FARMINGTON — University of Connecticut police are investigating the discovery of a noose inside a construction site at the UConn Health Center in Farmington.
Turner Construction issued a statement saying a worker found the noose on Wednesday. Construction was stopped and company officials had a meeting with the construction crew.
The company says it has a zero tolerance policy for harassment and anyone found responsible for placing the noose at the site will not be allowed back.
Tom Breen, a spokesman for UConn, says the school also condemns the apparent act of intimidation and harassment in the strongest possible terms.
Police are investigating it as a possible hate crime.
Read the full statement from UConn here:
“There is no room on UConn’s campuses – and in a civil society, for that matter – for any form of harassment and intimidation, and we condemn this action in the strongest possible terms.
At the same time, we’re gratified that Turner and representatives from the Building Trades Council are taking the incident so seriously and acted quickly to meet with its workforce to address concerns and reinforce its zero-tolerance policies. We encourage people to contact police if they have any information that may help identify the person or people responsible for this inexcusable act.”
Read the full statement from Turner Construction here:
“Early Wednesday morning, we were made aware that a noose was found on our jobsite. Turner immediately notified the police and have provided every assistance to the investigation of this intolerable action. We also commenced our own investigation. Turner Construction Company has a zero tolerance policy for harassment and is committed to a harassment free workplace.
All of the employees of Turner Construction Company and our subcontractors are required to adhere to our harassment avoidance policies. The Company requires the organizations with whom it does business to share this commitment.
Turner stopped work Wednesday afternoon for a site-wide meeting with the entire workforce to discuss what happened and reinforce our policy of “zero tolerance” for harassment of any kind to everyone working on the site. This includes behavior that exhibits hatred or intolerance toward any person based upon race, religion, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. If someone is found in violation of our policy, he or she will not be allowed back onsite. We are working in cooperation with the leadership of the local Trade Unions and our subcontractors to reinforce the message that these actions will not be tolerated.
Turner’s first priority is the safety and welfare of our employees and all people who are working our job site. We are proud of our long-standing support of and leadership in the equal employment opportunity within the company and on our job sites and we are dedicated to doing everything possible full compliance with our harassment avoidance policies.”
