reasonto
an inappropriate,""i1 relatio'ship was goi'g on, al individual
in this
by the individuals rvho raiscd tire conrplaints
disbelievet5e accusations
'rade
crn.(Pattcrson)
i nvcstigati
a Conlractor's Luncheon in
A revieu, of the statemenlsof fhe cmplol'ceswho attended
Bissetl and lrzlr'Lanzi shows that
July of this ycar and rverervitnessto the conduct of Ms'
themajorityoftlieenrplol,ecslruhosarvtlrisconducthaveperceivedtlrattherelatiorrship
the line and is improper'
betu,ecnMr. Lanziund Mr. Bisselt has crossedover
inappropriate,and unprofessional'
u'ithin tlie Development
A revierv of tlte statementsshorvsthat i'No of the employees
Ms' Jlissetl's and Mr' La-nzi's
Scn,icesDepartmentthink and/or perceit'e,basedupon
behavior, that thel' are having an affair' (Partin' Mauladad)
heard Mr' Lanzi use curse
A revieu,of the statementsshows that ]vis. Bissett has
at other employees' Moreot'er' a
language in front of empioyeesor has been directed
use of cursing rvas so loud it
revierv of the statementsshou's that Mr- Lanzi's regular
a1d possibly heard by the public
could be heard by other employeesin the department
Department' (Vasquez' Chew-Jones'
seekingthe sen,icesof the Development Services
Patlerson,Green, Elkins, Bissetl, PaAin)
close relationship betlveeir Ms'
A rcvierv of the statementsestablishcsthat the perceived,
ancla ihreat of retaliation
Bissett, iire Direcior, and i,is. Lanzi,cleates fbar, appreiiei-r.sion,
DevelopmTt S-efl1:esemplol'ee's
if soncone would bring N4r.I-anzi's behavior towards
who raised the assertionsagainst Mr'
to ilre Director's attentiou' It4o"ot'er, the individuals
becauseof their real' actual
Lanzistated that they were so reluctapt to come forq'ard
Mauladad' Loiselie'
coltccrilsof retaliationatrd Ioss of e'rploymelt. (Montgomery,
I-arvson)
and environntent within the
\\/ith these general fi'dings regarclingthe atmosp-here
])er,eIopnreirtServicesDe1lal1lrr"...,',ih"spccifrcfin,Jirrgslee1ra'5ffsexual are set
Coniplaint
discriminatiorrharasstrtent
itarasSmcntcomplaint.and]r4s.]-au,Sott's'age
out beiorv.
complaint Against i\{r' Lanzi
Spccific Irinclings- Scxual I{ar-assrnentI)iscrimination
rvorking cuvirorrrrretrtis nor a
Courls irave recognized"fa] clairn for a sexuall)'hostile

Ass':t,51Ir'3d 591' 593 (5tit

DeAttgelist,.ljl PasoA'/un.PoliceOfJicers
lrivial ina11er."
pial'!1.'
Ilostile u,ork environntentclaims ale seriousand serve"to level lire
Cir. 199-5).
to corrpete
ficld for \\ronrenwlto u,ork bl' pterrentingothersfrorn impairing their abilitl'
a seriesof
01 an equalbasisrvifir nreu."Id. "A hostilervork environmelltclaim ernbodies
egregious
cOnductagainst\^/Omell,cOnductSO
crileriath:1 e.xnre-ss
inSenSitive
'
-,;extrcmely
.-:^;^l-^-^;:,::^^:,
r^.r-^.irheir
z
tr
t
-...rdestroytheir cqual opportunlty ti-re
of etnploymelt a:rd
as to alterthe cor-rditious
Jd.
n,orkplace."
1'rvorval'5cxist to prove a sexualharassmentciairn:
Quid l)ro Quo
I{ostile Work llnvironment
Illcrnents of a Quid I'ro Quo I{arassrnent Clairn
(the plainlilf
In order to claim sexuaiharassmentof the quicl pro quo variety, a claimant
ju4r'
in a larvsuit)must be able1oprorrethe following elementsto a
q'ith' (the defbndant1- Plaintiff was an emplo)'eeof, or applied for a job
organiz-ation).
unvanted
2. T'heallegedharasscr,an officer or employeeof conpany X, made
or physical
sexual advanceto the plaintiff, or engagedin other unwanted verbai
conduct ofa sexual naturethe piaintilfs
3- Certainjob benefits urereconditioned, by words or conduct, on
that
acceptanceoftire allegedharasser'ssexual advancesor conduct; or
or her
employment decisionsalfecting the plaintiff were made basedon his
acceptanceor rejection ofthe alleged conduct'
isor or agent
4. At the time of the alleged conduct, the alleged harasserwas a superv'
for lire defendernt- organization)-5. Tiie piaintiff rvas irarmeciby tire aliege<iconciuct'the plaintiffs
6. -f5e alleged harasser'sconduct *us a-substantialfactor in causing
itann.
'Irrnrne .r:clical slandpoint,courtsare looking for proof tirat the undcril'lpg sexual
u"ion' such as thc plai'tirrbeing fircd
;;;'*';;;u'u
;;;;;i";;;;r;;;
"'"piov'''J"t
'fhc employeerna)/slill iiie a clairn ever-rif
or suspiciousll,passcdover for o pron]otion.
he or ihe ultintately subntitsto the cmploycr'sinappropriaterequests'
witirirr
T'ili:il' ,..or,r re'icr' of ti'restatementsinvolved in the corrrplaintand ga:-nered
^
pro
quid
a
in'oh'e
co'plai't doesnot suggest,i-aise,or
iil;;;;;.;ilrit",r,
orro se-xlrali-,u.urrr11"ilIt6-lus defineclby the Uirited StatesSupremcCourl'
is basedupoll a hostile work
il;*f";-;,
i*"" - f sexualhuruss,r-,J,rtcornplaint
cnvironnrcntclailn.
Op1;oituiiitl'
'i-irecrrforccrl)cr)iarrn ojliire i)e1>a1tr1eni
of iusiice, tlie Eqi;al J3niploi'iiiei-it

