Controversy Surrounding Somerville Public Library Employee's Return

SOMERVILLE, MA — The city’s Municipal Employee Association President Ed Halloran wrote a letter to the City Council urging them to transfer Somerville Public Library employee Carlos Sanchez to a different location.

Sanchez was placed on leave from his job for eight months while he was investigated due to reports from his peers that he was behaving inappropriately toward them. The investigation resulted in a 20-day suspension from his position, according to a report from Cambridge Day.

On Monday, Dec. 2, resident Natalie Cheevers posted in a Somerville community Facebook group that she would be leaving her position as library shelver due to Sanchez’s impending return.

“The man I was scheduled to work with throughout my entire shifts would alternate between inappropriate, flirting, and rageful,” Cheevers said about Sanchez in the post. “I was alone for hours with a man I didn’t feel safe with. Not when he forced me to hug him, not when he raised his voice at me in almost every conversation."

Cheevers added that she was given a notice of three weeks about Sanchez’s return, which she feels was not nearly long enough.

According to Halloran, the SMEA is currently working to see if Sanchez has any legal standing to file a counter-grievance for the way the investigation was conducted. In the meantime, Halloran wants him transferred to a different community in order to accommodate his accusers who do not feel comfortable working with him moving forward.

“The Association already approached the city and asked whether Mr. Sanchez could be transferred out of the library to a different work location. The city has refused that request,” Halloran wrote. “Nonetheless, we are continuing to aggressively press the city for a transfer using whatever means are available.”