Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., reportedly arranged for a former female staffer to receive a severance package in 2015 after the staffer threatened to file a lawsuit against the congressman alleging he was drunk and created a hostile work environment.
The severance package, which was for $48,395, or roughly five months’ additional salary for the former female staffer, was negotiated with the assistance of the Office of House Employment Counsel, according to the Washington Times. The employee left her post in Grijalva’s office after three months on the job.
Grijalva confirmed the severance package in an email to the Washington Times and stressed that the agreement did not stem from any allegations of sexual misconduct.
“On the advice of House Employment Counsel, I provided a severance package to a former employee who resigned,” Grijalva told the Washington Times. “The severance did not involve the Office of Compliance and at no time was any allegation of sexual harassment made, and no sexual harassment occurred.”
Grijalva also said that had the former employee raised any accusations of sexual harassment, she “would have been free to report it.” The Arizona Democrat said he could not provide any additional details on the severance package, as it would violate the agreement.
In a statement Tuesday, Grijalva pushed back on the Washington Times’ characterization of the severance package and said the newspaper contacted him “seeking comment on what it described as a sexual harassment claim that, in fact, had never been made,” according to Politico. He did, though, acknowledge that there was a severance package agreed upon by both parties and completed with the assistance of the House Employment Counsel.
The Arizona Democrat said the paper published a “misleading article trying to link me to sexual harassment complaints made against other people.”
“The terms were consistent with House Ethics Committee guidance,” Grijalva said. “The severance funds came out of my committee operating budget. Every step of the process was handled ethically and appropriately.”
Sources told the Washington Times that Grijalva stopped the staffer’s salary after she hired a lawyer and threatened to file a lawsuit against the congressman, which was part of the House Employment Counsel’s plan to push her toward settling her complaint.
After the severance package was agreed to, the staffer decided not to pursue her hostile workplace complaint any further.
Revelations about the severance package arranged by Grijalva with the assistance of the House Employment Counsel come amid increased focus on the Office of Compliance for settlements related to allegations of sexual misconduct.
From 1997 to 2017, the Office of Compliance awarded 268 settlements totaling $17.2 million stemming from sexual harassment complaints and other workplace violations, including provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Former female staffers and other women have accused at least two Democrats of sexual misconduct.
Last week, BuzzFeed reported that Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., settled a wrongful dismissal case filed by a former female employee in 2015 who said she was terminated after rejecting his sexual advances.
Since then, two of Conyers’ former employees have spoken publicly about misconduct from the Michigan Democrat.
A Los Angeles radio host also accused Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., of groping her and forcibly kissing her during a USO tour in 2006. Another woman came forward and said the senator inappropriately touched her while posing for a photo after he was elected to the U.S. Senate.
