By Erica C. Barnett
Derrick Wheeler-Smith, director of the city’s Office for Civil Rights, has been put on administrative leave along with his deputy director, Fahima Mohamed, while an outside investigator looks into allegations by SOCR staff that include discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Erika Pablo, a former Race and Social Justice Initiative manager at SOCR who now heads up the Human Services Department’s Safe and Thriving Communities division, will replace Wheeler-Smith on an interim basis.
PubliCola reported last week about the allegations after speaking with about a quarter of SOCR’s current staff.
Among other allegations, employees said Wheeler-Smith had ignored or rejected efforts to focus SOCR’s work on emerging issues facing Asian American, Latino, and LGBTQ+ people and imposed his personal religious views on department activities. Staffers also alleged retaliation, discrimination against women and LGBTQ+ and disabled staffers, and inappropriate conduct such as sending misogynistic “jokes” about women to male staff, including a meme suggesting Kamala Harris rose to her position by giving oral sex.
Although the investigation will be conducted by an external investigator, it falls under the purview of the city’s internal Human Resources Investigation Unit (HRIU), leading some staffers to raise concerns about about the independence of the investigation.
Shortly after my story came out, Wheeler-Smith sent an email to city officials and local news outlets claiming that Deputy Mayor Brian Surratt was the secret puppet master behind my story, “direct[ing]… a few disgruntled staff” my way and steering my reporting. (Surratt was not a source.) In the email, Wheeler-Smith revealed that he reached out to HRIU Director Ray Sugarman in February to report Surratt’s “threatening actions” and “inquire about an alleged HR complaint based upon false allegations.” One day after Wheeler-Smith contacted Sugarman, according to PROTEC17, the investigations unit reached out to the union seeking the names of employees who complained so they could conduct intake interviews.
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In response to Wheeler’s allegation and HRIU’s request for employee names, PROTEC17 filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The complaint argues that it’s inappropriate for the city’s internal HR investigations office to oversee complaints against department heads because HRIU is lower on the city’s chain of command, and says the independence of the investigation is “fatally compromised” because it was triggered when the subject of the complaint, Wheeler-Smith, alerted the investigations unit that there might be a “false” HR complaint against him.
The EEOC complaint accuses Wheeler-Smith of retaliating against employees he believed were responsible for the complaints against him, creating a “chilling effect” that has caused at least one SOCR staffer to pull out of an intake interview after Wheeler-Smith learned that they planned to participate in the investigation.
According to the complaint, “The employee subsequently received threats from community members associated with the Director.” Additionally, “Wheeler-Smith’s public letter will predictably deter OCR employees from participating in any investigation. Employees who have not yet been identified now face the prospect that the Director will publicly attack them if they come forward,” the EEOC complaint says.
Mayor Katie Wilson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for more information on Thursday morning.
Seems like these accusations come up often in Seattle area local governments. One of two things is happening: either they’re really bad at hiring, or employees are looking for ways to be deeply offended at every turn. When you’re surrounded by hammers, after all, everything looks like a nail.
The article I read did not mention sending inappropriate memes. But it seems like those who publicola interviewed are now adding to the litany of real, imagined or fabricated personality traits that they do not like. It makes me wonder whether it was a planned effort by the union to push Wheeler-Smith out. I guess time will tell.
Really? Because my assumption, as a City emplyee, is that he did everything that the staff has accused him of.
Anyone who watches city job postings will know there has been a lot of churn for good paying, (what should be) mission driven work at SOCR. Somethings not right in that department.
Is sending a meme of Kamala Harris ostensibly post-blowjob a personality trait? (A seemingly documented fact). Shitty personality if so.
My original story does, in fact, reference this and link to the meme.