Jul. 6—EAST WINDSOR — An internal investigation conducted by local police on the Department of Public Works in May of 2021 revealed a hostile culture, with staff accused of sexual harassment, misuse of labor time and using foul and racist language, including the N-word.

William Mercey, a DPW employee, has since been fired under unrelated circumstances, town officials said.

AT A GLANCE

WHAT: Multiple employees working for the East Windsor Department of Public Works have had to undergo training after accusations of a hostile workplace, rampant use of racial slurs, and sexual harassment were raised in May 2021.

SINCE: Anyone proven responsible was disciplined and put through sensitivity, anti-harassment and anti-racism training, town officials say. Additionally, all town staff now must take annual sexual harassment training. No issues have reported since the disciplinary actions were taken, town officials say.

First Selectman Jason Bowsza said Tuesday that all department employees were mandated to attend comprehensive anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training as a result of the investigation.

"The allegations of sexual harassment were found to be unsubstantiated," Bowsza said. "Anyone proven responsible for inappropriate conduct was disciplined."

Bowsza added that all town staff now must participate in sexual harassment training twice as often as required by state law.

The original sexual harassment complaint that opened the investigation came from Mercey, who claimed a coworker brought in a bag of sex toys and insinuated that they belonged to his girlfriend.

He brought these allegations to Bowsza's attention in May of 2021. Bowsza then sent an official internal investigation request to Police Chief Edward DeMarco Jr.

During the investigation conducted by Police Officer Nicole Devlin, other occasions of sexual harassment came to light.

According to Devlin's report, Administrative Assistant Theresa Regan was asked if she felt that the work environment was hostile or intimidating.

She told the investigator that coworkers Mercey and Brian Novak were hostile to her.

Mercey would "hang around" and wait for everyone else to leave so he could talk to her alone, she told police. Regan also described an incident where Mercey told her to clean his motorcycle in a sexual tone.

According to the report, Regan also claimed that Novak would purposely run the engines of town vehicles with the garage doors shut to fill the office space with fumes. Because of the environment, she said, she felt the need to wait for the others to exit the break room before she could go in and get her lunch.

When Mercey was asked about the work environment, he said coworker Joel Gamache bullied everyone in the work place. Public Works employee Allen Aldrich also told police that Gamache belittles all public works employees.

Gamache, along with Aldrich and Novak, all admitted to using a racial slur at work. Novak added that he has heard Mercey and Highway Foreman Mark Coulter also use the slur, the report states. Mercey said he also heard Deputy Director Joseph Sauerhoefer describe his staff by using a racial slur.

Gamache told police that no one has used the slur directed at another employee, but only to describe "crappy" things. He added that no one ever told him to stop using the word.

Mercey also raised allegations during the investigation that Sauerhoefer would do work for Cota Construction, a company he owned from 2001 to 2013, when he was supposed to be working for the town. Mercey also made charges of nepotism against Sauerhoefer in his hiring practices and lying about the loss of scrap metal.

Bowsza said today that the investigation revealed no evidence to support any those allegations.

In his statement released Tuesday, Bowsza said no other complaints or issues have been reported since the disciplinary action was taken. He said every department employee was "put on notice" that any "further allegations of discrimination or harassment proven to be true would result in immediate termination."

He added, "as terrible as this is, I'm thankful that these circumstances were brought to my attention a year ago so that I could take the necessary steps to address them."

Collin covers East Windsor and Windsor Locks for the Journal Inquirer.