Wayland Personnel Board approves retaliation policy update, sends harassment revisions back for rewrite

WAYLAND — January 20, 2026 — Wayland Personnel Board approves retaliation policy, defers larger harassment overhaul. The board voted 5-0 on Jan. 20 to adopt revised language for policy A2-07.01, Protection from Retaliation, after striking an obsolete "acting executive secretary" reference, but sent the sexual harassment, standards of conduct, mutual respect and equal employment policies back to HR Director Kate Ryan for further work. Member Paul Morenberg, an employment attorney, called the draft harassment definition "too narrow" and said the "hostile work environment" concept needed to apply to general harassment, not just sexual harassment. Members also flagged the standards of conduct policy, last updated in 2017, for missing references to smartphones, vaping, online gambling and AI. Ryan said consultant MGT will present the town's classification and compensation study in March, roughly six to nine months after the August 2025 contract award.