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On Monday, the Commonwealth Comptroller’s Office (OCPR, by its Spanish acronym) released a report highlighting the negative impact on government finances stemming from complaints related to terminations, disciplinary actions, or other personnel decisions driven by political-partisan motives, as well as cases of workplace and sexual harassment involving public officials.
This special report indicates that 27 agencies across the executive branch, legislative branch, and public corporations experienced 595 complaints. An analysis conducted from January 1, 2018, to June 30, 2023, revealed that 521 complaints involving 20 entities were resolved at a cost of $101,177, while 65 complaints against 12 entities, costing $429,000, remain unresolved. Additionally, five complaints totaling $141,949 were halted by the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, commonly known as PROMESA. No complaints were reported within the judicial branch.
An examination of the information provided by 159 entities showed that 64% of the complaints were related to workplace harassment, 33% to sexual harassment, and 3% to political-partisan discrimination. Furthermore, 56.8% of the complainants were women, 22.4% were men, 1.3% were submitted by mixed-gender groups, while in 19.5% of the cases, the entities failed to disclose gender-related info.
The report identified that 117 entities had no complaints during the analyzed period; however, 21 indicated the presence of ongoing lawsuits.
Entities that did not submit or provide the requested documents include: the Municipal Alliance for Economic Development (Coamo), the Office for Socioeconomic and Community Development (Special Communities), the State Insurance Fund Corp., the Senate of Puerto Rico, and the Puerto Rico School of Fine Arts and Design.
Meanwhile, the Ports Authority provided the necessary information but failed to present the certification or supporting complaint documents. The Department of Education and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau did not complete all required sections of the information request.
The OCPR advised the Justice secretary to take the report’s findings into account and offer guidance to senior officials of the entities regarding the detrimental consequences of actions taken against officials and employees due to political-partisan reasons, sexual harassment, and workplace harassment.
Furthermore, the report recommends that secretaries, directors, heads, administrators, governing boards, and principal officials of the entities heed the findings and ensure adherence to the laws and regulations governing personnel management.