as tlle following:
Comnrissionclefinesharassnretrt
fitle VII of the Civii
i-larassrleirtis a forn of c'rpioyrnent discrinilatiol that I'iolates
Act of 1967' (ADEA)' and
Il.iglrtsAct of 1964,1heAge Discriminationin Ernploymer-it
the Americansrvith DisabiiitiesAct of 1990,(ADA)'
religion' sex (including
I{arassmetrtis unu,elcomcconductthat is basedon race,color,
origin, age (40 or older),disability or geneticinfonnation'
pregnancy),r.ratior.ral
conduct bccomes a
Ifarassmcnlbecomesunlarvful where 1) enduringthe offerrsive
pen'asive enough lo
copclitionof continuede'rploy'rent, or 2) the coirduct is severeor
intimidating, hostile,
createa rrlork cnviromaent tiiat u ,."urorrublepersorru,ould consider
or - a b u sivc.
in retaliati,g"
Anti-discrimination lau,s also prohibit harassmentagainstindividuals.
f:'
an lnvestlgatlon'
ln
way
filing a discrimination charge,testiff ing, or parlicipating in an1'
practiccs iha'riirey
proceeding,or iau,suit un<ierthese ial't or opposing employmcnt
of theselau's'
reasonablybelieve discrimipateagainstindividuals,in violation
will not rise
annoyirnces,anclisolatcd incidents (unlessextren-relyserious)
Pet11,5!1r1-,ts,
a u'ork environ'rnentthat
to tire le'el of iilegalily. 'io u" unlawful, the conduct mg{ create
people'
rvould be intimidating, hostiie, or offensive to a reasonable
:
jokes'
slurs' epithets or
Oflensive conduct rnay ilclude, bgt is not limited to, offensive
or mockerl', insults or
name calling, physicai assaultsor threats,intimidation, ridic'le
utorl<performance'
pul-dorvns,ofi".rsit,e objects or pictures, and interferencervith
but not limited to, the
Ilzuassme't can occur in a variety of circumstances,including,
following:
in another area' an agent
I. The haraSsercan be the victim's supervisor,a supervisor
of tire ernpiol'er, a co-rvorker, or a non-empioyee'
anyone affected by
does not have to be the personharassed,but can be
2- The
'ictirn
the oflbnsive conduct.
ilL ciischargeof' the victim'
U'lau,ful harassmentrna1,occur u,ttirout economic injury to,
Ilmplol' cl' I-iabilitl' for l{arassmcnt
'fhe employer is automaticalll'liul"" for harassrnentby a supervisorthat-resultsin a
or hii-e' al-rdloss of
negativeempioyrnentaction such as ternination, failure to promote
the cmplol'er
ltatassmentrcsults i1 a hostile work environntent'
wagcs.If the sr,rpervisor'S
prornptly
and
to prevent
can avoid liabiiity onl1,i;it can provc that: 1) it reasonablytried
failed to take
corrcct fhc harassingbehavior; a1d 2) the erlployec unreasollably
by the emplo1'er'
advantageof any prevcllive o1 conectiye opportunitiespiovided
eprployeesor llollTire eprplo),errvili be liable for harasstnentby lloll-sllpen/isory

tlic
O\/er\ /hol1rjt has coirtrol(e.g.,indepeudentcontactots or custotncrso:r
entlllO)/eeS
take
to
failed
and
p.e,:riies),if if klew, or shouldhaveknoum aboutthe harassment
promptand apltroltriatecotrectiveaction
Elcmcnlsof a Scxual Ilarassmeni- I{ostilc \\/orl<Environmcnt Clain
of sexualharassmentbasedon a hostile wolt environment
To establisirtire elen-reuts
claim, a plaintiff must show:
1 . the plaintiffbelongs to a prot e c t e dc la s s ;
2. the plaintiff was subjected to unwelcome harassment;
3. the harassment was based on sex;
and
4- the harassment af{ected a term, condition, or privilege of employment;
and faited to
5. the employer knew or should have known of the harassment
take adequate remedial actionclaim'I
Ilcgarding the first element of a sexual harassmenlhostile woik environment
Iiswithir r a protectecc1aS s.Under t lre Cir, iiRig h t s A c t o f 1 9 6 4 , [ is a
the Act under sex
female. Therefore, ;}1" is within tire protected classesdesignated within
zindgender.
environment claim'
Regarding thc secondelement cf a sexuai harassmenthostile u'ork
is not
clelrv statesthat ]i4r. Lanzi's cornmentswere unwelcome' A 'ictim
it unr'r'elcome'
requrredto verOattyobject to an ildividuals' harassingbehavior to iriake
TJnr'errl'r q rer.,i.rr-r
of!!r!Il
statementshows that she did tell lr{r- Larrz-ito stop
that I\{r- Lanzi did
making comnents about her body. A review of the record established
not stop making comntentsabouther bodyl_

