7 Biggest Congressional Harassment Payouts #MeToo

7 Biggest Congressional Harassment Payouts #MeToo
The House of Representatives has disclosed settling 41 complaints of workplace mistreatment for a total of some $1 million since 1997.

The list published by the House does not include names, but The Daily Caller used court documents to reveal the offices behind some of the settlements and then cross-referenced with news articles to rank them.

The data is entirely based on Office of Compliance payouts, and so omits some of the most notable settlements, such as one by Rep. John Conyers. The omission is because the Committee on House Administration disclosed only payments that came out of the OOC’s special settlement fund, whereas numerous members hid settlements in their office budgets.
1) $220,000: Alcee Hastings (D-FL), alleged sexual harassment, 2014
 

An accusation was made against Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D-Fla.) by Winsome Packer an employee of the Helsinki Commission, a member-led body of Congress chaired at the time by Hastings. The Packer alleged that he repeatedly invited her up to his hotel room when they were traveling, asked what type of underwear she was wearing, and made other inappropriate gestures. Hastings denied the charges. 

The case dragged on for four years, and in the end, Packer was awarded $220,000 in one of the largest secret settlements paid out in recent years by the congressional Office of Compliance.

2) $150,000: Benghazi Committee, alleged veteran status discrimination & retaliation, 2016

Then-committee Chairman Trey Gowdy said in 2015 that Podliska was fired for mishandling classified info. Fox News reported Podliska said that was untrue that his bosses were unhappy the Air Force reservist had to leave to perform military service. Podliska was eventually reinstated to his job after 16 months, and The Daily Caller has learned the payment was calculated as back pay based on his salary.

 
3) $85,000: Eric Massa (D-NY), alleged sexual harassment & retaliation, 2010

It was revealed in 2017 that Congress had paid nearly $100,000 to two male staffers who had accused Massa of sexually harassing them. Massa resigned during a pending House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. 

Massa claimed his declining health and the ongoing ethics investigation as the reasons for his resignation. However, he later claimed that there was a conspiracy "to oust him because he had voted against overhauling health care."

4) $84,000: Blake Farenthold (R-TX), alleged sexual harassment, 2014

A staffer alleged that Farenthold would talk about his “sexual fantasies” and “wet dreams” about his spokeswoman. Farenthold denied some of the allegations, but acknowledged that he “allowed a workplace culture to take root in my office that was too permissive and decidedly unprofessional,” and that he had “angry outbursts” and didn’t always “treat people with the respect they deserved.” Farenthold has said he will reimburse taxpayers.

 
5) $65,000: John J. Duncan Jr. (R-TN), alleged age discrimination, 2011

Duncan’s office terminated Shirley Taylor on her 66th birthday after colleagues mocked her for her age and Duncan “expressed his displeasure” about another employee working into her 80s, according to a lawsuit. Bob Griffitts, the chief of staff, told Duncan that the staffer had Alzheimer’s disease, which was not true, it says. The chief of staff told Taylor she was forgetful, but when Taylor asked him for examples, Griffitts said he couldn’t remember any, according to the suit. Taylor alleged age discrimination, but Duncan said he’d leave the decision to his chief of staff, the lawsuit says. 

 
6) $50,000: unknown office, alleged disability discrimination & retaliation, 2008-2012

This payment may be connected to a charge filed against Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) who was sued her by an unnamed woman for allegedly discriminating against her based on a disability. According to the lawsuit Jackson Lee allegedly said: “I don’t give a damn about her disability.” Jackson Lee has been called an abusive employer on Capitol Hill and had the highest turnover in her office, according to a 2013 analysis. There is some debate whether this case was settled or not, so this $50,000 payment may or may not involve Jackson Lee.

 
7) $40,000: Gregory Meeks (D-NY), overtime & retaliation, 2006

Andrea Payne, a former Meeks staffer, filed a lawsuit “to recover for damages sustained by plaintiff when Representative Meeks violated her Constitutional rights by retaliating against her, and ultimately terminating her employment, because of her sexual assault lawsuit,” attorneys wrote. Payne got physical therapy at a medical office owned by the spouse of Joan Flowers, a Meeks donor and political operative who at one point served as treasurer of Meeks’ campaign. She said she was physically assaulted there, and pursued criminal and civil charges.

Meeks fired her and denied her unemployment insurance by saying she’d left voluntarily.

Meeks later said in a deposition that she was fired for writing a letter to the Federal Election Commission flagging improprieties in his campaign finances. But according to the lawsuit, that letter wasn’t even written until after she was fired, and Meeks’ own wife contradicted his testimony on that point.

A version of this article appeared on The Daily Caller News Foundation website.

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