An outside review of the climate at the Colorado General Assembly found that sexual harassment and misconduct are widespread and rarely reported — and that tougher policies are needed to hold lawmakers accountable.
The alarming report presented Thursday by Investigations Law Group found that about one-third of roughly 500 people who were surveyed acknowledged having seen or experienced harassment but that only a fraction felt comfortable speaking out. Half said they observed sexist or disrespectful behavior.
“You have a significant proportion of your workplace who’s seen and experiencing inappropriate behavior,” said Liz Rita, the firm’s founder and lead investigator, in explaining the results to lawmakers. “Obviously there are concerns and there are behavior problems that are occurring here. The findings suggest that power dynamics have something to do with it.”
The 235-page report makes 25 recommendations for how to improve the culture and policies surrounding workplace harassment, suggesting a complete overhaul of the current system, but top lawmakers from both parties said immediate action may prove difficult before the legislative sessions ends May 9.
“This is a top priority and we have to continue to move quickly,” House Speaker Crisanta Duran, D-Denver, told reporters after the presentation. “… But it’s also important that the end result — that we do this right.”
Colorado legislative leaders requested the independent report this year after sexual harassment complaints against lawmakers came to the forefront as part of the #MeToo movement, and following a Denver Post investigation that revealed what some called a toxic workplace climate at the Capitol.
Five state lawmakers have faced allegations of sexual harassment, but so far the complaints against all but one were dismissed by legislative leaders. The exception is Rep. Steve Lebsock, a former Thornton Democrat, who became the first Colorado lawmaker expelled in more than 100 years after an extraordinary, daylong hearing March 2.
State Sen. Randy Baumgardner, a Republican who represents northwestern Colorado, survived a Democratic effort to expel him from that chamber Monday after facing three complaints for harassment.
The legislative culture report — which cost taxpayers $120,000 so far — determined through surveys and interviews that the majority of people at the Capitol feel safe and respected but that problems were pervasive.
“It’s safe to say no workplace in America would consider these numbers as an indicator that its culture around harassment is healthy, or that its system is working to detect, to deter and to deal with harassment,” Rita told lawmakers.
Here’s what the workplace harassment report found
One factor driving the culture is the high-stakes atmosphere in the lawmaking process, in which a power imbalance, abuse and lack of leadership and accountability are the biggest problems, investigators found. A major concern is retaliation, which deters reporting to the proper supervisors.
The harassment disproportionately affects women and extends to female lawmakers and legislative interns, who are considered the most frequent targets, the report stated.
“While the data do not indicate that harassment is encouraged or normalized in the culture, the information collected shows that harassing behavior is not deterred in the environment,” the report stated. “The current policy and practices are not effective in creating an environment where harassment is not tolerated.”
The condemnation of the culture prompted the investigators to propose significant changes that include the creation of an independent advisory panel to handle complaints against lawmakers, which is part of an effort to take politics out of the equation. In other areas, the report recommends a new process for reporting and resolving complaints.
“A higher standard of behavior than simply avoiding unlawful conduct is already the standard for many whom we interviewed,” the report stated. “This is not, however, codified in the current system, and this is a missed opportunity.”
Craig Morgan, an attorney who investigated harassment in the Arizona state House of Representatives, said the report should serve as a wake-up call to lawmakers.
“We should all be troubled if there is an environment of pervasive harassment that makes people feel unreasonably uncomfortable at work,” he said after reviewing the report at the request of The Post.
Cassie Tanner, a former legislative aide who filed a complaint against Lebsock, said she’s encouraged to see an effort to define a range of potential punishments against lawmakers for credible complaints — something missing from the current policy.
“This is something that needs to be addressed quickly, so victims of harassment with credible findings on their complaints can have assurance that their complaint was taken seriously and appropriate consequences were levied based on the behavior that occurred,” she said. “Not everything may rise to the level of expulsion, but it appears that the legislative leaders are taking an all-or-none — dismissing complaints and closing the matter — approach to dealing with the complaints on the table.”
Others expressed concerns about whether the recommendations are viable. House Majority Leader KC Becker, D-Boulder, raised issues with proposals to distance legislative leadership from the disciplinary process.
“I think if leadership is removed too much, we are held accountable for behavior and may not even be aware of it,” she said.
Here’s what lawmakers will do next
The extent of the problem and the large number of recommendations appeared to overwhelm members of the Executive Committee, a bipartisan panel of the top Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate that will decide what steps to take next.
“It’s been enlightening and empowering to see the results — what does our culture actually look like?” said Senate Majority Leader Chris Holbert, R-Parker, adding “thank you for this dilemma.”
The committee expressed interest in pushing the issue to a working group that would meet in the summer months to devise a new policy and implement changes next year — rather than try to makes changes before the legislative session ends May 9. But no final decisions were made.
Senate President Kevin Grantham, R-Canon City, said he is not concerned that delays will create a perception of inaction, as long as Republicans and Democrats work together.
“Maybe it’s not completely necessary that we rush to institute a policy change before the end of session,” he said. “All six of us (on the committee) appear to want to be contemplative about it. That was encouraging, actually.”
