By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

A thorough independent investigation has found that no psychological harassment took place against any town employee, Mayor Jeremy Levi announced at last week’s council meeting.

As well, the Mayor said, “the investigation did not result in any recommendations, as the town already has strong procedures in place to ensure a professional, respectful and safe work environment.

“The well-being of our employees is of the utmost importance. The conclusions of this independent investigation reinforce our confidence in the strength of our existing policies and our unwavering commitment to fostering a workplace rooted in integrity, fairness and mutual respect….Employees are always encouraged to share their concerns through internal channels.”

The town had received internal complaints, and allegations emerged into the public sphere, when CSL resident and former Hampstead employee Jeremy Biskin told council late last year that “during my time in Hampstead, I witnessed multiple instances of discrimination, verbal harassment and verbal abuse.”

Biskin made The Suburban aware of communications from other employees, one addressed to a union and the town alleging workplace harm and abuse, negligence and psychological harassment; and another alleging a toxic and unhealthy work environment.

A town statement following the independent investigation pointed out that Hampstead could not address the allegations raised by Biskin at the time “due to the serious and confidential nature of the ongoing process.” The town also contends that “sensationalized media coverage” presented an “incomplete picture of the situation.”

Following the council meeting, The Suburban asked if the allegations of psychological harassment, those alleged in public and in communications viewed by us, were found by the investigation to be fabricated or mischaracterized.

Hampstead Director General Joe Nunez told The Suburban the investigation found, based on witnesses who were interviewed, that “there was no credible information to warrant a finding in the definition of what is psychological harassment.

“Sometimes we’ll get a report that says, based on this conclusion, we’ll recommend certain actions. At this point, there was not even any recommendation. We do have a very good policy in place, we acted quickly to launch this investigation. It was a very serious accusation and the findings are there.” n