Taxpayer-funded sexual harassment settlements involving lawmakers exceeded $550,000, newly released documents show

Taxpayers paid more than half a million dollars for secret congressional sexual harassment settlements dating back decades; That’s a higher figure than newly released documents reviewed by the CNN show that were previously made public.

Documents initially shared with Congress revealed that: Taxpayers paid more than $300,000 On behalf of six former members of the U.S. House of Representatives or their offices.

But the total amount was much higher.

In its first submission to Congress, the Congressional Office of Workplace Rights missed out on a $220,0000 payment on behalf of former Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings, who died in 2021. The settlement marks the largest known congressional sexual harassment settlement to date, nearly doubling the total taxpayer-funded total for such cases announced last week. Hastings has previously described the allegations as “ridiculous”.

The office explained in a letter to House Oversight Chairman James Comer that the payment did not meet the office’s initial search criteria because it targeted only deals made on behalf of a lawmaker’s office, according to the letter reviewed by CNN. In the Hastings case, the agreement involved the Commission on Security and Co-operation in Europe, which Hastings chaired at the time.

An employee on the commission whose name appears in files reviewed by CNN first filed a complaint in 2010 but did not receive payment until 2014.

Throughout the lawsuit, the employee alleged that Hastings had multiple incidents of sexual harassment and claimed she faced retaliation for coming forward with her allegations.

In a 2013 letter, the employee stated that he felt the system was designed to benefit the employer throughout the process.

“The mediator’s attempt to define ‘what is in my best interest’ for me before I had the opportunity to meet with court-appointed counsel completely exceeds the bounds of his responsibilities and demonstrates a blatant disregard for my rights to counsel,” the employee wrote. “His conduct underscores my belief throughout this case that the Office of Compliance was designed primarily to serve as a tool for members of Congress who violated the Congressional Accountability Act and undermined the rights of victims.”

The confidential agreement reviewed by CNN set restrictions and penalties that prevented the employee from talking about the case, but did not impose the same restrictions on the employer.

roll call reported The report said Hastings said he never sexually harassed the employee and called the allegations “ridiculous.” In a statement at the time, Hastings said he did not know until the agreement was reached.

At the time, Roll Call named the accuser as Winsome Packer. CNN spoke with Packer, who confirmed that he was the employee whose name appears in the documents. Packer told CNN that his life has been severely impacted since coming forward and he has not been able to find a job or career opportunity since. He also said his payout after taxes was much less than $220,000.

“People don’t talk about what happens after they file a lawsuit. I never got a job,” Packer told CNN.

CNN attempted to reach Hastings’ family members to request comment

The Congressional Office of Workplace Rights was forced to turn over settlement documents to Congress following a subpoena from GOP Rep. Nancy Mace. He helped push for transparency and accountability on Capitol Hill in the wake of recent sexual harassment allegations that led to a pair of high-profile resignations.

CNN’s review of more than 1,000 pages of case files, including attorneys’ notes, settlement documents and formal complaints, sheds light on allegations that some members used their positions of power to mistreat employees.

The Congressional Office on Workplace Rights handles not only sexual harassment allegations but also a variety of complaints against members.

In a letter to House Oversight Chairman James Comer obtained by CNN, the general counsel said that from January 1, 1996, to December 12, 2018, the office approved 349 awards or settlements “to resolve complaints against legislative branch offices.” 80 of those cases were decided by a House or Senate office for a number of different reasons. Seven cases from this subgroup resulted in payouts for sexual harassment claims. The payments referred to in the letter used taxpayers’ money from a Treasury account, which is no longer available as an option for MPs.

Twenty-three case files under the jurisdiction of the Congressional Office on Workplace Rights were destroyed in accordance with the office’s records retention policy.

“This ‘OCWR Records Retention Policy’ was implemented in 2013 to align OCWR with regular government-wide records retention practices,” wrote General Counsel John N. Ohlweiler.

The general language of the settlement agreements reviewed by CNN does not indicate that the accused office has admitted any wrongdoing. Rather, they note that the office agreed to the settlement “to avoid the inconvenience of protracted litigation and the expense such litigation would impose on the parties and taxpayers,” one agreement read. Settlement agreements also set forth how the office will handle questions regarding the terms and conditions of a plaintiff’s termination.

Following policy changes in 2018 in the wake of the #MeToo Movement, members will no longer be able to rely on taxpayer money for payments. The House Ethics Committee announced in a recent statement that since the new law went into effect, “the Committee has not been notified of any decisions or settlements regarding a member’s allegations of sexual harassment.”

For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account at: CNN.com