claim, a
Ilcgarding thc third elernentof a sexual harassmenthostiie rvork environment
and
reguiar
revien, of the statenrentsr,r,ithinlhis investigation shows that N4r.Lanzi's
rcpcated cotntueltts\\/cre scxual iu naturetire
maKrng tlle
der-rymaking
A re'ierv of tite pcrtinent stalementsshows that Mr. I-anzi did not deny
statetnentsoff.ered*i.t'in5conrplaint.Arer,iervoft1restaternentsestabiis1res
t]r a t]r 4 r L altz::.eneateciIydircct11 , re f e rrc c 1 t o _ , b o d y ila r1 s b ^ a ; e d o t rs e x . T I re
the statemen'ts
staternentssltorvihat he iallced ato,.tt ]-ier"boobs and butl." A icvieu' of
and "butt"
"boobs"
her
about
assertionsthat \4r. Lanzitalkecl
sirou,sthat{ID
by tu,o u,itncssesrvithin the DeyeiOpmentServicesDepartment'
were cot-r-oboratcd
-(lr4oni['orirct-1'
- botloil; Fraz]er - bobb'S)
a colllll'Iellt aboul
A re'ieu, of the ltertinent statemcnt eslablishes that N4r- l-anzi made
of tire
bult on -Iuiy 1,2016. (\\ielborn) I-ilccwise, a ret'ieu'
i."r.iug ut-ii5

regarding"t-uakingout"
jrertinent StatcuentShou,slhat Mr. Lattzii'ade 1hecommeiit
on Jr:iy 1,2016-(I3issett)
.n'ithF
AreviervofthestatetrrentsfurthershorvsilratMr.Lanzir-tradeconrtnentStoG tire
and "her butt'"'A revielv Of
o1 a regularbasisregardilg "makiug Out,""her bOObS,"
atler'pted to
thatilfF
slalc'ents i'dicates that he maclethesecommentsso often
Frazier)
iglore lhem crrenthougb it rvasa regular occurrence.(lr4ontgomerl',
u'ork enviLonmentcase' a
Ilegarding tire fburlh elementin a sexualharassmenthostiie
a terttl, condition, or
re Vicu,of llic statementmust shou,that ilre harassilent aflected
at this point iras
The issuehcrc is ri'l-relherMr. I-anzi's conduct
prirrilegc of c,n-iplo1,:r]ent.
establisheda hostile u'ork envirorunent'
When dcfermining lvhether a hostile rvork environment exists,
totality of the circunstanccs,including:

a coutt rvill review the

1. the frequencYofthe conduct,

2. the severitYof the conduct,
humiiiatin
3. whetirer the conduct is physicaily threateningor
utlerance;and

g1or amere offensive

an efrployee's work
4. rvhetherthe couduct unreasonablyinterferes with
.
performzrnce
rvas frequent' Further' the
A revierv of the statementsshows that lrdr. Lanz-i'sconduct
standard,could arguably
scverity of the conclpct,basedupon a reasonabieperson
"rvanting to make out" \\rere severe
establish that his staternentsabout her body parts and
allow for the EIIoC or a
A re'ierv of the statementsin thllnvestigalion may
in
io creale a hostile work
'ature.
possibiejury to tirink tirat the statcmeutsare severe enough
cnvironment.
was llever plrysically threatenir-rg'
A revierv o1-thestatementsindicatesthat the conduct
or a jury llray thiirk that N4r'
I{owcver, under a reasonablepersonstatldard,the EEOC
an enrployee' In the sarne
:-anzl'srepeatcdstatementscould be [umiliating towards
jury or the EiIOC may find that the
instancc,under a reasonablepersonstapdard,a
the totality of tire circutnstances
slaterrcnts \\/ere a n-iereoffensive utlerance iooking at
ohjeciivcly and subjectivel:r
1legardingu,hct]rertheconductutucasorrablyinterfereswit}rt5rvork
question,ali of the generalfindings
perfoprancc is a questionof fact. \Vit[i1t1-ratfact-iel
-6e
-kaart
rhe gi rxr n c-of 11ir5docLrnr-eri1 zrrefiiaa e ev aiit''
erlplo)'ees u'ilirin thc
As statedabo'e, a revierv of thc slatementssl1orvstl-rat
a'c1Ms' Bissctt are in a \/er)/
J)e'eloprneut Ser'ices Dcpattt'.,tt f.,-t"it'e lhat \4r' La'zi

to Sayire can do what he rvants'

