HOULTON, Maine — The Houlton Town Council held a public hearing on the town’s updated personnel rules as part of its Oct. 26 council meeting. The new rules are set to take effect on Nov. 2.
The new personnel rules feature several amendments and reworkings as part of the updated 48-page document. Notably, Section E of the town’s general provisions was amended to include sexual orientation as protected from discrimination.
“No employment shall be subject to discrimination, nor denied the benefits of normal employment thereof, on account of race, color, sex, physical or mental handicap, religion, sexual orientation, ancestry, national origins, or age, by any employee or agent of the town,” the section reads. The previous wording did not include the phrase “sexual orientation”.
The town’s policy regarding sexual harassment also included additions regarding sexual orientation. Section B of its sexual harassment definition, which describes forms of verbal harassment, was amended to include derogatory or vulgar comments regarding sexual orientation.
The addition of protections against sexual orientation comes after a United States Supreme Court ruling last summer clarifying that the 1964 Civil Rights Act provided protection for LGBTQ employees from discrimination.
Along with the inclusion of sexual orientation, another significant change is shown in the town’s listing of holidays for employees. The holiday of Columbus Day was amended to be officially changed to Indigenous People’s Day, in keeping with the bill signed by Maine Gov. Janet Mills in April 2019 to officially change the holiday in Maine.
“That is definitely just the beginning in the reconciliation, but it’s a necessary change,” said Houlton Town Councilor Eileen McLaughlin. “It’s more than just words, and there’s a lot more that can change in the future, but that definitely is a step in the right direction.”
A new policy introduced by the town addresses nepotism and is meant to prevent conflict of interests regarding employment of family members and romantic relationships between employees. It forbids family members from sharing a manager or work in the same department, as well as oversee decisions or partake in any rewarding or disciplinary action that directly affects family relations.
Though the new policy doesn’t forbid relationships and marriages between employees of the town, it requires that changes to relationships be reported to a supervisor or the town manager in order for management to find a solution that doesn’t violate the nepotism policy.
Town Manager Marian Anderson explained that exemptions were to be given for the Parks and Recreation department, in order to continue with several coaching positions.
“You can have both a father and son coaching,” said Anderson. “The idea was not to prohibit those incredible relationships. So that’s why the exemption was there.”
