State Senate reportedly concludes Mannion did not violate harassment policies, NYT finds
Meghan Hendricks | Senior Staff Photographer
In a letter signed “Concerned Former Staff,” anonymous former staffers accused Mannion of creating a hostile working environment in his office. Throughout the summer, the allegations were a source of criticism from Mannion’s political opponents.
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The New York State Senate has concluded its investigation into allegations of a hostile workplace environment brought against State Senator John Mannion, according to an Aug. 16 letter acquired by The New York Times. The state senate reportedly found that Mannion did not breach the senate’s harassment and discrimination policies.
In June, the state senate launched a confidential investigation after three former Mannion staffers posted an anonymous letter alleging workplace harassment to the article-sharing website Medium. After concluding its review, the state senate cleared Mannion, according to the letter obtained by The Times.
The senate hired attorney Michael Murphy, a partner with Barclay Damon LLP, to conduct the investigation, The Times reported. Over the summer, Murphy compiled a report based on interviews with former and current Mannion staffers. According to The Times, the letter “provided little detail” on whether Murphy believed the accusations were legitimate.
In the June 17 letter of allegations, signed “Concerned Former Staff,” the authors accused Mannion of creating a hostile working environment in his office. The staffers claimed he verbally berated his employees, made sexist comments to female subordinates and threatened to retaliate against his accusers.
On June 19, Mannion denied these claims in a statement sent to The Daily Orange. He said the timing of the letter’s release — about one week ahead of the New York Democratic primary elections — showed that the allegations were a “false political attack.” Mannion reportedly cooperated with the state’s investigation, according to syracuse.com.
Mannion is the Democratic candidate running against incumbent Brandon Williams to represent the NY-22 district in the United States House of Representatives this November.
Throughout the summer, the allegations were a source of criticism from Mannion’s political opponents, including Williams and Sarah Klee Hood – the DeWitt town councilor who faced Mannion during the primary elections.
Mannion and State Senator Neil Breslin, chair of the state senate’s Ethics and Internal Governance committee, did not respond to The D.O.’s requests for comment. Neither of the two have publicly commented on the investigation’s reported conclusion.
The NY-22 congressional seat represents Onondaga and Madison counties, as well as portions of Cayuga, Cortland and Oneida counties, and includes the city of Syracuse.
The 2024 general elections will be held on Nov. 5. Early voting will take place from Oct. 26 to Nov. 3.
Published on September 1, 2024 at 11:00 pm
Contact Julia: jmboehni@syr.edu
