There appears to have been no "investigation," only retaliation in SJC's hostile working environment. From News4JAX:
St. Johns County employee’s harassment allegations spark call for independent review
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A St. Johns County employee’s allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation have reached the County Commission. Commissioner Ann Taylor brought the issue to light during Tuesday’s meeting, stating she received the complaint via email the previous night.
“It was very concerning,” Taylor said. “It’s made allegations about sexual harassment that may not have been taken seriously or followed up on appropriately, and the allegations are serious enough that I believe that they should be investigated by an independent expert who specializes in workplace policy and procedures.”
Commission Chair Krista Joseph also addressed the matter, noting she received the email, but it landed in her junk folder.
“The one statement that stuck out to me is this is not just about my experience. It’s about a culture of abuse, intimidation and retaliation that has flourished under the current leadership,” Joseph said. “The problem that I have is I’ve heard this before from an employee and also from a commissioner on the board at one point, and these are the things that we cannot have fester.”
An anonymous source provided the email sent to commissioners, requesting anonymity for the employee involved. The employee claims she exhausted all internal avenues, including Human Resources and County Administration, before turning to the Commission.
The email describes ongoing retaliation for reporting a colleague’s misconduct and mentions another employee experiencing similar harassment. Attempts to escalate the issue through proper channels were met with dismissiveness, resistance, and retaliation, according to the employee.
The email outlines a timeline of events from August of last year to January 28, including reports to Human Resources.
On Aug. 28, the employee feared retaliation when her director issued a Corrective Action Notice, also known as a write-up, against her for reporting harassment.
After a heated interaction with her director and no response from HR, the employee escalated her concerns to County Administrator Joy Andrews on September 15.
Andrews responded on Sept. 17, stating, “I have received your request. I will carefully review and follow up as soon as possible.” The employee says that’s the only correspondence she’s gotten from Andrews.
During the commission meeting, Andrews commented on the situation.
“It’s really out of respect of everybody involved with this allegation, and this is allegation, and also respect for this individual employee,” Andrews said. “So I am not going to comment on the specific of this case, but I can be assured to tell you that proper action has been taken and it has been addressed.”
Rich Komando, interim county attorney, informed that due to the ongoing personnel investigation, they are unable to comment at this time.
A public records request to St. Johns County was deemed exempt from release by the County Attorney, according to Betty Dixon, Legal Services Specialist.
Commissioner Ann Taylor responded to our interview request with this statement:
Thank you for covering this important matter. Due to the sensitive nature of this situation I’m not going to add anything further.
I am glad that an independent investigation will take place.
Commissioner Ann Taylor, St. Johns County
News4JAX also contacted Joy Andrews for an interview but didn’t receive a response.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ariel Schiller
Ariel Schiller joined the News4Jax team as an evening reporter in September of 2023. She comes to Jacksonville from Tallahassee where she worked at ABC27 as a Weekend Anchor/Reporter for 10 months.
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