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Five months after an investigation into sexual harassment claims, the Oregon Construction Contractors Board is going through a culture shift and leadership transition. James Denno, current administrator of the Oregon Board of Architect Examiners, on Aug. 11 will become administrator at the CCB, which is responsible for industry licensing, dispute resolution and enforcement activity.

A male CCB employee in February 2013 brought claims of harassment by co-worker Bill Ridgway before human resources manager Traci Barnett. The employee’s manager, Richard Blank, was made aware of the situation as it unfolded.

Following the investigation by the Oregon Department of Justice, Ridgway was dismissed in March, Blank was removed from his position in March and Barnett resigned in April. Prior to those actions, CCB administrator Craig Smith resigned his position and retired in February. Interim administrator Berri Leslie noted that Blank has filed an appeal with the Employment Relations Board.

The employee who filed the claims is still with the CCB. He received a $25,000 settlement and later signed a release of all claims.

“We went through a large leadership transition in February, which created a lot of turnover in the agency and a lot of change,” Leslie said. “My focus has been to earn the trust back from our customers, which is contractors.”

The CCB is facing an expected $2.8 million budget shortfall for the 2015-2017 biennium. Leslie attributed it to declining revenues from contractor licensing statewide. Since 2008, the number of licenses has dropped from 45,966 to 34,565 – a 25 percent decline, according to the CCB.

CCB has reduced its workforce from 72 full-time employees to 62 without laying off anyone, Leslie said. The agency did so by waiting to fill some positions and eliminating others, she said.

Leslie called the changes at the agency “transformational” in their scope. Transparency is being increased, as is communication with the public. The agency introduced workplace training procedures and trainings on what is appropriate workplace behavior. Also, employees are being encouraged to report problems when something does not feel right, she said.

“There’s a huge sweeping value system change as far as who we are and the work that we do,” she said. “It’s a culture shift.”

The CCB also is more aggressively pursuing enforcement sweeps, especially in rural areas, and boosting its continuing education programs. They have been a “really sore point for a lot of contractors,” she said.

The agency in the past two months made two major enforcement sweeps in Eastern Oregon and along the coast. In 450 job site checks, 73 potential violations were reported, Leslie said. Two more sweeps are planned this summer.

Each violation carries a $500 fine for unlicensed activity, said Leslie, noting that the money goes into the state’s general fund.

“That’s a huge priority for us,” she said. “Our two main goals are to level the playing field and protect Oregonians. We want to make sure they are licensed, bonded and insured.”

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