Report 2021-104 Recommendation 8 Responses

Report 2021-104: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California: Its Leadership Has Failed to Promote Transparency or Ensure a Fair and Equitable Workplace (Release Date: April 2022)

Recommendation #8 To: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

To avoid future instances in which EEO complaints go unaddressed, by June 2022 MWD should develop written procedures that specify how non-EEO staff who receive complaints from employees should handle referrals of EEO complaints to the EEO office, and MWD should train staff on those procedures.

60-Day Agency Response

Metropolitan developed written procedures on the proper handling of EEO complaints and referrals which have been included in updated H-07 (Equal Employment Opportunity) and H-13 (Sexual Harassment Prohibition) policies. The updated policies were presented to the Board on April 26, 2022 at its Organization, Personnel and Technology Committee meeting.

A two-hour training, including the review of the newly established procedures which explain how to refer complaints to the EEO Office, was held on June 16, 2022 for all managers.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

MWD's revised EEO and sexual harassment policies direct all managers to refer allegations of policy violations to the EEO office. MWD also provided evidence that it informed all staff of their responsibilities, as well as a separate document requiring that all EEO complaints referred to the EEO office be memorialized via email and entered into an EEO database.

All Recommendations in 2021-104

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.