Discriminatory state personnel: Demonstrators call on Gov. Markell
Jane Hovington, president of Sussex County’s NAACP says, “There are things happening in the workplace that should not be happening.”
Community and religious leaders gathered outside of Legislative Hall on Tuesday for a second demonstration. There were dozens of signs, but one clear message. Demonstrators were calling on Governor Markell to thoroughly investigate and address discriminatory practices of state personnel.
La Mar Gunn, the president of NAACP’s central branch says, “Commit to fixing them now. We’ve waited long enough. It’s time we hold elected officials accountable.”
In January, the governor met with members of the Interdenominational Ministries Action Council or IMAC, and the NAACP to discuss their report. It found that state workers from nine out of thirteen executive branch agencies reported instances of discrimination and retaliation.
The Department of Labor had the most egregious reports. A separate investigation by the Office of Management and Budget agreed. They found the Labor Department to be an “unhealthy work environment due to lack of professionalism and cultural insensitivity.”
Reverend Anthony Wallace says, “These aren’t frivolous charges. These aren’t emotional outbursts. These are very carefully studied and analyzed within an empirical report.”
In January, the governor went on record agreeing with IMAC’s recommendations, saying there is zero tolerance for discrimination. Following a protest in February, the governor’s office sent this a letter outlining their commitment to conducting a review of the protections available to whistleblowers and hiring a consultant to assess state human resources practices. The letter also noted that “personnel issues are confidential.”
However, according to the leaders that demonstrated on Tuesday, personnel are the primary source of discrimination in several of the cases. They say of those personnel, zero have been removed.
Reverend Michael Rogers, president of the Interdenominational Ministers Alliance says, “Those are things that the people that are hurting are dealing with every single day. These administrators, directors, supervisors those are the individuals that are perpetrating these things. They’re still there and that’s where the problem is.”
47 ABC reached out to the governor’s office in reference to Tuesday’s demonstration, they referred us to comments stated in the letter released in February. Click here to view it.
