Housing authority strengthens fraternization policy

The Jacksonville Housing Authority, which has been dealing with complaints of sexual misconduct, enacted an amended policy Monday that draws a bright line prohibiting relationships between employees and residents at all times.

The housing authority's fraternization policy previously drew a distinction between an employee's work hours and off-duty time when it came to personal relationships with residents, such as dating.

The former policy, which had not been updated since 2001, said employees were "discouraged" from fraternizing with residents at any time, and "strictly forbidden" from such conduct during working hours.

The revised policy approved unanimously by the board applies the same prohibition for on-duty and off-duty relationships, making it clear that interaction is always out of bounds.

"You just can't do that in this industry," Dwyane Alexander, interim CEO of the housing authority, said after the board meeting. "You can't get involved with your clients."

The decision by the housing authority board comes after a March 3 Times-Union report detailed a criminal case filed against a former Jacksonville Housing Authority maintenance worker who was found guilty of using the threat of eviction to coerce a resident to have sex with him. The housing authority fired Mitchell Ray Sr. after the resident complained about him in late 2016. A judge sentenced Ray last month to 15 years in prison for two counts of sexual battery.

The Times-Union reported that Ray's actions occurred while the housing authority was led by CEO Fred McKinnies, who himself had a sexual relationship with a housing authority resident a decade earlier when he was a high-ranking administrator at the authority, according to family law court records.

That relationship, which resulted in a child, did not have any allegations that it was non-consensual. McKinnies' personnel file has no documents about his relationship with the resident.

The housing authority board put McKinnies on paid administrative leave in December pending the results of an investigation by the city's Office of Inspector General. The Office of Inspector General has declined to specify what it is investigating in regard to McKinnies.

That investigation started after Linda Sims, the authority's manager of executive affairs, told the board in November she has concerns about "accountability, misconduct, abuse of power, sexual misconduct" at the authority.

McKinnies has said he did not violate any regulations, policies or laws during his time at the housing authority.

The housing authority board also approved an amended sexual harassment policy.

The agency has been training current employees on the updated standards and will ensure future hires also get the training when they join the agency. The staff will get refresher every year.

"It's an annual requirement for each and every employee," board Chairwoman Roslyn Phillips said, adding the board will review the policies every year to see if changes are needed.

The housing authority board and Alexander have been examining the authority's policies since he became interim CEO. Alexander said he wants to make sure all the authority's policies are up date. He said the investigation did not spur the review.

"The workplace has changed and we want to make sure our policies and procedures are up to date with today's workplace," he said. "We don't tolerate any harassment."

The amended fraternization policy says the goal is "to protect the integrity of the Jacksonville Housing Authority and JHA employees by establishing and observing boundaries between our employees and our residents and clients."

"To avoid conflicts, misunderstandings, or the appearance of favoritism or impropriety, JHA employees are prohibited from fraternizing with residents or clients at any time, either during work hours or while off duty," the updated policy says. "Fraternizing with residents and clients is disruptive to the work environment and poses other risks for the Jacksonville Housing Authority."

The housing authority already was operating under an April 2018 agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that enacted a new sexual harassment policy telling employees they cannot make "unwelcome sexual comments or advances" to tenants or try to get sexual favors from tenants in exchange for housing services. That agreement stemmed from a civil rights case filed by the resident in the criminal case involving Ray.

The fraternization policy approved Monday by the board goes farther than the HUD agreement by prohibiting dating and socializing beyond "valid, work-related reasons" even if the resident "consents to, or initiates, the relationship" with a housing authority employee.