A step ahead on anti-harassment

Even before Rep. Jackie Speier (D-California) made her dramatic testimony about sexual harassment in Congress on Tuesday, I had already required everyone in the Marianas congressional office—including myself—to take anti-sexual harassment training. Rep. Speier said that two sitting Members of the House, a Republican and a Democrat, have engaged in sexual harassment and that the House has paid out some $15 million to victims. She said that she, too, had been a victim, when working here as a staff person in the 1970s. No one should have to face that kind of threat in the workplace or anywhere else.

Our office Employee Handbook explicitly prohibits any form of sexual harassment and explains what to do if harassed. But I decided more active measures were needed and required that we all take the online training offered by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House. I am also a cosponsor of H.R. 4155, which requires each congressional office to inform employees of their rights and protections against harassment under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995.