Grassley: Sexual Harassment Training Should Be Mandatory For Hill Staff

In this June 11, 2013, photo, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Grassley says the Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 mil... In this June 11, 2013, photo, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Grassley says the Internal Revenue Service is about to pay $70 million in employee bonuses despite an Obama administration directive to cancel discretionary bonuses because of automatic spending cuts. He says his office has learned that the IRS is executing an agreement with the employees’ union on Wednesday, June 19, 2013, to pay the bonuses. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) wrote in a letter to the Senate Rules Committee on Tuesday that Congress should make sexual harassment training mandatory for all new employees and those who have not received it.

“I am convinced that sexual harassment training is vitally important to maintaining a respectful and productive work environment in Congress,” he wrote in a letter obtained by Politico.

Some offices require staffers to attend the training, but it’s not mandatory for all staffers on Capitol Hill.

Grassley’s push for mandatory sexual harassment training comes after Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) complained last week about the process for reporting sexual misconduct on Capitol Hill.

The congresswoman shared in a video that she was the victim of an unwanted sexual advance by another staffer senior to her. She also told Politico last week that she plans to introduce legislation to change the process for reporting sexual misconduct, arguing that the system in place now is “toothless” and “a joke.”

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: