The Federal Reserve Board, the governing body of the United States’s Federal Reserve central banking system, is facing more than just scrutiny over its interest rate policy. An internal Federal Reserve document reveals the governing board received 11 sexual harassment complaints against staff members between 2020 and 2023. Nine Federal Reserve staffers were disciplined for their actions, with four being fired.
Federal discrimination laws require government agencies to disclose formal sexual harassment complaints, though the 11 brought to the Federal Reserve Board do not appear to have come through an official process—the complaints only became known because of a Freedom of Information Act Request. The board issued “last chance” warnings to four staff members between 2020 and 2023, with an additional four being fired.
Meanwhile, the central bank says it investigated three other complaints but took no action as two were determined to be unfounded, and a third was lodged against an individual not employed by the Federal Reserve. Another employee is said to have received counseling on what constitutes appropriate workplace communication.
“Sexual harassment has no place in our society and it is prohibited at the Federal Reserve,” a spokesman for the central bank said in a statement. They added: “We have a zero-tolerance policy which prohibits all forms of harassment, even if the behavior does not violate the law.”
The Federal Reserve is just the latest government entity to face public scrutiny over sexual harassment claims under the Biden-Harris government. Last year, Congress conducted a sprawling bipartisan investigation into over 500 sexual harassment claims at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). This resulted in the regulator’s chairman, Martin Gruenberg—appointed by Joe Biden—promising to step down. However, as of publication, Gruenberg remains chairman. […]
— Read More: thenationalpulse.com
