Dear Secretary DeVos:
We write to you with deep concern regarding harassment in the workplace and to obtain information on what you are doing to address the issue within your agency. As you are well aware, workplace harassment is not a new issue that workers face; it is pervasive, systemic, and unacceptable. Recently, many brave women and men have spoken out to shed light on sexual harassment across the country. Women, in particular, have answered the call and their voices are leading the way in demanding change and equality-often taking great risk to speak out for the first time, and their voices are making a difference. As the head of a federal agency employing thousands of people, you can play a critical role in establishing and modeling safe work environments for all workers, and we hope you will do so.
Workplace sexual harassment is all too common, including in the federal government. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s Task Force on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace report, an estimated 60 percent of women across our nation’s workforce experience unwanted sexual attention, sexual coercion, sexually crude conduct, or sexist comments in the workplace.[1] In fiscal year 2015, the EEOC received 6,741 complaints from federal employees alleging harassment.[2] Forty-four percent of these complaints were on the basis of sex.[3] At the Department of Education specifically, there have been four complaints of sexual harassment since 2012.[4] While these numbers are very concerning, they do not come close to holistically capturing the scope of the problem as harassment is vastly underreported. The EEOC estimates that on average 87 to 94 percent of people never file a formal legal charge, and 70 percent of employees never file a complaint internally.[5]
All executive branch employees, including Department of Education employees, are protected from workplace sexual harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Federal government employees are also protected from workplace sexual harassment under federal employment anti-discrimination laws.[6] As head of the Department of Education, your leadership is critical to ensure a harassment-free workplace and equal employment opportunities for Department of Education employees.
As such, we are interested in the ongoing discussions, plans, and actions within the Department aimed at protecting employees and establishing a safe working environment free from harassment. We request a briefing about the ways in which the Department is addressing this issue and to discuss any suggestions you may have about how to strengthen and improve legal protections and processes in the workplace. Additionally, we request the following information by no later than Feb. 13, 2018:
We all have a great deal of work to do to address harassment in the workplace. We appreciate you taking this matter seriously and providing full and prompt responses. If you have any questions regarding my inquiries you can contact Carly Rush or Laurel Sakai at 202-224-0767 with Senator Murray’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Staff.
Sincerely,
Patty Murray
United States Senator
Bernard Sanders
United States Senator
Robert P. Casey, Jr.
United States Senator
Michael F. Bennet
United States Senator
Tammy Baldwin
United States Senator
Christopher S. Murphy
United States Senator
Elizabeth Warren
United States Senator
Tim Kaine
United States Senator
Margaret Wood Hassan
United States Senator
Tina Smith
United States Senator
Doug Jones
United States Senator
Jan. 30, 2018
The Honorable R. Alexander Acosta
Secretary
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20210
Dear Secretary Acosta:
We write to you with deep concern regarding harassment in the workplace and to obtain information on what you are doing to address the issue within your agency. As you are well aware, workplace harassment is not a new issue that workers face; it is pervasive, systemic, and unacceptable. Recently, many brave women and men have spoken out to shed light on sexual harassment across the country. Women, in particular, have answered the call and their voices are leading the way in demanding change and equality-often taking great risk to speak out for the first time, and their voices are making a difference. As the head of a federal agency employing thousands of people, you can play a critical role in establishing and modeling safe work environments for all workers, and we hope you will do so.
Workplace sexual harassment is all too common, including in the federal government. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s Task Force on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace report, an estimated 60 percent of women across our nation’s workforce experience unwanted sexual attention, sexual coercion, sexually crude conduct, or sexist comments in the workplace.[7] In fiscal year 2015, the EEOC received 6,741 complaints from federal employees alleging harassment.[8] Forty-four percent of these complaints were on the basis of sex.[9] At the Department of Labor specifically, there have been 25 complaints of sexual harassment since 2012.[10] While these numbers are very concerning, they do not come close to holistically capturing the scope of the problem as harassment is vastly underreported. The EEOC estimates that on average 87 to 94 percent of people never file a formal legal charge, and 70 percent of employees never file a complaint internally.[11]
All executive branch employees, including Department of Labor employees, are protected from workplace sexual harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Federal government employees are also protected from workplace sexual harassment under federal employment anti-discrimination laws.[12] As head of the Department of Labor, your leadership is critical to ensure a harassment-free workplace and equal employment opportunities for Department of Labor employees.
