Tag Archives: Austin Human Resources Department
Audit update shows progress on city HR complaints, with more work needed
The city’s Human Resources Department has made some progress on achieving the recommendations outlined in a 2017 report that found the city was taking too long to investigate complaints brought by city employees. The report, from Matrix Consulting Group, also…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Aug 19, 2019
Ethics commission loses some duties
Austin’s Ethics Review Commission will no longer be looking at allegations of ethics violations related to most city employees. On Thursday, City Council approved changes to the ordinance governing the commission’s authority after ensuring that reports about such allegations would…
City Hall • By Jo Clifton • Mar 29, 2019
Ethics Review Commission dismisses case against Human Resources director
The city of Austin professes to have a “mother-friendly” work environment that supports new moms and working parents. However, a complaint filed in December by the Office of the City Auditor brings that policy into question. The complaint filed by…
City Hall • By Jessi Devenyns • Feb 14, 2019
Updated: Human Resources director faces ethics complaint
Joya Hayes, director of the city’s Human Resources Department, misused city resources and abused her position by directing staffers to care for her child while Hayes attended meetings, according to a complaint filed by the Office of the City Auditor.…
City Hall • By Jo Clifton • Feb 11, 2019
Firefighter off for one day for 'disrespect'
After finding that a male firefighter under his command spoke in a disrespectful manner to a female firefighter, Austin Fire Chief Joel Baker suspended the firefighter for just one day, to the dismay of the female firefighter. Baker did not…
City Hall • By Jo Clifton • Feb 1, 2019
Austin Energy troubled by hiring concerns
City jobs are notorious for having a prolonged hiring process. However, at Austin Energy, the process has become excruciatingly long, even by its own standards, and it’s starting to have repercussions. At the April 16 Electric Utility Commission meeting, Mark Dombroski,…
City Hall • By Jessi Devenyns • Apr 20, 2018
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Without final rules in place, Austin closes two fair chance hiring complaints
When Lewis Conway Jr. was released from prison in 2000 after serving time for manslaughter, the state required him to wear an electronic monitoring device. But nothing fit his ankles. “So they put the electronic monitor on my wrist,” said…
City Hall • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Apr 19, 2018
Public Safety Commission: Who polices the police?
Last month, members of the Public Safety Commission voiced concerns about the lack of consistent rules or guidelines on investigating senior members of the police, fire and emergency medical services departments for harassment or discrimination. On Monday, a representative of…
Public Safety • By Jack Craver • Apr 6, 2018
Audit raises questions about on-call pay
Although Austin has a citywide procedure governing on-call and call-back pay, the Office of the City Auditor has found that the procedure is not consistently applied, and the city’s Human Resources Department has apparently not evaluated call-back pay since 2012.…
City Hall • By Jo Clifton • Mar 14, 2018
Audit: City employees violated lottery rules
An assistant director of the city’s Human Resources Department helped to conduct a raffle last summer at an event sponsored by a large non-city organization. City employees participated in that raffle in violation of city HR policies, according to a…
City Hall • By Jo Clifton • Jan 19, 2018
Ethics commission sets final hearing for former music department staffer
Austin’s Ethics Review Commission will hold a final hearing next month to determine whether a former music office employee attempted to inappropriately pay herself out of city coffers. The complaint against Ashley Buchanan, who worked as an employee in the…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Apr 14, 2017
City still dealing with retaliation, harassment
The appearance of two witnesses – one employee and one former employee of the city of Austin – at Wednesday’s City Council Audit and Finance Committee added a sense of urgency to the findings of an outside auditor’s report on…
