When a call-taker for Houston’s 311 center accused colleagues of sexual harassment 15 years ago, she said the investigation quickly took a demoralizing turn.
Houston’s Office of Inspector General – the agency that was supposed to investigate misconduct – handed over her recording of the incident to a manager who shared it with the employees Sonia Rico was accusing, she said.
Rico’s complaint was deemed “unfounded” and the harassment continued, she said.
In the years that followed, Rico kept her job as a 311 operator while rising to serve as the president of the Houston Organization of Public Employees, the municipal employees union.
A subsequent inspector general investigation prompted the firing of the call center’s director over sexual harassment allegations. That did not change Rico’s opinion of the inspector general’s office.