As such, we are interested in the ongoing discussions, plans, and actions within the Department aimed at protecting employees and establishing a safe working environment free from harassment. We request a briefing about the ways in which the Department is addressing this issue and to discuss any suggestions you may have about how to strengthen and improve legal protections and processes in the workplace. Additionally, we request the following information by no later than Feb. 13, 2018:
We all have a great deal of work to do to address harassment in the workplace. We appreciate you taking this matter seriously and providing full and prompt responses. If you have any questions regarding my inquiries you can contact Carly Rush or Joe Shantz at 202-224-0767 with Senator Murray’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Staff.
Sincerely,
Patty Murray
United States Senator
Bernard Sanders
United States Senator
Robert P. Casey, Jr.
United States Senator
Michael F. Bennet
United States Senator
Tammy Baldwin
United States Senator
Christopher S. Murphy
United States Senator
Elizabeth Warren
United States Senator
Tim Kaine
United States Senator
Margaret Wood Hassan
United States Senator
Tina Smith
United States Senator
Doug Jones
United States Senator
Jan. 30, 2018
The Honorable Alex Azar
Secretary
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20201
Dear Secretary Azar:
We write to you with deep concern regarding harassment in the workplace and to obtain information on what you are doing to address the issue within your agency. As you are well aware, workplace harassment is not a new issue that workers face; it is pervasive, systemic, and unacceptable. Recently, many brave women and men have spoken out to shed light on sexual harassment across the country. Women, in particular, have answered the call and their voices are leading the way in demanding change and equality-often taking great risk to speak out for the first time, and their voices are making a difference. As the head of a federal agency employing thousands of people, you can play a critical role in establishing and modeling safe work environments for all workers, and we hope you will do so.
Workplace sexual harassment is all too common, including in the federal government. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s Task Force on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace report, an estimated 60 percent of women across our nation’s workforce experience unwanted sexual attention, sexual coercion, sexually crude conduct, or sexist comments in the workplace.[13] In fiscal year 2015, the EEOC received 6,741 complaints from federal employees alleging harassment.[14] Forty-four percent of these complaints were on the basis of sex.[15] At the Department of Health Human Services (HHS) specifically, there were 77 complaints of sexual harassment from 2012-2016.[16] While these numbers are very concerning, they do not come close to holistically capturing the scope of the problem as harassment is vastly underreported. The EEOC estimates that on average 87 to 94 percent of people never file a formal legal charge, and 70 percent of employees never file a complaint internally.[17]
All executive branch employees, including HHS employees, are protected from workplace sexual harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Federal government employees are also protected from workplace sexual harassment under federal employment anti-discrimination laws.[18] As head of HHS, your leadership is critical to ensure a harassment-free workplace and equal employment opportunities for HHS employees.
As such, we are interested in the ongoing discussions, plans, and actions within the Department aimed at protecting employees and establishing a safe working environment free from harassment. We request a briefing about the ways in which the Department is addressing this issue and to discuss any suggestions you may have about how to strengthen and improve legal protections and processes in the workplace. Additionally, we request the following information by no later than Feb. 13, 2018:
We all have a great deal of work to do to address harassment in the workplace. We appreciate you taking this matter seriously and providing full and prompt responses. If you have any questions regarding my inquiries you can contact Carly Rush or Laurel Sakai at 202-224-0767 with Senator Murray’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Staff.
Sincerely,
Patty Murray
United States Senator
Bernard Sanders
United States Senator
Robert P. Casey, Jr.
United States Senator
Michael F. Bennet
United States Senator
Tammy Baldwin
United States Senator
Christopher S. Murphy
United States Senator
Elizabeth Warren
United States Senator
Tim Kaine
United States Senator
Margaret Wood Hassan
United States Senator
Tina Smith
United States Senator
Doug Jones
United States Senator
