Dems push for new harassment training for lawmakers
Several Democratic legislators are backing a bill to reform sexual-harassment training standards on Capitol Square in the wake of lewd comments and resignations by some of their colleagues at the Statehouse.
Sen. Charleta Tavares, D-Columbus, said Wednesday that the bill would make the legislature’s sexual-harassment policies a matter of public record, mandate harassment training for lawmakers and staff, and create a task force to review and make recommendations about policies.
Though sexual-harassment complaints would be confidential during investigations, they would become public — with the exception of victims’ names — if violations are found. Withholding victims’ names would allow those people to speak up without fear of retaliation, Tavares said.
“Our goal is to create a culture here in this facility … that is safe and inviting for everyone,” Tavares said.
The attempt to reform harassment-training standards comes after several incidents at the Statehouse. Sen. Cliff Hite, a Findlay Republican, resigned over allegations of improper conduct in October. Michael Premo, the Ohio Senate Democrats’ chief of staff, was pushed out of his position in November over allegations of improper conduct around staff.
State Rep. Wes Goodman, a Cardington Republican, resigned in November over allegations of sexual conduct with a man in his office. Emails later revealed allegations that he groped an 18-year-old college student.
Then, shortly after lawmakers completed mandated sexual harassment training, Sen. Matt Huffman, R-Lima, and Rep. Bill Seitz, R- Cincinnati, drew criticism for crude comments they made about women at a Downtown party, prompting House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, R-Clarksville, to call for a bipartisan working group to examine the issue of sexual harassment.
“I think they’re coming up with some good suggestions,” Rosenberger said, declining to elaborate. He hopes to see final recommendations on policies for both the House and broader agencies before lawmakers break for the summer.
Sen. Cecil Thomas, D-Cincinnati, said the harassment training that legislators have had was “absolutely not” sufficient. Thomas said he was embarrassed by the behavior of some of his colleagues.
“The culture that has existed for many years,” he said. “This legislation is an attempt to change that culture, to open to door for women to be able to speak out.”