Employees at a non profit animal hospital say they’re being retaliated against by a supervisor

Some employees at a local non-profit animal hospital say they are being retaliated against after formal harassment complaints were made against a supervisor.

The employees are alleging a hostile work environment, and labor law violations, among other things.

Some of those employees were told the Desert Hot Springs Animal Hospital was shutting down temporarily. Those employees believe it was a threat made in retaliation to the employees filing complaints.

“We are being bullied. Treatment is not fair with the entire staff. Yreatment of animals is suffering because of it,” said Candace Joyce.

Joyce is an animal technician at the Desert Hot Springs Animal Shelter, which operates under the Humane Society of the Desert. Joyce says she’s just one of the employees formally complaining about a Humane Society of the Desert board member.

“We’re not allowed to log our over time. She has flat out told us, ‘I will not pay you if there are over time hours’. And if yu tell her no, the retaliation is awful,” Joyce said.

In addition to an alleged hostile work environment and labor law violations, Joyce says that board member, who we aren’t naming because an investigation is just getting started, isn’t treating animals properly.

“It’s the way that she would want it treated, who has no medical experience or really any say in what goes on medically with the animals. It’s, if she doesn’t want it to get treated, it doesn’t get treated,” said Joyce.

Another board member tells KESQ & CBS Local 2, individual letters were sent to the board from employees. After careful review, during a meeting, the board voted to suspend the accused board member, “pending forensic accounting and an HR investigation into the employees concerns”.

An anonymous source told KESQ & CBS Local 2 that days after the meeting a city employee received an email from the accused board member explaining the hospital was going to shut down until further notice due to an “internal staffing and board issue”.

Sharon Caughron, a manager at the hospital, says she received a phone call from the accused board member.

“She was going to be closing the hospital down for two weeks and not to bother to report back to work until further notice,” said Caughron.

The hospital was never shut down and continues to operate.

Ann woods is a former colleague of the accused board member. She tells KESQ & CBS Local 2 the board member under question has been investigated before.

“We did have a senior investigator come and he talked to myself and other board members. And we told them everything we knew, because suddenly she was in charge of the hospital, Save a Pet, and all the money,” said Woods.

Woods says investigators didn’t have enough evidence to further the investigation, but she’s not surprised to learn the board member may be under investigation again.

Other board members expect to hear back from the Riverside County District Attorney’s office by Tuesday. We also reached out to the accused board member. We did not get a response back.