Beautiful Location, But... - Anonymous employee Mount Vernon Employee Review

3.0
23 May 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I worked in the research library at Mount Vernon. The library is a beautiful, new building, so physical work environment was pleasant. The grounds and the mansion are also beautiful and make for a nice place to walk during a break. If you are a colonial history buff, this is the place for you. Admission to the grounds and museum is free for staff and there are numerous events and opportunities to learn about Washington. Mount Vernon provided flexible PTO, so you could choose what holidays you wanted to take off. Employer-matched retirement, health insurance for full time employees, and decent discounts at the gift shop and restaurants. Easy access via public transportation (bus). Majority of employees were pleasant and legitimately interested in promoting Washington and colonial history.

Cons

Even for a non-profit, pay for a full-time employee was low. Upper management get too comfortable with programs and never try anything new. Serious squabbling among upper level staff. Weird obsession (even among full-time staff) with the exact number of hours worked rather than on getting jobs done. When I worked there, no paid maternity leave was offered. I had two experiences with sexual harassment, and the perpetrators basically got away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist; reprehensible considering Mount Vernon is run by a group of women.

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Mount Vernon Response
4y
Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback. We are dedicated to ensuring a productive and safe environment for all Mount Vernon employees. MVLA takes all reports of harassment very seriously by immediately investigating and taking appropriate action. In the last couple of years we engaged legal counsel to provide a comprehensive, annual Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation Prevention training and required that all current and new employees complete it. All MV supervisors and above, also received additional training by counsel to enhance commitment to safety and improve consistent employee communication. We strive to provide a comprehensive and competitive benefits package. For years, MVLA has provided eligible full-time employees with paid leave {at a rarely offered rate of 100% of compensation} through short-term disability for up to 12-weeks. This benefit covers maternity leave (at least 5-7 weeks paid at 100%) as well as leave required for injury, surgery and/or illness. . We continuously seek to enhance our employee benefits and recently added a parental leave benefit, which provides eligible employees with an additional two weeks of paid time off (at 100% compensation) to parents for bonding during the birth or adoption of a child. We appreciate you letting us know about your concerns, if you have any questions, please feel free to email us at hrstaff@mountvernon.org

Explore other reviews about Mount Vernon

5.0
11 June 2026
Anonymous intern
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

This was a very enjoyable experience at a well-functioning and well funded house museum and organisation.

Cons

There are a lot of departments, and I don't know how it is doing these days.

2.0
13 June 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

history food discount you can take guests to the estate for free walking on the estate during your break gift shop

Cons

awful management, unrealistic and unsafe work environment that exposes customer service employees to the elements. Multiple employees have gotten pneumonia from exposure, and an employee even died on the estate from getting hit by a tree a couple of years ago. I would never suggest working here with such low pay, and they keep almost everyone on part time so they don’t have to give bennies.

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