NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The New York City Board of Elections did not terminate executive director Michael Ryan nor offer him the opportunity to resign after a Department of Investigation probe found that he sexually harassed two female employees and made racially inappropriate remarks to them.
A former BOE employee leveled a workplace harassment complaint against Ryan, and during the course of the investigation, the DOI was made aware of additional allegations that he had harassed a second BOE employee.
The DOI headed the November 2024 investigation to ensure it was independent and impartial, but also noted that the BOE in particular lacked a sufficient process to handle the probe. The organization does not have a confidential complaint mechanism, an independent investigation protocol for allegations against senior staff nor an Equal Employment Opportunity officer to handle responsibilities independent of senior staff.
Both a BOE commissioner and the complainant herself brought the allegations against Ryan to the DOI. The claims allege that between Aug. 2 and Oct. 8, 2024, Ryan on numerous occasions made comments that were sexually suggestive, about a sexualized topic or about her appearance.
Ryan sometimes used hand gestures, or centered the comments about the employee’s ethnicity, telling offensive stories or including stereotypes about people of the same or similar heritage, the DOI said. His actions caused the complainant to experience significant anxiety and emotional distress, contributing to her decision to resign from her position at the BOE.
The second employee harassed by Ryan did not make an independent complaint of misconduct, but while being interviewed about the claims made by the original complainant revealed several incidents in which he made ethnicity- or gender-based comments to her or in her presence. She said these remarks were unwanted, unwelcome and offensive.
According to a confidential DOI report obtained by THE CITY, Ryan tried to touch the face of a Hispanic employee, made comments about “how young is too young” for an older man to date a younger woman and recounted jokes about not trusting Puerto Rican and Dominican people.
The confidential report also said that Ryan asked another top BOE staffer, who is South Asian, “what type of Indian” she is, and told her that Indian people are “non-confrontational,” THE CITY reported.
The DOI found the complaints made by both women to be credible based on their interviews and corroboration provided by other witnesses who learned of the incidents when or after they happened. Some witnesses also reported similar conduct by Ryan, including him making racialized or sexualized jokes.
“To the extent Ryan credibly asserted that he did not intend to harass the Complainant, neither the BOE’s EEO Policy, the Citywide EEO Policy, nor applicable law, requires that a harasser intend for his or her conduct to create a hostile work environment,” the DOI said. “DOI found Ryan’s conduct particularly inappropriate in light of his executive leadership position at the BOE.”
When referring is findings to the Board, the DOI took what it called an “unusual step” of informing them that Ryan’s conduct was so serious that termination or resignation was warranted.
Despite this recommendation, the Board declined to fire Ryan or allow him to resign, instead suspending him for three weeks and putting him on probation for one year. His suspension ran from Dec. 9 through the end of the calendar year, resulting in 15 days of lost wages.
“Upon learning of the serious claims made by a former employee, we took swift action by meeting with our colleagues and then referring the matter to DOI for review,” president of the BOE Rodney Pepe-Souvenir and secretary Frederic Umane said in a statement. “In doing so, we sent a strong message that these types of unwelcomed and insensitive comments will not be tolerated by anyone at the BOE. Mr. Ryan has expressed his regrets for the overall situation and is eager to set a better example to all staff moving forward.”
In addition to suspension and probation, Ryan is required to attend sensitivity training put on by the city’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services.
“I want to express my deepest apologies to my family, my colleagues and to anyone that I unintentionally offended,” Ryan said. “While I dispute these allegations and disagree with the report’s conclusion, I accept the determination of the Commissioners in the best interests of the Agency.”
The DOI probe also determined deficiencies in the BOE’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, which it said “[sends] a message that BOE does not take these policies and its EEO obligations seriously and [creates] risks including that staff may be unaware of the rules governing workplace behavior and that victims of harassment will not report their complaints.”
The DOI issued six policy and procedure recommendations to reform the BOE’s Equal Employment Opportunity program.
“DOI has made six recommendations to strengthen BOE’s EEO program and to provide more robust protections for its employees,” DOI Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber said. “Effective EEO policies promote a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace which is critical to an agency’s success. I strongly urge the BOE to immediately implement DOI’s recommendations.”
Pepe-Souvenir and Umane said that the BOE has begun the process of streamlining its Equal Employment Opportunity reporting and “informing our 900+ employees on what is acceptable behavior in the workplace as DOI has requested.”