N.Y.C. Election Board Refused to Fire Leader Who Harassed Female Workers

The executive director of the New York City Board of Elections made inappropriate sexual and racial remarks toward two employees over a period of several months, a watchdog found.

The New York City Board of Elections refused to remove its executive director after a city investigation recommended in November that he be fired for sexually and racially harassing two employees, according to a report released by the city’s Department of Investigation on Wednesday.

Investigators said that the Board of Elections’s response to their findings, coupled with a previous episode in which its former general counsel was found to have subjected two employees to physical examinations and asked them to wrestle him, suggested severe shortcomings in the agency’s approach to nondiscrimination.

In the report, investigators said the board’s executive director, Michael J. Ryan, made inappropriate sexual and racial remarks toward two female employees, one of whom later resigned, over a period of several months last year. The report found that his behavior had created a hostile work environment and “more likely than not violated applicable state and city human rights laws.”

The allegations against Mr. Ryan, and the results of the investigation, were first reported by The City, a local news website.

The Department of Investigation noted that the inquiry into Mr. Ryan marked “the second set of substantiated allegations of which D.O.I. is aware that involve misconduct by a senior member of B.O.E. leadership.”

“One instance of conduct of this nature would be too many and two such instances make clear the need for significant reforms,” investigators said.