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It’s “Horrible” To Be Attracted To Someone?

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:

Ted Wheeler, get off your high horse.

You have two employees, Vailey Oehlke and Jana McLellan, who have done the right thing all the way down the line. And this is how you treat them?

McLellan came to you and told you of her relationship with Oehlke. You told her to choose between dating Oehlke or supervising her. She chose supervising her. And then McLellan later came to you and said in effect, "I can't fight the feeling," so you took over supervising Oehlke. Where's the problem?

The tone of the interview and the article make it sound like they did something wrong. "It is a horrible position to be in, and it is a horrible position to put someone else in." (Wheeler's quote.) It's horrible to be attracted to someone?

Yes, sexual harassment at the workplace is a problem; favoritism is a problem. But McLellan came to you to avoid even the appearance of that.

And this is her reward? You outing her in WW?

And here's the clincher. "Wheeler says he learned the county had no rules against employees entering into romantic relationships with their subordinates. Now he's asked human resources staff to look into prohibiting such relationships." You're going to prohibit people from being attracted to each other? Good luck.

It seems to me the way to deal with this is to encourage employees to tell the truth, bring these issues to management, and deal with it. You could learn a lot from McLellan and Oehlke.

Fred Cooprider
Tualatin

Editor's Note: A response to WW's Dec. 16 cover story, "Cheerless," from Portland Public Schools' general counsel, is posted online at wweek.com/PPS.

WWeek 2015