An Oro Valley Town Council member has been ordered to stay away from town employees and to apologize for offensive comments.
The Town Council took the action against Councilman Mike Zinkin on Wednesday night in connection to employee complaints made against the councilman.
“It’s an attack on me,” Zinkin said at the meeting when the council discussed the issues. “I’m tired of the unequal treatment that’s been afforded me the past couple years.”
He said the public discussion was designed to discredit him.
The council action against Zinkin was supported by council members Bill Garner, Joe Hornat, Mary Snider, Lou Waters and Mayor Satish Hiremath. Councilman Brendan Burns voted against the move and Zinkin recused himself from the discussion and vote.
The action originated from comments Zinkin made during a Town Council meeting on Oct. 21.
Among those was a comment about a male employee who Zinkin said “is still trying to grow a beard.”
One of the employees the comments were directed toward filed a complaint against Zinkin with the town’s human resources department.
The department then conducted an investigation and interviewed the employees involved who said they took offense to Zinkin’s comments.
Hiremath said the council action demanding Zinkin apologize, stay out of employee work areas and refrain from giving direction to workers was not meant as an attack against the councilman.
“It’s not a character assassination against Councilmember Zinkin, it’s not a lynch mob against Councilmember Zinkin,” Hiremath said, noting the council was not in a legal position to determine if Zinkin violated any laws or the rights of town employees.
Hiremath also said Zinkin’s comments were likely made in jest, even if town employees did not recognize them as such.
The incident, however, marks the ninth time in three years that employees have complained about Zinkin accusing him of possible discrimination, sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment.
In response, the town has issued verbal and written warnings to Zinkin, and sought advice from an outside law firm on how to handle the alleged allegations.
Town Manager Greg Caton said employees have told him Zinkin frequently calls or comes to their offices unannounced directing them to perform tasks for him.
“And he says: ‘Don’t tell Greg,’” Caton told council members.
The town has a non-interference policy requiring council members to direct their communications to the town’s staff through the town manager and to not contact rank-and-file employees directly.
Zinkin denied claims he directed employees to perform tasks or otherwise gave instructions.
He did say he recently asked a town employee to help proofread the text of a presentation he planned to give.
“At the end of the day I got an email from the town manager saying I violated council policy,” Zinkin said.
He also questioned whether he legally could be accused of creating a hostile work environment.
“By definition, I could not create a hostile work environment,” Zinkin told the Arizona Daily Star. “I’m not an employee.”
