A House of Representatives fund paid $1 million to secretly settle complaints by staffers. Here are the largest.
The House 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 News Foundation used court documents to reveal the offices behind some settlements and then cross-referenced with news articles to rank them. The list also omits the largest settlement the settlement office ever handled, involving Rep. Alcee Hastings.
TheDCNF’s analysis found that a seldom-mentioned settlement involving the office of Rep. Gregory Meeks appears to be one of the largest settlements in decades while also involving some of the most serious allegations — including not just sexual harassment, but firing a staffer who said she was physically sexually assaulted by someone connected to a campaign donor.
The data is entirely based on Office of Compliance (OOC) 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. TheDCNF analysis of the list of OOC settlements found that much of the $1 million comes from a handful of large settlements, while others are for only a few thousand dollars.
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The OOC should be investigating and making recommendations of innocent or guilty only. There should not be a fund within the OOC to make payments for violations. They should all be removed with no benefits or retirement. All should be mandated to payback the cost of these settlements to the tax payer. All should be named. Just another example of Politians having secret tax dollars to protect them from prosecution.
ReplyDeleteTwo Sets of Laws.
ReplyDeleteThe serfs have their lives ruined and are publicly humiliated.
THEY keep their crimes SECRET and use OUR MONEY to cover it up and pay off victims.
They keep their pension, power, and perks. Live better than King's in history. And lecture "we, the people" about integrity, honor, and "the rule of law".
You go to prison, they go to Bermuda. For a nice vacation.
You keep cheering and re-electing them.
It's like the Jews cheering Hitler.
Keep cheering.