The Democratic candidate for the legislative seat being vacated by the opponent of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins fostered a hostile and abusive work environment, former staffers told a newspaper.
Melanie Sachs yelled at employees, got angry when they asked questions about their jobs and cut mental health benefits, seven former employees and one former intern at Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine told the Bangor Daily News.
The former employees at the Portland-based office say that staff tried never to never be alone with Sachs and would record their engagements.
Sachs is running to fill the seat that will be vacated by Rep. Sara Gideon, a term-limited Democrat who is House speaker and is running for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Susan Collins. Sachs’ opponent is Republican Jay Finegan, of Freeport.
Before Sachs resigned in February 2019, three employees asked the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault to intervene based on Sachs’ treatment of staff, alleged invasion of a client’s confidentiality and unanswered questions about uneven pay.
The statewide coalition does not oversee the state’s sexual assault response centers but does coordinate funding.
“We refuse to watch another coworker weep in their car after a meeting with Melanie or hold our breath every time she goes on a hospital accompaniment. The harm that Melanie has caused abounds and has been piling up for years,” the three staffers wrote in their complaint.
In a written statement, Sachs said that it is “her practice as a professional” not to comment on personal matters and that she is “truly disappointed in a late, politically motivated effort to undermine the campaign.”
“That said, I was indeed hired to lead a turn-around at SARSSM, a job I was recruited to do because of my proven track record as a nonprofit executive,” Sachs said. “The agency was in the midst of a budget and management crisis that necessitated rapid and significant change within the organization that, by its very nature, impacted personnel.”
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