Cummings Wants Answers About State Department Harassment

Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) was approached by several whistleblowers who alleged harassment by a senior State Department employee. Cummings sent a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson requesting information about members of the Department’s Senior Executive Service (SES) who have been the subject of multiple complaints, including Equal Employment Opportunity complaints. “Several career employees at the State Department, including one of my constituents, have written to me raising serious allegations that the Department has repeatedly failed to eliminate the hostile work environment created by a member of the SES,” the letter reads. “The employees allege that he ‘has a long history of brutalizing female and minority staff’ and ‘creates a climate of fear.’  The employees complain of ‘daily humiliation and denigration,’ ‘unwarranted accusations of poor performance,’ and ‘denied resources to perform our jobs’ that have led to ‘immeasurable losses’ by the employees.” Cummings gave the State Department until February 1st to provide the requested information. Read more here.