Civil Rights boss sends strong message

The Gazette

---

Beth Townsend took Gov. Terry Branstad's new email policy seriously. Three Iowa Civil Rights Commission investigators apparently didn't.

And so those investigators found themselves fired by Townsend in June. Their extensive abuse of emails while on the job came to light during recent legal hearings regarding their unemployment benefits. Townsend, whom Branstad named commission director on Feb. 2, discovered hundreds of unprofessional and offensive emails sent by the trio.

Score one for Townsend. And kudos to the governor for his new email policy, in place since March 1.

The investigation showed that between March 1 and June 3, Tiffanie Drayton, Michele Howard and Wendy Buenger used big chunks of work time to send emails, mostly to each other, that mocked their colleagues and supervisors, and ridiculed obese, gay, transgender and elderly people, as well as black men and whites in general. Drayton, who told friends outside the agency that the messages were the “highlight of my workweek,” averaged 75 personal emails per day.

What were they thinking? Was the workload that light? Did they forget that their job is to fight discrimination and uphold respect for all people?

The emails were “just the girls being silly,” Howard testified.

Try telling that to the judge.

Administrative Law Judge James Timberland, among other judges, isn't buying it. He wrote: “While employed by an agency whose purpose is to confront, remedy and eliminate discrimination, Ms. Howard engaged in a remarkably broad, persistent campaign of discrimination and otherwise offensive conduct” by abusing her employer's email system.

This case is another example of why workplaces need clear rules on use of electronic communications. And government employees also must remember they are serving the public and the public trust. Emails they send are public records. And public employees shouldn't be surprised to learn that reality.

Townsend has delivered a strong, appropriate message that she won't tolerate abuse of email in her office.

Her background as a military judge and then as a private attorney with nine years of experience representing individuals with discrimination complaints are solid credentials for her job as commission director.

We hope her action on the email fiasco also is a sign that she will lead the Iowa Civil Rights Commission to a high level of performance during her tenure.

n Comments: thegazette.com/

category/opinion/editorial or

editorial@sourcemedia.net