Issue date: April 21, 1999

Menlo Park: Fired recreation head plans return to work Menlo Park: Fired recreation head plans return to work (April 21, 1999)

**City manager says there's no change in policy on sexual harassment.

Aaron Johnson, the former community center director fired in 1997 for alleged sexual misconduct, will likely return to work Thursday, April 22, anxious to "serve the community and (put) this unfortunate matter" behind him, he said in a prepared statement.

Mr. Johnson, head of the Onetta Harris Community Center, is expected to meet with his staff this week, getting reacquainted with the position he lost almost two years ago, said Mr. Pierce. Mr. Johnson already has plans to seek new funding sources for the community center, Mr. Pierce added.

Mr. Johnson was reinstated after a neutral arbitrator ruled that the city's decision to fire the 20-year employee amounted to a "rush to judgment," according to Mr. Pierce, adding that "the arbitrator found (Mr. Johnson's) story more credible."

Mr. Johnson was charged almost two years ago with putting a hand up a co-worker's skirt, touching her leg and underwear and asking her for sex. He pleaded no contest to the charge of battery in June 1998 and was sentenced to 18 months of probation, fines and 10 days in a county work program. Mr. Johnson filed a grievance against Menlo Park for firing him in September 1997. The arbitrator ruled that Mr. Johnson is also entitled to full back pay and benefits for the year-and-a-half he was out. This exact amount has not yet been calculated, but will likely be over $100,000, Mr. Pierce said.

Frank Branson, onetime volunteer at the community center, said he is looking forward to a restored recreation program, which "sort of came apart" after the director's departure. The city never filled Mr. Johnson's position; other city employees took up much of the director's duties.

"It's a shallow victory," Mr. Branson called the arbitrator's decision. "The community's been a loser in this. Anyone who knows Aaron knows what a person of outstanding moral character he is -- a real, first-class gentleman."

No change in policy

Despite the decision in Mr. Johnson's favor, City Manager Jan Dolan said she has no regrets about the way the city handled the Johnson case. "We will not tolerate discrimination or sexual harassment. It's one of the most serious things to us," she said.

There will be no change in Menlo Park's sexual harassment policy despite the Johnson outcome, she said, and she hopes the decision to reinstate Mr. Johnson will not discourage other city employees from reporting harassment.

"We want employees, if they believe they have been harassed or discriminated against, to come forward," she said. "Each case will be taken individually and investigated."

Mr. Johnson also has a federal lawsuit against Menlo Park, in which he claims wrongful termination, slander, libel and infliction of emotional distress. Mr. Pierce said he and his client are trying to agree on a "reasonable proposal" with the city. Mr. Johnson is seeking monetary compensation.