The Leadership Conference to USCCR: Federal Workplace Needs Clear Processes for Discrimination, Harassment Claims

Economic Justice News 05.9,19

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: LaGloria Wheatfall, [email protected], 202.548.7160

WASHINGTON – Tamara E. Chrisler, managing director of policy at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, will testify today before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on “Federal Me Too: Examining Sexual Harassment in Government Workplaces.” Chrisler’s testimony highlights the need to create a workplace culture with clear, timely policies for processing discrimination and harassment complaints.

“The culture of an agency plays a vital role in whether an employee will report claims of discrimination or harassment,” Chrisler says in her testimony. “Certain agencies maintain long-standing practices of ‘toughening out’ unprofessional behavior, and anyone who challenges that practice is seen as disloyal to the agency and not a team player. This vicious cycle is toxic to a workplace, yet it is part of many workplaces.”

Chrisler’s testimony offers recommendations to improve the federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaints process and restore confidence in a system that many complainants have experienced as unresponsive and ineffective. These recommendations include:

  • Change the culture of the agency
  • Build trust in the EEO process
  • Incorporate administrative inquiries into agency procedures
  • Increase training for agency EEO and human resources staff, and managers
  • Implement required cooperation and workplace climate surveys

Read her full testimony.

View the live stream of the hearing at 9:10 a.m. ET. Chrisler’s panel is scheduled to begin at 1:10 p.m. ET.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.