HOUSTON – When it comes to sexual harassment in the public sector, employment attorney Joseph Ahmad, who is familiar with such cases, says, "I think there is a specific problem, a unique problem that exists with municipalities.”
Ahmad represents Jane Draycott and Paula Keys, the two Houston female firefighters at the center of a Department of Justice lawsuit against the city. The feds say the two women were forced to endure a hostile work environment including sexual harassment at their firehouse.
Those are claims the city of Houston and the fire department deny.
Ahmad says the women's journey has been taxing: "I can certainly tell you that the public sector, the investigations and the actions taken as a result of those investigations seemed to take longer."
In mid-December of 2017, Channel 2 Investigates sent the city's legal department a request for a breakdown of sexual harassment claims filed over the last five years as well as the number of claims settled.
Ahmad’s reaction? "I'd be very curious to see what the city said."
We were not the only ones who asked. City Council Member Michael Kubosh says he has asked for the same ”very thing” and although he found it challenging to obtain answers, Kubosh says he got some.
"They said we do not have a fund, a slush fund to pay out sexual harassment claims and that we have made no settlements on sexual harassment claims, and there haven't been any."
On Jan. 22, the city's legal department provided KPRC with records showing the city has, in fact, faced 54 cases of sexual harassment since Jan. 1, 2012.
The greatest number of cases -- 18 -- originated in the city's Public Works and Engineering department. Parks and Recreation accounted for seven cases, while the library system and Solid Waste Management each recorded six.
However, the city provided no specifics about the nature of the cases, the parties involved or whether anyone was disciplined following the investigations. We also have no idea if the city paid out a settlement with taxpayer dollars.
Kubosh says he's yet to see the records we were given.
"I would certainly like to see them, because they didn't provide them to me."
Mike Knox, a city council member at large, also weighed in on the record keeping: "As a matter of policy, the city should be free and open to all of its citizens for any information that's public information."
Sharing that information isn't an issue for the City of San Antonio. We asked for the same records from the Alamo City. It reports half the number of sustained cases of sexual harassment as Houston. We also received a comprehensive list of case outcomes -- all in a week's time.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner says he has no idea how many cases of sexual harassment have happened under his watch saying, "I would like to think that there have not been any sexual harassment since I've been mayor.”
The mayor also says he is not sure how much they've cost taxpayers.
When asked by Channel 2 Investigates if he was aware how much the city has paid out in some of these cases, the mayor said, “That, I'm not aware."
Turner says his team has been transparent, but he's willing to take steps to make tracking these cases more efficient.
"Let me inquire and see if there is any snag in our system that needs to be, where it needs to be more streamlined, so that we can provide the information."
Ahmed says allowing the public to see this information does not compromise the city's legal position and stresses that it's information taxpayers have the right to know.
"If you have somebody in the public sector that is committing sexual harassment, I think there is a public interest in knowing that."
Channel 2 Investigates did reach out to all members of city council and asked them if the City of Houston should be completely transparent when it comes to sexual harassment cases in it’s past as well as moving forward.
Six council members from both sides of the aisle responded. All said “yes” with a couple adding that the names of victims should not be revealed.
