Rep. Raul Grijalva's office quietly paid $48,000 workplace settlement
A former employee of Rep. Raúl Grijalva worked just three months for the Tucson Democrat in 2015 but quietly received a settlement worth five months' salary after complaining of a hostile work environment and Grijalva's frequent drunkenness, a Washington Times report says.
The complaint wasn't about sexual harassment, Grijalva noted in a written statement. The woman worked in Grijalva's Washington D.C. office.
The news comes amid a growing scandal about how members of Congress are able to use taxpayer money to quietly settle complaints against them. The uproar has been about payouts for sexual harassment paid out through salaries, which are less noticeable than a lump-sum settlement. The Office of Compliance has paid $17.2 million in settlements over the last 20 years, but not all were for sexual harassment, and not all were for problems in congressional offices, the Washington Post reported.
The Times report did not name the woman who complained about Grijalva. She threatened to sue over Grijalva's frequent drunkenness creating a hostile work environment, the Times report said. After making that threat, the report says, Grijalva's office stopped paying her in an effort to force a settlement, which eventually was reached: Resuming paying her salary for five months -- a total of $48,395.
Read more: http://tucson.com/news/local/report-rep-ra-l-grijalva-s-office-quietly-paid-workplace/article_dbf11be2-d44e-11e7-b592-47e04e5e0238.html
Grijalva issued a statement which is included at the link.