Labor Department Finds Hostile Working Conditions Inside The Labor Department

WASHINGTON—The Department of Labor has completed an internal investigation into workplace conditions and found that the office responsible for protecting American workers had developed an unusually practical understanding of the problem.

Thirty-eight witnesses described former Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s leadership suite as toxic, intimidating and humiliating. Employees told the inspector general about threats of termination, meetings called beatdowns and public discussions of which colleagues had cried during performance reviews. The investigation relied on interviews with 53 current and former department employees, one employee from another agency and more than 500 documents, images and videos.

The report found that Chavez-DeRemer directed government employees to perform personal tasks on official time, including organizing her bedroom closet and filming the completed work. Other employees retrieved packages and made personal purchases. Investigators also substantiated improper combinations of official and personal travel, unauthorized alcohol on federal property and gifts that were not reported through required channels, including cowboy hats and an alligator-hide wallet.

Investigators concluded that Chavez-DeRemer maintained an inappropriately close and unprofessional relationship with a supervisor on her protective detail, while saying the evidence did not establish a romantic or sexual relationship. Chavez-DeRemer resigned the day before a scheduled inspector-general interview, and her attorney later declined to make her available. All five subjects left federal service before the report was completed, and the inspector general said their departures were not caused by its findings.

The department can now return to enforcing workplace standards elsewhere with the advantage of field experience. Harassment, misuse of staff time and unreported benefits are no longer abstract regulatory concepts. They have been tested in the executive suite.