close:-elatiolshipu,hereMr.I-anzi hasthe copfidelce
wele to crossilim' his perceirtcdrelalionship
u,henhe u,ants. in thal col-Itext,if Sonreotre
that Ms' Bissetlmay attempt
rvith Ms. Bissettcould logically havean employeebeiieve
Bissett js tire Director of
to interfereu,ith an cmplolrse,'srvork p..for,l'un"e- MS'
of evet)'cmpioycervho
DcveloprrentSen,ices.Nar.girr.tt iS in the chain of command
1r a sb e e r r invo1vedinthisinvestiga t io n in c 1 u d in g f f ia rrd ] r4 s . L a rv s o rr. Ms .
unden'inelIlEil
Bissett,therefore,is in ad-irectpisition of autirorityto
job,cr keep her from advancingin her
competence,discourageher fiom renailing on tile
qig, qgO(Tcx' App'-Eastland 2005'
carect.Ciyt of IIousrJ, v. Iilelchet',166S.ilr-f O
concurting)("[T]hetestis
pet. denied).Ilarris,510 u.s. at25,114s.ct.367 (Scalia,J',
but rvhetherrvoilcingconditionshave been
-,r4rether
u,ork hasbecn in-rpairerl,
'ot
ill' altcred") discr-iurinalor
perceived or real' has a strong
A revierv of the slatementsjnvoh,ing 1hcrelationship,
investigation'
relevancv1othe resl:llsn1'.tlris
the cmployees within the
A revieu' of the perlinent statementsstrongly .:gg"ttsgt
and Ms' Larvsott, could think
De'elopme't ServicesDepartnr"nt, inltu,iug ft
interferc u'lth an employee's work
tliat }r4s.Bissetl couid use her autJio'ity o, Di'"Jo, to
perfonnance.
between Ms- BiSsett and Mr' Lanzi
A re'ieu, of the stateme'ts shou,sthat the interaction
is close and N4r' Lanzi
could allorv a reasonableemployeeto think that the relationship
appearsto be a favorite of N4s.Bissetl'
discrimination claim' The City of
Itegarding tire fifth elemcnt of a sexualharassnrent
invoh'ing N4r' Lanzi's
Denton knows of a beiravior that couiciarguably be litigious
conduct torvardf.
Arer,ieu,oft]repertirrerrtstatementshorvst1rattff1:1*:'1T:"::"o.n,iSor,
r\;_ilrthe Citl' of Denton's
\4s. Loiselle about \4r. I-anzi's concluct. As inffuctecl
person
thiS concluctto l{uman Resourcesin the
l{arassnent Policy, N4s.Loiseiie reporte<1
Specialist'
of N4arkStephens,thc l{uman IlesourcesCompliance
'l-heCity urustnow excrcisercasonablecareto prerrentand colrect promptil' any sexuaill'
harassingbehavior.
I'avizi' : '
iiarzrsstficntComplaint Against Mr'
iiindings - A^g.I)iscr-igrirr:ttio1.
-S1recific
Age Discrimination
States Sr-rpiemeCourt arld
Texas cor.rflsfollou, lhe approach set ibr1ir1ll' the Unitd'<l
cascs-A4issiot't
recognizc1u,oaltcntativcmethodsof proof in<liscriilinatorl'treatrtlentUnder the first
47 S.W-3d at 476'
Consol.,372 S.\\/.3dat 634, <:itirgOlttrtrnt Chem,
direct evidence' Missiot'tConsol '3-/'2
nretlrod,a lrlaintlfl-provcsdiscrin-rinatoifintent via

S W.3da t 634.
,,Directeviclenceis evidencethat, if believed,provesthe fact of discriminatorv aniirlus
Richard Etlis' Inc''309 F'3d 893' 897
rvitlroutinferenceor presumptiou."Sanctstaii- CB
"forbiddenanintus"through direct
(51hCir.2002).I{oive'er, it i, ofl",t clifficultto prorre
(recognizingthat: " motives are oflen
evidence.Seetr4issiottConsol.,372S-\\/-3dat 634
ft'bidden animus hard to cotne by" )
more coverl tiran overt, making direct e'idei-iceof
1478'
v- Ailcens,460u's' 711'J16' 103 s'ct'
and u,s. PosralServicABoard of Got,ernors
who can testify as
(19S3)(noting tliat therervill seldombe.aneyervitnc-ss
751-.L.(1.2d403
recognizing the difficultly in using
to ilre employer'snrental processesald thcrefore
at a parlicr:iartimc")directevidenceto prove tte "statcof a man'srnind
plaintiffs,,the courl creatcd a secondmelhod
In order to easethe burden on discrimir-ralion
S'Ct' 1817"36
Dougto' Cn'p' u' G'un'1'41LU'S' 792'93
of proof. SeeJt'IcDorutell
no
dat634'Accordingly',whcnthere is
L.8d.2d668 (1973);A[issioncottsol.,372S-\\/.3
thlcugh a
irrdirectl5"'
be sho';u't'l
ciirecte'icience of <iiscri'ri'atory i'ieiri, ciiscriminationcaii
Douglas Corp''41 1 U'S' at 801-03' 93
burdcn-slrifringmethod of prooi. Suniirponnell
634'
S.Ct.at 1820; MissiottCoisol',372 S'W'3d at
claim is basedon direct evidencecoming
]r{s.Larvson'sage discrirninationharassment
workplace'
lrom Mr. Lanzi's statementstou'ard her in the
are:
evidence of age discrimination if they
Remarks and stateme'ts may Serveas direct
1- relatedto the employee'sprotectedclass'
2. close in time to the employment decision'
, and
3.m ad ebyanindividualwithaut h o rit y o v e rt h e e mp io y me n t o e c ls ro n
4- related to the employment decision at issue'
ancia patterr,roi staternentsiha"rMr'
lr4s.I-au,son'sclaim is focuseclon recent incidents
ihe past six months c'r more'
Lantztispurporled tO irave said rcgularly over
claim' ]r4s' Lawson is in the
Regar<lingthe first elementsof an age discrifirinalion
years of age
claim' A pcrson rnust be fortl'
protected class fbr a valid age discrirnination
or older. N4s.L.arvsonis 68 yearsold'
did rnake stateurentsregardingMs.
A review of the statenents shorvsthat lr'fr. Lanzi
a
to retire and she u'as too oid to have
I_au,son'sage, rcgarclingrvhensheu,asgoing
Facebookaccouttt,*'.r" corroboratecl'(Patlerson)
of tirnes ovcr the
that ire did refer to her retiri'g a couple
N4r.La.zi,s statementr.cflectecl
joke
that it was pretty much a runnilg
past ),ear and Ms. Gteeu's statementestablished
icgarding bcing too old for Facebook'
that N4r-I-anzi has said the
A revicrv of \4s. Greett'Sstatementfurlher coroborates
mally tilnes'
Iraccbookstatementdirectly in front of lr4s.Lau'son

