Four months after a third-party review of workplace culture at the Legislative Assembly’s Office of the Clerk prescribed next steps, one complainant is calling for action.
Austin Marshall, a lawyer for one of the complainants, penned a letter to the Legislative Assembly Dec. 6 titled Inaction at the Legislative Assembly.
The report on the workplace review into the conduct of assembly clerk Tim Mercer was made public in August.
While investigator Quintet, a consulting firm, concluded that allegations made by complainants one, two and three were “unfounded,” it determined that issues raised by the fourth complainant were valid.
Noting that not only has no action been taken by the Board of Management since the report was published Aug. 19, Marshall stated that the promise of privacy and anonymity for his client by the assembly was not kept.
The report from Quintet concluded that anyone with knowledge of the previous investigations would be able to identify the fourth complainant and that if the complainant were still an employee at the time, Mercer’s comments would have amounted to personal harassment.
“In February 2021, the clerk made a public statement about a confidential matter between our client and the assembly that had been concluded two years earlier,” Marshall wrote. “In doing so, the clerk breached our client’s right to confidentiality.”
Marshall referenced MLAs’ recent discussions in the House about the importance of a safe workplace in his Dec. 6 letter.
“Our MLAs have clearly spoken unanimous commitment to their right to safety in the workplace,” the letter reads. “The MLAs have said little about the safety and well-being of the assembly’s staff.”
Mercer returned to his position in October.
To date, no details have emerged of how or when the clerk’s office will act on Quintet’s recommendations, though the Board of Management previously stated that it accepts the guidance.
The Board of Management did not respond to requests for comment on the contents of the letter or if and when it plans to act on Quintet’s recommendations before press deadline.
