|Debra Smith|
The Ad Hoc DEI Committee met on August 18 and agreed to schedule a workshop, then plowed through policies on harassment in the Town’s personnel policies. All were present except Greta Atchinson.
The meeting began with public comment from Dan Ellingson, husband of member Beth Ellingson. He praised the committee for working together across differences, but thinks that some people have a narrow definition of diversity, equity and inclusion. He suggested that people “avoid having a victim mentality, being envious of those who appear to have some advantage and or taking offense at perceived insults, but rather maintain an attitude of thankfulness and neighborliness.”
Scheduling a workshop
Picking up from their last meeting, the group discussed having a speaker from Lewiston to talk about their DEI statement and how it had been developed. Some members had concerns about how much time this might take, given their tight timeline. But they ended up agreeing to schedule a workshop to hear from someone from Lewiston about their DEI statement, and possibly some lessons from that process. Beth Ellingson was concerned that Lewiston is not similar to New Gloucester. Chair Julia Tajonera also wants to invite someone from a new multi-cultural center in Lewiston.
Personnel policy, anti-harassment
Moving on to review of the Town’s personnel policy on harassment, (p.11) Cam Dufty proposed that they add gender identity to the list of protected groups in the following overview, noting that it is a protected class in state law.
Any employee of the Town of New Gloucester who believes that he or she has been discriminated against in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, genetic history, physical or mental disability, whistleblower status, or any other category protected by law, must report the behavior to a supervisor.
She got push back on this from some members. Rachel Carll said, “every time we add another group we’re marginalizing others.” This failed on a vote of 4 to 2.
Tajonera wanted to add a section on repercussions for false accusations, which she has been working on for the policies for her school. Joanna Caouette wondered if this would require a criminal investigation. Dufty saw it as discriminatory: there is a history of marginalized people not being believed, it could be hard from someone to go to their boss, she said. In the end, the idea of including punitive measures was not included.
Dufty then moved that they add the Maine Human Rights Act as a resource on page 13, for the list of protected classes. Adam Lee opposed this, saying that “if you’re not a protected class, that marginalizes a lot of people.” But in the end, the group agreed 4 to 2 to include this.
Lee said he thought the policies looked to be in pretty good shape, and Ellingson commented that she was impressed with the personnel policy overall. Cam Dufty had made detailed notes in the policy document and made all of the motions going forward. Most of these were discussed at some length, then passed.
• for the Town to clarify accommodations for employees who are required to use their own vehicles for town related business, but don’t have access to a reliable vehicle.
• to make sure that language regarding leave for victims of domestic violence is clear and supportive of victims.
• to explain more clearly when someone is subject to drug testing, and what that entails, perhaps linking it to the Fitness for Duty section.
• to add to the Fitness for Duty section, that an employee may still be eligible for some benefits.
Dufty’s motion to use appropriate gender-neutral language in the personnel policy failed, as it has every time this has come up.
You can watch the video of this meeting here.
Upcoming meetings are scheduled:
• Sept. 9 at 6:30,
• Sept. 15 at 6 (workshop in the Community Building)
• Sept. 29 at 6:30
