City of Atlanta employees have the right to “fair, ethical, and professional interactions” with the city’s government watchdog offices if they find themselves in the middle of a misconduct investigation.
That’s just one rule on the new “Employee Bill of Rights,” released Friday by Mayor Andre Dickens’ administration in the wake of the city inspector general’s unsurprising resignation on Feb. 17.
The 10-item document spells out how the Office of the Inspector General and Office of Ethics should treat employees during internal investigations, and how employees should respond if asked to be interviewed by either of the two.
The city also released a 19-page guide on how employees should “appropriately participate in independent administrative investigations.”
“The creation of the Bill of Rights will help all employees understand their rights within the city,” Dickens said in a statement. “The accompanying guide balances transparency and accountability for the city’s public servants, while making clear their rights and responsibilities.”
Atlanta Inspector General Shannon Manigault resigned on the same day the City Council passed a sweeping legislative overhaul of her office. Both actions capped a nearly yearlong feud between Manigault and the mayor’s office over how much power the watchdog has during investigations.
The new Bill of Rights says employees are allowed legal or union representation during interviews, have the right to ask whether they are the target of the investigation and are allowed to refuse requests to hand over personal devices.
They also have the right to request any documents relevant to their part in probes and the power to appeal or quash subpoenas issued by the inspector general or ethics offices.
The mayor’s office centered their arguments for limiting the inspector general’s power around employee rights and instances where, they say, investigative tactics went too far. One example cited was when members of Manigault’s team showed up at an employee’s home — an action Manigault said was necessary to reach the employee working from home.
Top Dickens’ administration officials also said Manigault was seizing employees’ personal devices — a claim she adamantly denies. Messaging from the mayor’s office on social media describes employees concerned with “witch hunts that went nowhere.”
However, the former inspector general’s practices were consistently backed by a majority of her governing board and the national Association of Inspectors General.
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