And out of the public eye. Instead of HR, claims are handled by the congressional Office of Compliance. It receives allegations of sexual harassment, salary discrimination and other workplace issues, and pays out settlements — with money supplied by the U.
Treasury — if the parties reach an agreement. Think of it as the Taxpayer Hush Money Fund. You pay, and the complaints go away. A case becomes public only if mediation fails and the victim later wins a favorable ruling in federal court or through an administrative process.
Does this remind you a little of the Illinois General Assembly? It should. A not-so-surprising revelation of the MeToo movement is that sexual harassment is rampant in state Capitols across the nation. The ingredients are all there: power, ego, a disproportionate supply of testosterone and an abundance of ambitious young staffers.
In an environment built on relationships, victims worry that speaking up could be a career killer. But the ethics system itself is still designed to stifle and conceal complaints. The law gives an accuser days to report an incident. That flies in the face of everything we know about how hard it is for victims of sexual abuse to come forward. Those steps should be optional, not mandatory. Jackie Speier, D-Calif. At least one member, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich. The settlement was paid from his office fund, also with taxpayer dollars.
It would require the compliance office to publicly name lawmakers who have tapped that settlement fund, for how much and how often. It would make lawmakers, not taxpayers, liable for payments. It would eliminate the rules that bind victims to confidentiality during counseling and mediation. That perpetuates the lie that there is shame in being a victim. Keeping quiet about sexual abuse has allowed it to flourish on Capitol Hill, judging from the 1, former congressional aides who signed a letter demanding changes.
