INDIANAPOLIS — The Rules and Public Policy Committee discussed appropriate next steps to improve the city’s workplace culture at a meeting on Tuesday.
Councilors heard three presentations about Human Resources policy.
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The first was from the city’s corporation counsel, then the National Women’s Defense League and finally the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
“I thought we learned a lot tonight. I think it exposed the complicated legal and human capital asset issues we’re facing. We do not have a time frame on this necessarily, because we do not think this is something we can rush," Councilor Dan Boots said. “We’re gonna have to do a lot of homework and get a lot of professionals involved from a legal perspective, a financial perspective, before we come up with a policy that we think is defective, before we come up with a policy that is effective and could withstand a constitutional attack.”
Tuesday’s meeting was a public hearing, but the Public Assembly Room was practically empty.
Normally, speakers get two minutes during public comment, but councilors doubled the allotted time.
Only one woman spoke at the podium and shared her story of working under Mayor Joe Hogsett.
“I’ve seen firsthand how deeply broken is inside the Hogsett Administration still is. Reform is desperately needed not just in HR or how reports are handled, but across the entire working environment," former city employee Morgan Mickelson said.
Councilors discussed the idea of an independent third party being responsible for investigating city HR complaints.
Councilor Michael-Paul Hart says that could create some privacy issues for survivors.
“I think when we do anything external to the administration, in a sense, is when we start running into these privacies, whether it’s inspector general, whether it’s human resources, where we have to be cautious of the personal rights of individuals' personal privacy," Hart said.
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Nico Pennisi is the In Your Community reporter for Downtown Indy. He joined WRTV in October 2022. His passion has always been telling the stories of people who often get overlooked. Share your story ideas and important issues with Nico by emailing him at nico.pennisi@wrtv.com.
