NYC Protected Sexual Harassers From Bad References: Report

NEW YORK — New York City protected three former public employees from bad job references after officials found that they sexually harassed colleagues, a new report says. The Parks Department workers agreed to leave their posts after the city agreed to give a "neutral reference" to potential future employers, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

That meant the city would "verify only basic details," such as when the men worked for the government, their titles and job descriptions, according to the Times — but not give any information about the substantiated harassment allegations against them.

In one case, investigations found that parks supervisor Jeffrey Blount had "pressured" Makeda Stevenson, a parks cleaner in a welfare-to-work program, into "at least three sexual encounters," the Times reported. The Parks Department reportedly promised Blount a neutral reference six months after a lawsuit was filed against him and the city in February 2017.

The news follows the Times's revelations in January that Kevin O'Brien, formerly one of Mayor Bill de Blasio's top aides, resigned from his post after harassment allegations from two city employees were substantiated.

Read The New York Times's full report here.