An independent investigation into allegations of discrimination at the Oregon Employment Department, made public Thursday, found that a Latina employee, who has since departed, was subjected to racism, sexism and a hostile work environment.
The investigation found broader problems as well, including a dysfunctional work environment and a leadership vacuum that negatively affected multiple employees and hampered overall progress of the department’s paid leave division.
The department hired law firm Barran Liebman in October 2021 to conduct an outside investigation after Isela M. Ramos Gonzalez resigned as a lead operations and policy analyst for the relatively new paid leave division. Ramos Gonzalez said that she had endured discrimination and feared the racist work environment would mar implementation of the long-awaited program.
The investigation, conducted by Shayda Z. Le, a partner at the law firm, concluded that a dysfunctional workplace culture and lack of leadership created negative experiences for multiple employees and managers. But she concluded in her 110-page report that Ramos Gonzalez had a harder time than other workers, encountering more roadblocks and pushback than other members of the program’s leadership team. And she noted that employees she interviewed for the investigation employed gender stereotypes in describing Ramos Gonzalez’ leadership style, saying she should “be more soft, be less abrasive, and she should smile more.”
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