Posted on Oct 21, 2023
Oregon Legislature: Committee dismisses complaints by Republican state senators over walkout
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Senate President Rob Wagner didn’t create a hostile work environment or retaliate against two Republican senators by refusing to excuse their absences during a walkout that blocked the state Senate from functioning for six weeks, a legislative panel ruled Friday.
Four members of the Senate Committee on Conduct, two Republicans and two Democrats, voted unanimously to dismiss complaints from Republican Sens. Lynn Findley and Cedric Hayden against Wagner over his decision to deny their requests for excused absences while the walkout was underway. That decision affects both senators because a voter-approved constitutional amendment bars lawmakers with 10 or more unexcused absences from serving another term.
Findley and Hayden are barred from serving another term under the amendment, though Findley, whose term expires in January 2025, is among five senators who have sued to block the law. Hayden’s term ends in 2027.
Following the votes, a Wagner spokesman, Connor Radnovich, said the outcome was the right one.
“As the investigator concluded in her report and the Senate Conduct Committee affirmed today, the Senate president acted appropriately and fairly when applying Senate rules during the 2023 Republican walkout,” Radnovich said in an email.
Findley, however, who testified before the votes, had another point of view. He blasted Wagner as a “dictator” and said that under Senate rules his rights are not protected, even though elderly at age 71 and disabled.
“We don’t have a sitting president in a Democratic society. We have a dictator,” Findley said referring to the Senate president. “I have no rights as a sitting member of the Oregon State Senate. I have no rights for recourse.”
Four members of the Senate Committee on Conduct, two Republicans and two Democrats, voted unanimously to dismiss complaints from Republican Sens. Lynn Findley and Cedric Hayden against Wagner over his decision to deny their requests for excused absences while the walkout was underway. That decision affects both senators because a voter-approved constitutional amendment bars lawmakers with 10 or more unexcused absences from serving another term.
Findley and Hayden are barred from serving another term under the amendment, though Findley, whose term expires in January 2025, is among five senators who have sued to block the law. Hayden’s term ends in 2027.
Following the votes, a Wagner spokesman, Connor Radnovich, said the outcome was the right one.
“As the investigator concluded in her report and the Senate Conduct Committee affirmed today, the Senate president acted appropriately and fairly when applying Senate rules during the 2023 Republican walkout,” Radnovich said in an email.
Findley, however, who testified before the votes, had another point of view. He blasted Wagner as a “dictator” and said that under Senate rules his rights are not protected, even though elderly at age 71 and disabled.
“We don’t have a sitting president in a Democratic society. We have a dictator,” Findley said referring to the Senate president. “I have no rights as a sitting member of the Oregon State Senate. I have no rights for recourse.”
Oregon Legislature: Committee dismisses complaints by Republican state senators over walkout
Posted from opb.org
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Posted 7 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Findley, R-Vale, alleged that Wagner created a hostile work environment by abridging his right to protest and denying his request to attend a church service.
Hayden filed a separate complaint with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries in early May. That complaint is under investigation and will be completed by May 8, 2024, a spokeswoman told the Capital Chronicle.
The Legislature’s personnel rules, crafted in the wake of the #MeToo movement, ban harassment and the creation of hostile work environments or “behavior that is unwelcome and is so severe or pervasive that it either affects a person’s ability to function in the workplace or denies the person the benefits of the workplace.”
The process Friday was typical legislative procedure. An independent attorney investigated the complaints based on Senate rules and the conduct committee decided on their validity.
The co-chairs of the committee, Republican Dick Anderson of Lincoln City and Democrat Floyd Prozansky — and two other senators, Republican Suzanne Weber of Tillamook and Democrat Deb Patterson of Salem — all voted no when asked whether Wagner’s refusal to approve the senators’ absences amounted to retaliation or discrimination against them or whether it created a hostile work environment."...
..."Findley, R-Vale, alleged that Wagner created a hostile work environment by abridging his right to protest and denying his request to attend a church service.
Hayden filed a separate complaint with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries in early May. That complaint is under investigation and will be completed by May 8, 2024, a spokeswoman told the Capital Chronicle.
The Legislature’s personnel rules, crafted in the wake of the #MeToo movement, ban harassment and the creation of hostile work environments or “behavior that is unwelcome and is so severe or pervasive that it either affects a person’s ability to function in the workplace or denies the person the benefits of the workplace.”
The process Friday was typical legislative procedure. An independent attorney investigated the complaints based on Senate rules and the conduct committee decided on their validity.
The co-chairs of the committee, Republican Dick Anderson of Lincoln City and Democrat Floyd Prozansky — and two other senators, Republican Suzanne Weber of Tillamook and Democrat Deb Patterson of Salem — all voted no when asked whether Wagner’s refusal to approve the senators’ absences amounted to retaliation or discrimination against them or whether it created a hostile work environment."...
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Love it when claims of hostile work environments get proven bogus by an actual investigation.
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