versiorlol lhe
A reviervof tirc statementsshowsthat Ms. Greenoffereda different
over to Mspapenvork
tire
incidentrvhcreMr. Lanzi callleup and fold Ms. Lawsonto take
statetnent'Mt'
lljssettbecausec\/eryoneknows ihe cloesn'tdo anylfilng'In Ms' Green'S
Lanziclidnot directihrt typ" of statemerllto Ms- Lawson on that occasioir'
Sen'ices
A revierv of the statemeulsslrowstirat tile employcesrvithin the Development
joked often and some of the
Departmentbeiicved that \4r. I-anzi\\,asa p"iro,t who
Moreove r' acmployeesmay not have klorm that he rvasjokilg basedupon his behavior'
Services
re'ieu, of thc statementsshowsthat most ernployeesrvithin the Development
a
made statement
I)epafluent u,ouid nol harrebeen sutprisedthat Mr' I-allzi u'ouid have
aboutsomethinglike Ms. Larvson'sageMs- f-awson being
A rc'ieu, of thc statemenlssl-iorvsthat corroborationexists rcgarding
confirmed that she heard
rcpeatedlytoid that she is too old for Facebookand Ms. Bissett
weight and she sirould
Ir4r.Lanzi jokingly statethat \4s. Larvsonwas not carying her
rctirc.
clairn based on
Regardingthe three other elementsof an age discrimination harassment
been made against Ms'
remarks and statements,no adverseemplolmcnt decisionshave
Lau,sonat 1hctime of this investigation/ereto occur close in time to these
If some ad'erse action or employment decision \
culture opposed to those
statementsbeing made, a revier,r,ofthe statementsshorvsthat a
upon the findings
u,ho are older withinllie force could possibly be developedbased
cffered directly aboveis Ms' Green or Ms'
one of ilre critical issuesthat could happenwithin this situation
would want to take a
Bissetl, individuais rvithin Ms. l,au,sonis clirectchain of comrnand,
lr4r' I-anzi has made
negativecrnployment action agailst lr{s. Lawson l'norving that
statementsand remarks about N'Is.I-awson's age'
harassmenlclaim
In regard to thc third a:rd fourth eiementsof an age cliscrimination
over the cmployment
bascd on statementsand remarks, if a1 ildividual rvith authority
could be made
ciecisionlnade a negativeor adversecrnplol'merltdecision'an-argument
Accordingly' Mr'
that Ir4r.Lanzi"liaJle'crage" u'ith eitherMs- Grccn or \4s' Bissetl'
o1'cotnmandcouid possibly
I-anzi's relatiolship with .ither parly i1 Jr4s.Lau'sott'sohain
an adverseemployment
havc influenceand iris slaternentsabout age could be tied iirto
dccision:gairtstI'is. I.arvson.
The I]]]o Co rajurl,u,ouldlooktoseeif Mr. L a n z i, s re la t io n s h ip u ' it lrMs . G re e n a rrd / or
possiblefuture
Ms. Rissetlrvould allorv |im to exert influellce over either party's
negativcdecisionagainstIr'1s-Lawson.
lrr de1err.nir.rinor,r.,lrctherthe indivjdual

;;.,1;;;;,i^i?il=i"".

n-raking the renlark had autiroritl'g"r31

11-Ia

u'ho
co,sideratio'is not li'rited to slateucntsbv the perso.

Jnc'' 493
rnadethe decisiott. SeeArismendeztt.NighlingalelJonteJ{ealthCare'
official11,
235 F '3d 219'
Ir.3d602-,608 (5tlt Ci1.2007)and Russelir'. McKirir-reyl{osp' Vetrtute'
226-27(5rh Cir.2000).
the evidcnce
I},en jf the llcrsonu,ho rnadethe commentsis nol the decisiotltraker, if
tllen
shorvstlial personltosscsscdlerrerageOrcxededinfluenceorrerthe decisiOn-maker,
at
226-21
F'3d
'
ell'235
the discriminatoryanimusma1'be'imputedto an enrployer''Rzrss
wor:king
As statedtluoughout the findings, N4r.Lanzi and ]rds.Bissett have a close
over Msrelationship-)3ascdo1that relationship,\4r. Lanzimal' be abie to exert levetage
BisSettto act in an adversemanller tOutardSMS. I-au'sOn'Semplol'tr'lent'
beeu friends
A rcvieu,of thc statementsindicatesthat lr4s.Grecn and Mr. Lanzihave
(Lawson, Stapleton'
oulside of r.vorkand u,ithin the u,orkplaceover the past eight years'
Patterson,Greerr)Accordingl),,ift]rcI]EOCorajuryfourrdtl-ia1\4r.Lanzipossossed
Oiscriminatory
lever-ageu,irerehe could exert influence over Ms. Greel or Ms- ilissett'
animusbasedon age could possiblybe imputedupou the City of Denton'
decision
RegardingMs. Lawson's ciairrt, although no adverseor negative employ-ment
or
rnightpossiblst
has been rnade,lhis investigationindicatesthat Ms. I-atvson's claim
claim based on
eventttallJtsatisly all of the elementsof an age discrirninalion harassment
slatementsor remarks. (emphasisadded)

Investigator

Date

I""*ttg*t"t

Date

Interim City Manager

Date

CITY OF DtrI{TO]Y
P O LI CY/AD I\{I NISTRATI\/E

PACI]

