RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — A Riviera Beach employee said he's facing retaliation after telling council members about a toxic work environment at a public meeting earlier in October.
Joseph Jackson Jr., a chief water/sewer maintenance mechanic for the city's special utility district, told an independent investigator proper investigations into human resource issues and fact-based decision-making were lacking within the department.
His testimony, along with 32 other employees, led to the investigator concluding city administration was negligent after receiving various complaints of racism, sexual harassment, favoritism, and retaliation.
The report led to Mayor Ronnie Fielder suspending Riviera Beach City Manager Jonathan Evans for two weeks.
WPTV reporter Ethan Stein would later find records showing he communicated with city staff to conduct city business while using a personnel email account, which would potentially avoid public record laws.
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City manager used private email while suspended, records show
Records also show the city's utility is under investigation for breaking state or federal law more than 189 times. The notice also said the city utility, which serves Riviera Beach and surrounding areas, had 108 samples test positive for total coliform, an indicator of animal or human waste. Six samples tested positive for E. coli.
Jackson said he's primarily responsible for fixing wastewater equipment at the utility, but the environment makes it more difficult to do his job. He told WPTV reporter Ethan Stein about an environment that includes favoritism and bullying, which leads to incapable people performing jobs affecting public health.
"Enough is enough, and a lot of people are scared to speak up about what's going on," Jackson said. "I'm tired of it."
Jackson said city council members and supervisors, like Assistant City Manager Deidre Jacobs, tried to undermine middle management by giving different directives or tried to gather information from certain employees outside the chain of command.
"How do you work in a place where your authority isn't there?" Jackson asked council during public comment on Oct. 2. "How do you manage your department if you have no control over your department because it's led from outside."
Jackson's mother also testified in front of council at the same meeting. She threatened to sue Deidre Jacobs and called her "venom" during a public meeting.
Documents WPTV reviewed show Jackson would get written up for arguing with co-workers and failing to follow instructions six days after the public meeting. Jackson alleges he was retaliated against for speaking out publically.
"Here we go! It’s retaliation. What did I do" he said. "What did I do? I'm almost conditioned for it. It's a norm. It's toxic."
A city spokesperson said in an email the complaint was sent to Jacobs on Oct. 1, a day before his testimony. She also said the city's human resources department was pausing the process to investigate the allegations of retaliation.
Jackson showed Stein his records of asking for more support from his supervisors to manage his crews. The email was sent to the same person, who started the complaint process against Jackson for arguing with employees.
Read more of WPTV's recent coverage concerning Riviera Beach's water quality:
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WATER CONTAMINATION: Worried locals gather after WPTV uncovers water violations
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