'Culture of Sexual Harassment' Pervades County, Grand Jury Finds

An Orange County grand jury today released a report arguing that there's been a "culture" of sexual harassment in the workplace that ultimately led to sex charges filed against former county executive and Santa Ana Councilman Carlos Bustamante.

The grand jury "identified a disturbing pattern of sexual harassment claims being overlooked, ignored, poorly investigated, and even suppressed," it said in its report.

"The grand jury found a severe lack of understanding of what constitutes sexual harassment. Also distressing was a strong tolerance for inappropriate behavior, especially when it concerned high-ranking elected officials and executives. As the grand jury listened to the testimonies, it became apparent that this tolerance of inappropriate behavior was culturally inspired."

Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Shawn Nelson criticized the report, arguing that officials have undertaken sweeping reforms since Bustamante's arrest.

"I think the grand jury is completely irresponsible, and in many cases purposefully half-informed," Nelson said.

All the county leaders in charge at the time of the allegations against Bustamante have left the county, Nelson said. Also, county officials have changed the way sexual harassment claims are reported and investigated, he added.

"Those people are all gone," Nelson said. "And you couldn't make more sweeping changes. As far as leadership from Carlos Bustamante on up are gone. There's not one person in the food chain from Carlos Bustamante to the CEO who isn't gone now, and it happened pretty damned quick."

Then-CEO Tom Mauk was forced to resign, and Bustamante's immediate supervisor was fired, Nelson said. The human resources director faulted for the initial investigation of allegations against Bustamante resigned, Nelson said.

"This particular grand jury is almost purposefully irresponsible, or they're just intellectually lazy," Nelson said. "They're more interested in sensationalizing a headline."

Nelson and Supervisor John Moorlach have taken aim at the grand jury for other reports this year. The grand jury also drew the ire of Supervisor Janet Nguyen, who was harshly criticized for her role in a shakeup of the agency that provides health insurance to the county's needy.

"I think this report has a lot of information, but it seems like it's not balanced," Moorlach said. "And it doesn't give the total picture. We have done a lot and we held people accountable all the way to the top, but I agree there were some things we had to deal with and we did."

The grand jury recommended county officials create guidelines related to the handling of employee complaints and how they are investigated. The grand jury also recommended more training on discrimination and harassment.

Also among the recommendations is the installation of a "confidential communication source for employees who want to file complaints relating to discrimination or harassment with anonymity."

Employees should be able to send complaints via mail, phone, fax or email, the grand jury said.

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- City News Service