However, the Office of House Employment Counsel appears to have played a role in other delicate staff-related issues in addition to the one involving Farenthold’s office.
The Washington Times recently reported that Arizona Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva consulted the office on handling a dispute involving an employee who eventually accepted a $48,000 severance package, though Grijalva did not specify the nature of the complaint. “On the advice of House Employment Counsel, I provided a severance package to a former employee who resigned,” Grijalva told the newspaper. “The severance did not involve the Office of Compliance and at no time was any allegation of sexual harassment made, and no sexual harassment occurred.”
The office’s investigation into Blake Farenthold’s chief of staff came only a year after the member himself had been accused himself of sexual harassment in a lawsuit and investigated by the Office of Congressional Ethics. It is unclear whether any details of the workplace investigation in 2016 were shared with other investigative bodies such as the ethics office or the House Ethics Committee. House leaders and the Office of House Employment Counsel declined to say whether the counsel shares information with other investigative bodies.
Citing attorney-client privilege, the Office of House Employment Counsel also declined to answer questions from POLITICO on how many investigations it helped facilitate and pay for in recent years, how much money it has paid to outside firms, and which law firms conducted the investigations.
“As needed, OHEC may arrange for an independent firm to conduct investigations of an office so that a determination can be made whether there is a need for the office to take appropriate corrective actions,” a House Office of Employment Counsel spokesperson said in an email.
Spokespeople for both House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi disclaimed any knowledge of the counsel office’s investigations or policies. “We have no independent knowledge of how or in what way OHEC/independent investigation was used or conducted,” Ryan spokesperson AshLee Strong said in an email.
The Office of House Employment Counsel appears to have played a role in delicate staff-related issues. The Washington Times recently reported that Arizona Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva consulted the office on handling a dispute involving an employee who eventually accepted a $48,000 severance package, though Grijalva did not specify the nature of the complaint.
“On the advice of House Employment Counsel, I provided a severance package to a former employee who resigned,” Grijalva told the newspaper. “The severance did not involve the Office of Compliance and at no time was any allegation of sexual harassment made, and no sexual harassment occurred.”
The office’s investigation into Farenthold’s chief of staff came only a year after the member himself had been accused himself of sexual harassment in a lawsuit and investigated by the Office of Congressional Ethics. It is unclear whether any details of the workplace investigation in 2016 were shared with other investigative bodies such as the ethics office or the House Ethics Committee.
House leaders and the Office of House Employment Counsel declined to say whether the counsel shares information with other investigative bodies. Citing attorney-client privilege, the Office of House Employment Counsel also declined to answer questions from POLITICO on how many investigations it helped facilitate and pay for in recent years, how much money it has paid to outside firms, and which law firms conducted the investigations.
“As needed, OHEC may arrange for an independent firm to conduct investigations of an office so that a determination can be made whether there is a need for the office to take appropriate corrective actions,” a House Office of Employment Counsel spokesperson said in an email. Spokespeople for both House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi disclaimed any knowledge of the counsel office’s investigations or policies. “We have no independent knowledge of how or in what way OHEC/independent investigation was used or conducted,” Ryan spokesperson AshLee Strong said in an email.
The Office of House Employment Counsel operates under the auspices of the House clerk’s office and advises members on employment practices. It also facilitates investigations into employee complaints, a spokesperson confirmed to POLITICO. But what happens afterward is murky: The office appears to serve House members and their offices — not necessarily the employees — and makes no public accounting of its determinations or its expenditures.
A spokesperson for the office declined to say how many sexual harassment complaints or other investigations it’s handled in recent years, citing attorney-client privilege. It also declined to reveal the firms that it hired or the amount paid to them.
In addition, both Democratic and Republican House leadership offices declined to answer questions about the internal investigations.
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The revelation that there is a separate office facilitating and paying for sexual harassment investigations, with little transparency and apparently little oversight, rankled critics of Congress’ handling of sexual harassment, who said that without established procedures and a commitment to transparency, the office may be playing more of a role covering up offenses than revealing them.
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House leaders and the Office of House Employment Counsel declined to say whether the counsel shares information with other investigative bodies. Citing attorney-client privilege, the Office of House Employment Counsel also declined to answer questions from POLITICO on how many investigations it helped facilitate and pay for in recent years, how much money it has paid to outside firms, and which law firms conducted the investigations.
Thanks for the info.
All this, and we are only talking about the House. Don’t you think the Senate has their own slush fund(s)?
Tip of the iceberg.