OF 6

DII{I'CTIUI

IJUN4ANRESOURCI]S
SUBJEC'f:

S]'ANDARDS OITCONDUCT ITOREMPLOYEES

TIT1-I]:

I]AI{ASSN4EN'|PREVEN'I'ION/WORKPLACEABUSE

REI:ERENCENU]T4BER:

10 8 . 10
DAl-iT :
INIT]AI- EITFECTIVE

17101187
I-ASTREV]SlONDATI]:

07lrzlt1

POL]CY STATI]MEI'J'f:
treatment
City's bchalf arc.cntitledto rcspectful
T[e City oi Dcnton's cmployecs and others acting on the
iha::coirtpliaiics"'v:t!:1he1a''"''lt
-,iorkplace_isabou'rl::cre
irririe CityofDei-rion,sivo,Kpiace.A:-espectf.ii
behavior of all kinds' including all forms of
is a working environment that is free of inappropilut"
harassmcnt.
age'
any-form of sexual, racial' ethnic' disability'
It is the policl, of rhc city of Denton to prohibit
of its
origin, genetic, or reiigious harassment
sex/gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national
that
any
recognizes
Denton
parties'- Thc City of
employees, voluntccrs, applicairts,and othlr applicablc
policy
that
any
liws- The city maintains a strict
form of harassmentmay be a violation of federai ancl state
is not acceptable and will not be
in the u,ork place or afler hours outside the workplace,
'arassment
erated.
tol
Itisal solhepolic;voftlreCiti,ofDentontoprolribitanyfonngf$'lgd(.placeabttse'iircludingbutnot
undignified' or bullying'
limited to, persistenttreatmenttirat is humiliating, embarrassing,
to refrain
representativesof 1he'City' are expected
All employees, including managers,supervisors,and
any other
behavior, or displaying conduct toward
fi-om being disrespectful, exhibiting any un*"I"o-"
rvorkplace abuse'
individual u,hich could bc interpretedas harassmcntor
DI]FINITIONS:
l.Discrinrinirtorl,|1-'.",slrrcntisunu,elconrcconducttowardanindir,ic]ualbecauseofhisorlrer
etirnicity' race or color' rcligion'
genctics, age, disability, marital status, national origin,
hostiic' or offensive
\\,hen the conduct creates an intimidating,
sex/gcndcr, or scxual or-icutatior-r,
rvork ettvirontlrentthat:
.

Causcst'orl< perfonl-lanccto sttfler: ot-

t .\egalivcl)'affcctsjob oppoflunitics-

of harassmentthat may violate the

I-larassrlcrrris againsl tfic larv ip tire United States'I3xamplcs
to:
larv and q,ill violalc tltis policy include,but are not lirnited
nanre-calling,jokes' slurs' negativc
A. oral or wriltcn collntunications tirat contain offensivc

I iM )O L I C \ ' , / 1 0 3 1 0

PACII_2 OF_5

Continued
t, o Ll CY/ADN{INISTRATI\4I PRO CIID URlt/AD MINIS TRATIVE D IRECTTp
NU}T4BER:
REFERENCE
ABUSE
]IA]1ASSMENTPRE\/ENT]ON/WORKPLACE
TII'LD.

r 08 10

or targeted at
stcrcotlping, or tltreats. T[is incluc]escotrllllcnts or jokes tl-ratare distasteful
r-acc or
origir-r,
national
status'
marital
individualsor groupsbasedon genetics,age,cJisabiiity,
color, rcligion, sex/gender,or sexual orientation.

B. Nonvcrbal conduct,such as staring,lecring, and giving inappropriategifts'

geslures.Such
C . \iisual intages,such as derogatoryor offensive pictures, cartoons,drawings or
prohibited images include thosc in hard copy or electronic form.
impairtlent that
Disability means,u,ith respectto an individual, a physical or mental
NOTE:
as such tcrm is
substantiallyIinits onc or more of iire ,rajor lifb activities of such individual,
a-rritlpairtlcnt; or
deilneriin thc Antericansu,irh Disabilities AcL,42USC I2102; a record of such
bc linlited to, an
not
but
u,ould inciude,
t.eino
,eaarAed
(/vrl16
Ias ha'ing such an impainnent. This
uvu
l rt;ur
bound, artificial
individual u,ith a joss of iirnb, visual inrpainnent, mobile irnpairment (rvheelchair
conditions such
y*i::1
iiilb, etc.), sight impairrnent (blindnessj, hearing impairment (deafnes.s),
HIV clisease,
alcoholisrn,
muscular dystrophy, cancer, mental illness,
as heart disease,
"pil"pri,,
and rnental medical conditions rvhich are protected by Federal lau''
and othcr p61,51"ut
sex or that is sex-based
II. Sexual harassrncnt is a fonn of harassnrentthat is basedon a person's
1?:ranyone in a position cf authcrity to tie iriring, prot-}lot'ictr,
ii is ajsc se>:i:a!l-rai3SSmell
-heha..,icr.
sexual favor-stermination or any other condition of en-rploymentto a requestor demand for
sexual advances,
Sexual I-Iarassmenti'cludes, but is not limitecl to unsoliciled and unrveicome
electronic' writlen' or
requests for scxrtal favors, and other verbal (slurs, jokcs), non-verbal,
physical conduct o1'a scxuai llature u4ten:
a terrn or condition of
A- Submissionto such conduct is nrade either explicitly or implicitly
employntctrt;or
uscd as the basis fbr
il. Subrnission to or rejcction o1- such conduct by an individual is
employmentdecisionsaffectingthe individual; or
perfortnancc or
C. S,c5 conduct 5as 11c purposc or cffect of interfering rvith an individual's
environtrent'
crcaiesor nraintainsap intirnidating,l-rostilc,abusiveor offcnsive u'orking
and oven' iixamples
NO fE: Scxual harassrrcnttakcs nany fornis - subtle and indirect or blalant
ir-rcluclcbut are not lin-ritedto:
I2.

