Company Handling Many Employee Claims for City

In its first year of operation, a consulting firm hired by the city investigated 123 complaints of workplace discrimination by city employees, more than four times the number of complaints previously filed with the city Personnel Department.

The city’s office of discrimination investigation, run by Public Interest Investigations, was established on a motion by Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg to help the city avoid costly litigation by providing employees with an independent, outside agency to more comfortably report allegations.

So far, none of the 123 complaints have led to lawsuits, according to a report on the unit released Wednesday.

Because complaints are rising this year, members of the group asked the city Wednesday to substantially increase its funding for the second year, from $495,540 to $815,376. The city’s personnel committee, chaired by Goldberg, has asked for more information and the issue will return to the panel in two weeks.