Oct. 2, 2002 – Hints of possible sexual harassment, ethnic bias and violations of confidentiality have surfaced in a report on the Division of Personnel office on St. Croix.
Concerned about rumors of such misconduct, Personnel Director Joanne U. Barry requested that the V.I. Inspector General investigate. The I.G.'s office released its findings Wednesday, and Barry concurred with the findings and recommendations.
"The conclusions of the investigation lead to no specific allegations of criminal misconduct based on Virgin Islands law, " I.G. Steven van Beverhoudt wrote. However, he said some of the findings were of misconduct that might lead to civil action, that reflects poorly on the government, that is "less than honorable" and that violates department policy and the V.I. Code of Ethics.
Armed with the report, Barry is already scheduling hearings for some employees on charges of dishonesty, negligence and unethical conduct.
One analyst in the St. Croix office "did initiate an intimate relationship" with an applicant who came to the office looking for help in finding a job. There is documentation that the same analyst had been involved with another applicant in the past, according to the report.
The investigation also found that a supervisor referred Crucians over applicants from other places and instructed subordinates to do likewise.
The report cites several instances of very poor control over pre-employment tests. An undercover agent taking a test found many of the answers were written in the test booklet. Also, test copies were found in an unlocked file cabinet in an analyst's office where they were easily accessible for theft or copying.
However, the Inspector General's Office investigators concluded that a rumor that tests were being sold to applicants was unfounded.
A separate investigation was made into a firefighter's boast that he obtained a copy of an exam for a promotion weeks before it was administered. "The brag that he had the test is probably true, the fact that he may have sold what purported to be the test may also be true, but the fact that what he had was the official test is probably not true," the report states. That's because these tests come from the U.S. mainland under seal about 24 hours before they are to be administered — and because the firefighter in question didn't demonstrate any advance knowledge of the questions, achieving a score that ranked him 20th out of 39 people taking the test.
Other irregularities revolved around a supervisor who appeared to be doing desktop publishing for a church and other "personal interests" on government time using government equipment. The same person was in possession of mail addressed to other people. In one case a letter postmarked six weeks earlier "had apparently been intercepted by this supervisor for unknown reasons, and not forwarded to the person for whom it was intended," the report states.
Investigators also found index cards with applicants' personal information strewn about the office.
Among the Inspector General's recommendations are that the division:
– Establish a strict policy prohibiting personal involvement between employees and applicants and post the sexual discrimination and harassment policy.
– Establish and enforce security measures for pre-employment testing and ensure that only clean, unmarked copies of tests are administered.
– Take disciplinary action with respect to employees whose conduct is dishonest, negligent or unethical.
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