State officials investigating complaints against lawmakers to report directly to lawmakers under plan

MADISON - State officials who conduct investigations into allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination against lawmakers would report directly to a Republican-controlled panel of lawmakers under a new proposal. 

The legislative committee is voting this week to elevate the Legislature's human resources office to report directly to a committee overseen by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate President Roger Roth, including with complaints of misconduct against lawmakers. 

The move would give the Legislature's human resources director, Amanda Jorgenson,  more control over such complaints by giving her office oversight of all reviews and investigations of formal complaints of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, violence and bullying. 

But it also would require the director to report directly to Republican leaders instead of nonpartisan officials known as chief clerks who currently oversee such investigations. 

Those lawmakers already have the authority to hire and fire the clerks and the officials who conduct the investigations, however, which has drawn criticism from employment attorneys and government transparency advocates. 

Kit Beyer, spokeswoman for Vos, said the goal is to standardize human resources duties within the Legislature. 

"This change will allow for better HR services to the agencies within the Legislature and create opportunities to find efficiencies within the HR processes," Beyer said.

The move comes three years after legislative leaders sought to improve its system for reporting harassment to deter it amid a wave of sexual harassment allegations against powerful men, including lawmakers, known as the Me Too movement.

In the Legislature, fear of retaliation is underscored by the fact that staff work on an at-will basis for lawmakers and can be fired for any reason and because lawmakers have a say in the employment of legislative staff in charge of receiving complaints.

Under the proposed reorganization, the Legislature's nonpartisan human resources office would oversee payroll and employment benefits for all employees of the Legislature including its agencies like the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. 

The changes would not change how the public gets information about lawmakers' conduct.

Currently, complaints of harassment and discrimination against lawmakers are kept by the chief clerks, who unlike lawmakers are subject to a state law requiring the office to keep such records. Beyer said the human resources office would keep those records if the changes are approved. 

Contact Molly Beck at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.