WASHINGTON – Results of a recent internal investigation concerning allegations of sexual misconduct against the former Chief Component Human Capital Officer leave me no choice but to take decisive action to address lapses in professional responsibility, including requesting further investigation by the DHS Office of the Inspector General. These allegations are deeply disturbing and harassment of any kind will not be tolerated at FEMA.
In the wake of these findings, I have directed the following actions to take place immediately:
- Establish an Office of Professional Responsibility to ensure expeditious, fair, and objective follow-up and resolution of allegations of employee misconduct.
- Conduct an end-to-end, third party review of FEMA’s approach to intake, management, and resolution of employee misconduct allegations, especially sexual harassment allegations.
- Provide counseling services and health and wellness advisors to all FEMA employees who may not have received the support they needed in the past.
- A full analysis of all open complaints by the director of FEMA’s Office of Equal Rights (OER), and a review of cases brought to OER by employees who believe their cases were inadequately addressed. The OER will be supported by a team of independent, contracted staff to ensure neutrality and un-biased processing of claims.
- All employees will complete a mandatory, third party, in-person training to recognize, report, and prevent sexual harassment.Anyone who disagrees with this zero tolerance approach will not be welcome at FEMA. Employees at FEMA devote their careers to caring for disaster survivors in their time of greatest need. We must care for our own with the same respect, compassion, and advocacy that we bring to our external operations.
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