$292K in employee claims paid
WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department has paid nearly $300,000 since 2003 to settle employment claims against House member offices that included allegations of sexual harassment or sex discrimination, according to a Washington Post tally of data provided by a House committee.
The Committee on House Administration released new figures Friday showing that member offices reached three settlements between 2003 and 2007 involving claims of sexual harassment or sex discrimination. The agreements cost $27,652 in total, substantially less than the Treasury Department would spend in future years to settle such claims.
Details of the cases were not released, nor were the identities of the parties involved.
Combined with previous data released by the committee, the latest numbers give the most detailed look so far at how House member offices have used taxpayer funds to settle claims of harassment, discrimination and other workplace violations. Under the 1995 law that created protections for Capitol Hill employees, settlements handled by the congressional Office of Compliance are paid out of a special Treasury Department fund rather than through members' budgets.
Committee Chairman Gregg Harper, R-Miss., released the figures as part of a review of how claims of workplace harassment are reported, mediated and settled in the House. The data comes from the Office of Compliance, which is charged with running that process.
Office of Compliance Executive Director Susan Tsui Grundmann recommended that lawmakers rewrite the underlying statute to empower her office to keep more-detailed records.
In total, between 2003 and 2017, taxpayers spent $292,652 on 13 settlements involving claims of sexual harassment or sex discrimination, the committee's data shows. This figure does not include settlements agreed to privately between members and their employees, which are sometimes paid in the form of severance out of congressional office budgets.
Other claims settled by House member offices included allegations of age and racial discrimination and retaliation. Harper also provided data for settlements involving non-member-led offices in the House; between 2003 and 2007, those offices spent $33,229 on three settlements, none of which involved claims of sexual harassment or sex discrimination, terms that have been used interchangeably by the Office of Compliance in its record-keeping.
Capitol Hill is reeling from allegations of sexual misconduct against lawmakers and senior aides amid a national reckoning over sexual harassment in the workplace. Since October, seven members facing accusations have resigned or said they would not seek re-election, and lawmakers are debating how best to alter the system for reporting misconduct and settling claims.