WHATCOM COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The independent report commissioned to evaluate Whatcom County’s sexual harassment policy has been released.

The Whatcom County Council heard a presentation from Matrix Consulting’s Alan Pennington on Tuesday, who led the project that produced the report.

Council commissioned the report as the latest step to evaluate how the county handles sexual harassment following lawsuits against the former Public Works Director.

Pennington highlighted strengths in the county’s current policy and training but noted some opportunities to improve. He said that many employees, especially those that identified as female, voiced concerns about support within the county when handling sexual harassment claims.

What the county currently does to educate employees on sexual harassment is what Pennington calls a “solid base,” but has room for improvement. He recommends a standardization of policies across the county among other things.

Roughly half of Whatcom County’s nearly 1,200 employees responded to the survey that contributed to the report. Respondents demonstrated a strong understanding of training and awareness of procedures, but only 43% felt they could speak up if facing harassment without fear of retaliation.

Councilmember Ben Elenbaas pointed out that the response rate alone should raise concerns, citing his previous experience as an operations foreman at BP’s Cherry Point.

“[At a multinational oil company, you put out a similar survey,] if you are not mandating that it gets done or incentivizing it, you’re going to get like, 3% participation,” Elenbaas said, noting the higher response rate. “Just that participation level should send red flags up, because if everything’s good, nobody’s giving you their input.”

In a committee meeting earlier on Tuesday, Human Resources’s director Melissa Keeley gave a presentation outlining the changes made to their procedures in the past year. The efforts she outlined are similar to what Pennington recommended, including clarifying acceptable behaviors in the workplace as well as the implementation of Neogov, a human resources management software.

To read the full report, visit the Whatcom County website.