Board of Trustees votes to admonish Trustee Hirsch after the conclusion of an independent investigation into harassment complaints by Village staff members.
Manhasset, NY (September 1, 2020) Today, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Flower Hill voted to admonish Trustee Kate Hirsch for inappropriate conduct after the conclusion of an independent investigation carried out by the law firm of Berkman, Henoch, Peterson, Peddy & Fenchel, PC into two separate complaints of workplace harassment filed against her by village staff members as required by law. The workplace harassment complaints were filed with the Village after an incident in Village Hall that took place in front of several staff members this past February and a second separate incident weeks later. The independent investigation was delayed by the COVID-19 shutdown and was focused on violations of Title VII and the NYS Human Rights Law.
“I am saddened that last night our Village Board had to take actions to reprimand a member of our Board of Trustees for inappropriate and offensive comments to our staff. After receiving the report by the independent investigators, it was clear that the statements and actions Trustee Hirsch was accused of did take place and that the behavior was inappropriate. Our staff and residents can be assured that our Village has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to acts of bias, discrimination and harassment. We are truly sorry to anyone that has been offended by Trustee Hirsch’s comments and we will redouble our efforts to ensure this type of behavior does not have a home in Flower Hill” Mayor Brian Herrington said on behalf of the Board of Trustees.
The Board passed a resolution that not only admonished Trustee Hirsch for her statements to the staff but also requires her to attend an anti-discrimination training class to be assigned by the Village. The Village will also review its discrimination and harassment policy and education programs for staff, Trustees, and other Village Board Members.
