The probe conducted by an independent law firm also cited numerous complaints among the HR department’s 55-person staff over pay inequities and concerns from employees of color being micromanaged and facing different treatment versus their peers.

There is “the overwhelming consensus among staff that they are not being treated respectfully,” Minneapolis-based J. Selmer Law firm noted in its report. “That this concern was raised by so many employees during their interviews, and often in the same way, we cannot conclude that the level of unhappiness in HR is due to individuals and their personalities but more accurately to a failure by HR management to make a serious effort to set a tone in the workplace that meets the county's standards,” the report noted.

While HR director Gail Blackstone has been out on leave since September under the Family and Medical Leave Act, county manager Ryan O’Connor has been running the department and making changes. Blackstone would not comment. O’Connor said he shared the report’s findings with the staff in November for transparency and to let them know that work to improve the situation is ongoing.

“I don't know how you can do work around wanting to be the best in terms of talent attraction, retention and promotion if you don't lead from the front by making sure your human resources department lives up to the stated values of your organization,” O'Connor said.

Read the full article from The Star Tribune.