GRANBY — An independent investigator found an “obvious lack of trust” between two key leaders in the Fire Department, but concluded that Fire Chief John Mitchell’s actions did not amount to harassment or create a hostile work environment.
The town hired attorney John M. Collins, a special labor consultant, to investigate formal complaints made by Lt. Mike Pandora, president of the fire department’s union. His July 30 report states that there is an “acute need to address the strained relationship” between the two individuals, but clears the Fire Chief of violating any state or federal anti-discrimination laws.
“The chief has been vindicated of the charges laid by Mr. Pandora,” Town Administrator Christopher Martin said in reference to the June 19 complaint by Pandora, where allegations of harassment and a hostile work environment were made.
Martin said that Mitchell will remain on leave, however, and retired Fire Chief David J. Seiffert has been appointed as fire services administrator pending a subsequent investigation.
Now that the first investigation has concluded, Martin said, a second investigation will begin regarding a letter of no confidence, the resignation of former Assistant Chief George Randall in May, and the termination of Deputy Chief Bruce Carpenter.
The June 19 complaint followed a June 4 vote of no confidence and letter, signed by 20 out of nearly 30 members of the Fire Department, delivered to the Select Board, in which they questioned Mitchell’s ability to lead the department. The Firefighters Local 4172 union, which represents Granby firefighters, supported the no-confidence vote and also signed the letter to the Select Board.
Collins’ investigation looked into allegations of intimidation and retaliation by the fire chief as well as the discord between Mitchell and Pandora.
“When Mr. Pandora filed his complaint with me, due to the nature of the complaint, it required an investigation to find out exactly what was going on,” Martin said. “Every issues has two sides and we wanted to make sure we had both sides of the issue investigated by an independent person.”
Town officials hired Collins in June soon after the firefighters’ letter was delivered to the Select Board, and Collins’ report followed interviews with both Mitchell and Pandora, as well as current and former members of the Fire Department.
In his report, Collins asserted that for workplace harassment to be unlawful, a number of elements must be operative, such as the victim belonging to a protected class, or being subjected to verbal or physical harassment as a condition of continued employment. He also wrote the harassment would have to create an offensive, intimidating, or hostile work environment.
“General complaints of ‘picking on’ an individual, or conduct that simply makes an employee feel uncomfortable are not covered by any of these policies,” Collins wrote.
Because Pandora is not part of a “protected class” (because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation or identity, national origin, age, or disability) nor did he claim to be, Mitchell’s actions did not amount to harassment as Pandora had claimed, according to Collins.
As for allegations by Pandora that Mitchell had refused to speak to members of the department who signed the letter, Collins wrote that the “the chief was not provided a copy of the signature list on the letter by the town administrator. This undercuts any claim that the chief knew the identity of the signers.”
The report concludes, “It is apparent that Mr. Pandora has a great many friends that are more than willing to take his side, and in this case support the continuing efforts of Mr. Pandora appears to be making to undermine the chief and drive him out.”
Martin said he expects the second investigation to wrap up in the next two or three weeks.
“Right now we have an interim administrator in the department as we try to move forward and hopefully allay concerns of citizens,” he said.
Luis Fieldman can be reached at lfieldman@gazettenet.com.