Director resigned in September
OLYMPIA, Wash. — An outside investigation into complaints of a hostile workplace at the Washington state Lottery has found that the agency's director treats female employees differently than their male counterparts, calling them "criers" and excluding them from key discussions.
The "preponderance of the evidence" came following interviews with 11 women at the agency concerning Lottery Director Bill Hanson, according to the report obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press through a public records request.
The report, written by Trish Murphy of Northwest Workplace Law PLLC, says that Hanson didn't deny the treatment but said he didn't "do it consciously." However, he also told the investigator that women's emotions "are different" and that "as we all know, with women it's an uphill battle. Women aren't treated equal. It's not equal."
"The gender-based comments Bill shared with this investigator reflected different perceptions of men and women and a comfort level with sharing them in a workplace context," the report said.
Hanson was appointed as director in 2010 after serving five years on the Lottery Commission. He sent a letter of resignation to Gov. Jay Inslee on Sept. 29, saying that his last day will be Nov. 1. In his letter, he did not mention the investigation or give a reason for his decision, other than that he and his wife plan to travel.
Jaime Smith, a spokeswoman for Inslee, said that they will be looking for a new director "who will work with employees to bring much-needed culture change to this agency."
Women interviewed for the report said that their opinions weren't respected, and that there was a "good old boys" club at the agency. The report said that Hanson has referred to female managers as "criers," and one woman interviewed said that after she raised concerns about the culture of the agency related to morale there, she was told "Quit your bitching because now you're at the big boys table. Grow up or you need to leave."
The investigation began in July after someone outside of the agency shared concerns with Valoria Loveland, chairwoman of the five-person commission that oversees the agency.
The report also found that several employees expressed concern about deputy director Jim Warick's propensity to yell at employees, and that Hanson didn't hold him accountable for his behavior.
"The evidence gathered in the investigation supported a finding that Deputy Director Jim Warick has engaged in problematic conduct, including yelling at employees and showing a disregard for rules," the report said.
Hanson, Warick and Loveland did not respond to requests for comment on the report.
The report said that other ethical issues at the Lottery were raised during the investigation but were beyond the scope of the work-environment issue and are separately being investigated by the agency. Those issues range from failure to use paid leave during absences, accepting food and alcoholic drinks and items of value from vendors, and employing siblings in a manager role and the deputy director role. The report previously noted that Warick has two brothers employed at the agency.
Thank You, Associated Press! and Lottery Post for this news story. Women in America are standing up for their equal rights and continuing the fight that their Mothers and Grandmothers began in the 20th Century.
Maybe he should have opted for Sensitivity Training:
So women want to be treated equally in the workplace? I'm a boss, and when I ask a woman to lift up those boxes, take out the trash at night or go into the ally to dump the grease in the traps, what happens?! They start squirming and talking about that's something I should ask the men to do. They say it's to heavy, it's too dark, it's to dangerous, I'm a lady etc.
Nooooooo... what about equality now?!!!!
Have you considered hiring another physically fit male to do those jobs while leaving the women to do their assigned roles?
Said like a liberal man who compromises his manhood in order to pacify women!
Thank you Mr. Music for the perfect response. Let the women do their jobs.
It is sad to see the hostile posts this bit of good news has generated.
We have one new poster who openly acknowledges his women employees are fearful of going into a dark alley at night, but he insists on sending them out there. How sick is that??? I think they probably laugh at him behind his back because he is too scared to go into the alley by himself. I cannot wait to see that law suit. He probably asks the handicapped employee to wash his car. But he is an example of someone, like the lottery director, who does not understand that supervision is not meant to abuse, demean and affect the livelihood of anyone based on their race or gender. Let them do their job in the same way the men are free to do their jobs. Were the men called names when they went to meetings or stereotyped? No. Sensitivity training is not the issue. And this new poster is well on his way to creating a hostile work environment for his employees.
And women do not need to be "pacified" since they are not children. Apparently "Raven62" is so afraid of women, that even working with them will compromise his alleged manhood. That speaks volumes on his own inadequacies.
It has been my experience that liberal men are the most threatened by women in the workplace. They want to focus on everything but work issues and allowing women to do their jobs. Give me a republican supervisor any time since he/she only cares that I get the job done. They do not stand around enjoying salacious gossip or demean others. And a case in point, I have a good friend who works for a liberal who will not let her do her job and the work situation is very hostile. She requested a transfer from the DC office to work for the Dallas office filled with republicans.
Let's all celebrate this decision which, only a few short years ago, would not likely have had this outcome. And please stand with Rose McGowan. The liberals are having breakdowns from realizing that their own libs are often the harassers. But in the end, this is an issue for everyone.
Good job Washington state lottery and thank you Todd!
Hope they have excess money for the upcoming lawsuits.
Hanson said all the wrong things.That was radioactive language right there.
I remember a former WA Lottery Director who REQUIRED the main system vendor to name a female Director for their Washington operations and to employ an unqualified female as part of their in-state marketing team. By the way, the director was one of the most accomplished people in the industry. WA was lucky to have her assigned to their account.
What I'm saying is - in the 17 years I spent in the State Lottery industry - I saw at least as much pro-woman bias as I saw "old boy network".
Not justifying inappropriate workplace behavior on anyone's part.
There used to be a law that required a fixed percentage of government contracting opportunities to be set aside for women and minority owned businesses. So yes, that was THE LAW. I am not certain if it still exists. By the way, I am not new to the workforce, and I have never seen any old girl network. Maybe in Oprah's world but not in everyday life. It does not exist in the professionally educated world, in academia, or in most businesses.
What? Maybe that work is part of their "assigned role". So the boss must add another person to the payroll? LOL!