llt r/ " o l - l c \ ' / l 0 8 . I 0

Urru'elconrescx-oricutedvcrbal "lcidding,"
Unvvelconreteasingor -jokes;

PACI]..3

gsryryI rin-n,

ABusll
I-lAi{AssN4llNl'PRE'vIINTION/woRKPI-AcE

+qry
nt'rcnn

OIT_!

Continucd

NUMBER:
RJ]FERENCE

I 0 8 . 10

colrrnrunicatiolr;
texts,enrails,or ollrerelectronic
including
3. Unrvcicotliesex-orier,ted
t"itten or grapliicmaterial'
display,or-dir"u"ion of unf
tou'ard
4. 'flie distribution,
l'rostility
or shot's
,""ruit1'
ona
calcndars,
"gg"ttiu"'
irosrers, "u,aiol;;;;;
sex;
'-u,r-^. ^Ilc^anp
an individualor group becauscol
.5.suggcstir,eorinsr'rltingsor.rnds;lecring;staririg;rvlristiing;obscenegestr.lres;

'f ili::l':::[:i::;i::'rXiilypin"r,ing
3-

bodv;
auotrrer's
agai'st
brusrring
orconsrant

or
Dci:'iancisior scxuai favcrs'

and/or create a risk

Ill.Workplaccabuscreferstorcpcatcd,unreasonable.actionsofindividuals(orapyoup)ciirected
which i, i,,t""a"a to intimidate
;pi;;;es),
group
(or
a
en.rployce
an
torvards
"f
1othe health and iafety ofthe enrployee(s)'
of tlie following forms:
Workplace abusetakcs one or more
. \ierbal abuse;

threatening' humiliating' or
nonverbai) which arc
(including
conducl/bchaviors

. Offensive
intimidating;or

. Work interference -

rvork from getting done'

sabotage-- which prevents

S/orkplaccabusewoul<inot include:
..fhenornralexerciseofsuperviSoryrespOrrsibilitics,includirrgpericnnanceret,ier
vs'
they are condr:cted
wltere n""""o'1" p'ouid"t1
cliscipllnuf'u"tion
a'c1
counsclillg
procedures'
clirection,
and
in u""o'dance r"'ith citypoiicies
in a rcspcctful, profcssional tnann",-,
pro'ided the
nlututtliy acceptable'
r'vhich
bantering"
anci
the rvork
. Social interaclions, iokes
-1::
i"tpu"t for others in
negati'e
i'
tSere
and
i'tcractio's arc rcspectfui
'-'o
environt.nent.
and/or conflict situations'
. Disagree'crrs,
ar-rcl'respcctful'
'rlsr-rndersrandings,.nrir,"otttll-:1t:::l:"'
involvcd remainsprofcssional
the bchavior of the iridividr-rals

I lt / )ol-lc \ ' / 1 0 8 . i 0

pro*ic1ed

P A C U _ 4 0l: 6

POLI CY/ADM IN I STI1ATIVE PROCIIDUll-E/ADMIIlIqIBAIlp

DIRIICTI\/E, Continucd

PR]]VENI'ION/WORKPI-AC]]ABU SE

RI]FEIT.ENCI]N U]T4BER:

I 0 8 . 10

ADI\4 ]Ni STRA I]VE PROCI]DIJIIES :

I.

and professionalat all lirtics'

J:nrplol,cs5are responsiblcfor ensurirrgtheir bchavior is respectfi.rl
with concernsby anotlrer empioyee, emplol'ees should be
no matler llrc siruation. If approe,cired
and apOlogizeas rteededanother'sperspectit,c
opento unrlcrstanding

tire purpose or ef:fcct of

Il" Under no circumstancesshould employccs cngagc in behavior thal has
irarassillgorabusingotiters.Enlpiol,eesneecitobesensirir,ctohoworiiersll]ay])erceiv erireir.
reflect on the Citl'as
actions, ar.icirenremberthat their actitns not only reflect upotr thcru, br-rtmay
u'clland harassment of any
III. Supel,isors are responsiblefor maintaining their work place free of abuse
with all employees and
kind. 'fhis duty inciudesdiscussingand enl'orcingthis policy and procedure
treatment- '
exploitative
assuringthem that they are not requiredto endure insulting, degrading,or
j\2. Individuals rviro feel thel, experienceabuseor harassmentshould make it clear that such behavior
the victim of any fon]] of
is offensive to them. Any emplo),eervho feels that he or she has been
or incidents and the names
abuseor harassnent should immediately report the facts of tire incident
i'r"l- ,uper",'isorand the Directc:- of Human Resources cr
of the indiviCuals ilvclved 1o his
",
the cmployee must report the
designee.Should thc immediate supervisor be the offenrling party,
Resourcesor designee'
Iluman
the
alleged act to the next lcvel of ,ounog",r"nt and tire I)irector of
allegation to his/her in-rmediate
ln situations rvhcrc the employcc is irot cornfortablc reoorting the
his/hcr compiaint only
the nexl lcvel of managerlent,he/shehas the option to report
suJren,rsor-or
'fl're
Resources and the
Iluman
of
Dircctor
1o tlie Director. of I,Iuman Resourcesor designee.
other when an allegation is
inanager/supervisorare mutually responsible for notifying cacl'r
repoflcd.
rnust be investigatcd
\/. All allegationsof abuseor harassmcntobservcclby or reportecito a supervisor
decisions' and
by the I-luman l{esourccs Director or dcsignee' All findings'
in-rtr-rediately
whole on thc
a
as
record
thc
rccomnrcndationsu,ill bc rnacieon an inclividualbasis consicJering
the context in u'hich thc
lotality, of' the circurnstances,such as tlie nature of the behavior and
nlallagelncntand
allpropriate
exist,
is found to
alleged inciclcntsoccurred- If abuseor-ha|assurent
harasstllertt
sexual
linre that
supcrvisory pcrsonnel shall takc pronrpt corrcctive action. Any
with thc
must be coordir-rated
bccomcs an iis.rc of an allegcdact of sexualassault,thc investigation
City of i)enton Police I)cpanment.
in considering alleged
Vi- An indivic.iual'sintcntions and notivcs are not tlte decisive factors
is tlie decisive
empio;'ce
of one cnlplol'gs'5bcllavior upon anotirer
harassnlentbehavior''I-hcef1'ecr

