Labor bureau files sexual harassment complaint against Minnis

By Shannon Wells

The Gresham Outlook, Jan 8, 2010 (2 Reader comments)

Oregon’s commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries filed a sexual harassment complaint against John Minnis, former head of the state’s police training and safety agency, on Thursday, Jan. 7.

Commissioner Brad Avakian alleges Minnis, in his role as the agency’s director, subjected a female employee to “severe and persistent sexual harassment” including “requests for sexual favors, unwelcome and inappropriate sexual contact and persistent verbal advances,” as stated in a labor bureau news release.

The complaint names Minnis, as well as the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST), the agency he led until Gov. Ted Kulongoski asked him to step down in November 2009.

Oregon law empowers the state labor commissioner to file a complaint when the commissioner has reason to believe an unlawful practice, such as sexual harassment, has occurred.

“I appreciate the critical work that DPSST does to help keep Oregonians safe,” Avakian said. “Employees in that agency deserve to be safe too, and cases like this are the reason that (the bureau’s) authority to defend civil rights and combat unlawful practices in employment extends to state agencies.”

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