BATON ROUGE, LA – Today, Judge Timothy Kelley of the 19th
Judicial District Court released the redacted workplace complaint against Pat
Magee.
Sandra Schober, the Deputy Director of the Louisiana
Department of Justice’s Administrative Services Division, issued the following
statement after today's release:
“Prior to joining the LADOJ in 2014, I served the State and
her people in Human Resources positions with the LSU Ag Center, the Department
of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Department of Natural Resources, and the
Department of Revenue. My over two decade experience in public service also
includes a proactive role on Governor John Bel Edwards’ Sexual Harassment Task
Force.
In my position at the LADOJ, I am responsible for all human
resource functions – operations, benefits, compensation, staffing, and employee
relations for our Department’s nearly 600 employees. This includes
investigating and taking action on things like performance, behavioral
incidents, workplace violence, harassment, and discrimination claims.
I take that responsibility most seriously, and I am
committed to holding employee rights sacrosanct. It is because of that
commitment that I took swift action upon receiving the complaint against Pat
Magee.
I oversaw the independent and thorough investigation
conducted by Taylor Porter Law Firm, which discovered that Mr. Magee engaged in
inappropriate verbal conversations with colleagues as well as with third party
affiliates of the LADOJ. It also concluded that his conduct did not rise to the
level of sexual harassment.
What was released today are the accusations. Accusations get
investigated and decisions concerning discipline are made based on our ability
to validate the accusations. Just as our office in criminal matters does not
convict people based on accusations, we discipline based on the evidence.
Mr. Magee was disciplined with a 38-day suspension without pay and mandatory
participation in training courses to assist in developing his emotional
intelligence, professionalism in the workplace, conflict management, and
leadership skills. During the suspension period, Mr. Magee is required to work
with a salary reduction equivalent to 38 days of leave without pay - equating
to a reduction in pay of $20,559.52.
My office has acted and will continue to act in a way that
encourages people to speak up without fear of reprisal or risk of stirring ill
will. When doing so, we will continue to take into account the privacy of all
employees named in a raw grievance. After all, employees identified in a complaint
do not forfeit their right to privacy when a complaint is lodged against
another employee. Their privacy must be taken into account most of all.”