ll tvt)oLlc)'/ t 0s.l 0

r)AGl:j_oF_!

I'O LICY/AI) I\{INlSI'RATI\/II I'RO CIIDUI

1l ONAVORK PLA CE A Il U SE
'l-n'LE:
I-lA RA SSM llN T PRII V Er .rr

Continucd
NUMBI:Ii:
REFEI{ENCE

108.10

by anotherindividual or if it has an
factor. If an individuai'sbchavior is considcredto be offensivc
be prcsent'
intimidating cffcct upon anothcr individual, harassmentmay
rvhcn tltc fin<iings r'r'arrantsuch action. Sucli
VII. Appropriate clisciplinary action urill be taken
the wrongflrl act or acis and r-nayresult in
ciisciplinaq,action should be deterrnincdby the nature of
immediatcdismissal-

those city
underthis policy shail be made only to
conductecl
vlll- Disclosureof any investigation
eiiii:loyccs ai-rdotl-reiS'witll a right tc kno'"v'

PROT]]CTION AGAIN S1' RETALIATION :

emplol'ees to report any alleged infi-action
The City's Problem Solving Policy l+115.02encourages
the state of Tcxas Relaliation Act' Policy
u,ithout fear o{- retaliation. ]-he city of Denton.supports
of
files or responcls to a boni fide complaint
#i0g-06, u,hicir protects a public ernployee wiio
as
an
serves
or
in the investigation of a complaint;
discrirninatron or harassment;appearsas a-rvitness
or provides
indiviclual rvho in good faitir repons
investigator. l{etaliation and/or reprisals against an
are against the larv, against the city's policy'
information about bcha'ior that may violat-etliis policy
pioviding false infonnation is grounds for
tolerateci. Hou,ever, maki'g a false report or
and wiil not L-re
discipline.

C]ONSEN SUAI- I{OMANTIC

I.

Il.

RE,LAI]ON SI]IPS :

may not occupy a

with
An ernployeeu,ho is invoived in a persotralrelationship
To'll:-t:-ployec
crnployee witl-r t'irom
as, u,ork clirectlyfor or supervlsethe
position in tlic same chain of
a
"o,rrn]u,]d
is defined as rclationship belu'een
lre or she is involved. Consensttal rontanlic relationsl'ti1t
of a romanlic or intimate nature- The
individuals u,ho havc or have had a conlinuing relationsirip
of interest
action if an actual or potential conflict
City of l)cnton rcservesthc right to talccprompt
samc littc
thc
or lou'er) in
u,ho occttltypositionsat any ievel (higher
ariscs conccmi'g irrdiyicluals
of autlroritl'that nlay afI-cctcmplol'men1dccisions'
bccausc of a personal rclationship bctu'ccn
\\rhcn a conflict or the potcntial for conflict arises
reporiing invoived, the emillcyees Irlay bc
emplol,ces,cven if there is'no line of authority or
lf such personai relationship is
separateclby reassignnlentor dismisscd fi-orn elnploymentanctobligation of the employees invoh'ed to
cstablishedafter ernployrnent,it is the responsibility
to their manager and/or dcpa(lrcnt hcad'
immcdiately disclose the cxistenceo1'the rclationship
of the relationshipaffecling etnplol'nrc't'
w6cn a conflict or a potcntialfor corrflict arisesbeca'-ise
to clecideu'ho is to appiy l'or anothcr
thc irrdi'iduals conccnredu,ill bc given thc opporlr'rni1y
rvithin 30 calendat'da1'5'
is Jvailabie.If thc decision is trot made
positio' or r-esignil-no
'osition

I J TV P O U C \ ' / I 0 Sl 0

PAGE_ 6 0Ir_6

I'O LIC)'/A D]\{INISl'RATI\/tr PROCtrDURE/ADI\{IMSTRATN/]'DIR]'qTI]'B Continucd)

REFERENCI] NUMBI]R:

I 0 8 . 10

1lanagcmcirtrvill decide rvho is to apply Ibr another position or, if necessaty,bc disrnissed fi-om
enrploy,lrcnt.Iractorsto be consideredb1,rranagcnrentinclude, but are not iir-nitedto, Ienglh of
service,rvork perfonrancc, and/or criticality of the position to the operation-

liltt'ol-lc\7108

I0