Norton, Speier, Lawrence Urge Colleagues to Require Sexual Harassment Training for Members and Staff

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA), and Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) today sent a "Dear Colleague" letter to Members of the House of Representatives urging them to adopt mandatory sexual harassment training for their offices, already required for federal agencies. Norton, Lawrence, and Speier have each introduced bills to address the issue of sexual harassment in Congress.

In their letter, the Members wrote, "We must lead by example in our own offices by instituting mandatory sexual harassment prevention and response training now. Our staff works incredibly hard each day, and they deserve to have the same protections afforded their counterparts in the private sector as well as those in federal agencies. We should ensure that their workplaces are free from harassment and discrimination by doing whatever is in our power even if not required by law We may not always agree on matters of policy, but we should all come together to ensure our staff are as protected as they would be in the private sector or other branches of government. We therefore urge you to follow our lead and require regular sexual harassment prevention and response training in your offices for yourselves, as leaders of your offices, and for current and new employees."

Below is their full letter.

Dear Colleague:

We write to urge you to use your own authority to adopt mandatory sexual harassment training for your offices. This training is already required for federal agencies. The Office of Compliance (OOC) offers a 30-minute online training, available now, that would be a good start for all of our offices to view and learn from, particularly considering that many staff may not be aware of what constitutes sexual harassment and misconduct. As you may have seen in recent news reports, Congress is not immune from horrific stories of sexual harassment, abuse, and misconduct. Former and current staffers spoke out on social media during the #MeToo campaign, which originated after the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault and harassment allegations, sharing stunning and embarrassing stories of workplace harassment, including groping, inappropriate emails and text messages, and predatory behavior on the part of both Members and staff.

Each of us has introduced bills aimed at protecting legislative branch employees from sexual harassment by requiring proactive measures such as sexual harassment prevention and response training, enhancing anti-retaliation protections for staffers who report harassment, and streamlining the dispute resolution process currently in place at the OOC. However, we can and should take whatever action we can now to prevent sexual harassment in Congress. We must lead by example in our own offices by instituting mandatory sexual harassment prevention and response training now. Our staff works incredibly hard each day, and they deserve to have the same protections afforded their counterparts in the private sector as well as those in federal agencies. We should ensure that their workplaces are free from harassment and discrimination by doing whatever is in our power even if not required by law.

We may not always agree on matters of policy, but we should all come together to ensure our staff are as protected as they would be in the private sector or other branches of government. We therefore urge you to follow our lead and require regular sexual harassment prevention and response training in your offices for yourselves, as leaders of your offices, and for current and new employees.

Sincerely,

Eleanor Holmes Norton

Jackie Speier

Brenda Lawrence