By Tony LaRussa

Published: Tuesday, July 17, 2012, 12:01 a.m.
Updated: Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Complaints about poor treatment of employees at the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center by supervisors have prompted Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald to begin an investigation into the way the facility is run.

About 70 Shuman employees signed a petition asking Fitzgerald to look into allegations that supervisors at the center in Lincoln-Lemington have caused a hostile work environment and that employees who report misbehavior by co-workers are targeted by management, according to Amie Downs, Fitzgerald's spokeswoman.

Downs said Monday that Fitzgerald's concerns about Shuman were piqued by the fact that so many employees were willing to sign the petition.

Downs said the administration learned about complaints from employees after they called officials in the county's human resources department.

“We'll be looking into specific complaints raised by employees as well as the overall operation of Shuman,” she said.

A spokesman for Local 688 of the Service Employees International Union, which represents a majority of employees at Shuman, could not be reached for comment.

About 3,500 minors are sent to Shuman Center each year. Of that number, 40 percent are repeat admissions.

Tony LaRussa is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7987 or tlarussa@tribweb.com.

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