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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Hogsett administration has agreed to pay $151,874 to New Jersey-based software company HR Acuity to use an anonymous online workplace harassment reporting platform called Speakfully.
The purchase is part of a plan by the city to improve its human resources efforts in the wake of sexual harassment allegations against Mayor Joe Hogsett’s former second-in-command, Thomas Cook, and similar allegations against current and former city employees.
The administration committed to creating an anonymous reporting platform for employees in August. On Oct. 3, it announced that Speakfully was the chosen vendor.
Speakfully allows employees to report harassment through a 24/7 hotline and an anonymous online form. It also allows two-way communication between reporting employees and investigators.
Indianapolis information technology professionals will have to work with HR Acuity to set up the program, according to a contract posted to the city’s transparency portal. City spokeswoman Aliya Wishner said the administration aims to have the system live by the end of the year.
The first year, according to the contract, will cost the city $49,999. The following two years will cost $49,625 and $52,250. HR Acuity lists the prices as discounted rates, lower than the “list prices” of $83,200 for the first year and $64,000 for the two following years. It is not uncommon for contractors to provide discounts to government units.
The platform itself will cost between $45,000 and $50,000 annually, with the hotline adding $2,000 to $2,250 each year.
The administration said in an Oct. 3 press release that Speakfully was chosen for “its real-time case management system that allows City-County employees to receive updates on their case even if they choose to remain anonymous, among other things.”
Contract negotiations had not been finalized at that time, Wishner said. The contract was signed on Oct. 18.
Hogsett said in a previous statement that his administration “has taken a hard look at improving the city’s policies, processes, training, and workplace culture” and remains focused “on taking the necessary steps to ensure a safe and equitable working environment for all employees.”
Three women—former city staffers and campaign workers—came forward this year with accusations that Cook of using his position as chief of staff to groom and harass them. A method for anonymous reporting was among a list of requests two of the women—Caroline Ellert and Lauren Roberts—made in a letter to the mayor and City-County Council President Vop Osili.
Cook has not been charged with a crime. He has acknowledged “consensual relationships that violated a trust placed in me,” but said he did not seek to use his professional position to further those relationships.
The Indianapolis City-County Council has also created an investigative committee into the administration’s handling of harassment and hired Atlanta law firm Fisher Phillips to conduct an outside investigation.
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4K/month to do what a MSFT form can do for free? Woof
Similar to a famous Seinfeld bit; Making the complaint is not the problem, Acting on the complaint is the issue
So to be clear, $150K of taxpayer money is spent because sexual harassment complaints handled in a normal chain of commander is too hard for Democrat politicians.
Come on IBJ. I want to hear from your normal gaggle of Democrat mopes you publish on a regular basis. What does Melina Kennedy have to say? I really want to hear from the Delaney’s and their employment attorney daughter. You print everything liberal twitch that comes out of Ed’s mouth. Let’s hear him explain how this happened on his good buddy Joe’s watch and why Joe still has a job.
I’ll wait
Wait until the shoe drops at the other end of Market Street. Misogyny is bipartisan.
Let the accusations, complaints, and blames begin, and all at a discounted rate.
This sounds like a serious commitment by the city administration to make a known problem easier to address. Yes, making the complaint is one thing. Following up with a serious investigation by a third party is worth paying for.