A top Oregon state official has been put on administrative leave after a pink-haired, DEI-obsessed subordinate complained he was making hiring decisions based on qualifications instead of personal identity considerations, according to a report.
Mike Shaw, who until recently served as the Oregon Department of Forestry’s second-in-command, was put on blast by Megan Donecker, the department’s former DEI strategy officer, for looking “beyond gender and identity in hiring, seeking only candidates most qualified for the job,” OregonLive reported.
He was formally placed on administrative leave Aug. 6 after Donecker filed a formal complaint, according to the Daily Mail.
Shaw first drew Donecker’s ire when he dared suggest the agency — which has over 1,400 employees and a biennial budget over $577 million — take a measured approach to DEI initiatives, likening plunging into them headlong to driving too fast on “an icy road.”
Donecker claimed Shaw further added, “We don’t go 60 [mph] out of the gate, or we’re gonna crash the car.”