Stay up to date with our Up First newsletter sent every weekday morning.Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who served as President Trump's Labor Secretary until she resigned in April, violated her own department's policy prohibiting harassment in the workplace, according to a new report by the Labor Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG), released Thursday.The findings follow a months-long investigation that began after OIG, led by former Republican Congressman Anthony D'Esposito of New York, received an anonymous complaint.It alleged that Chavez-DeRemer contributed to a hostile work environment, was engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a member of her security detail, failed to comply with travel regulations, and directed subordinates to perform tasks for her personal benefit.The salacious allegations gave rise to quips about "The Real Housewives of the Frances Perkins Building," referring to the Labor Department's headquarters in Washington, D.C.After interviewing 53 former and current Labor Department employees, investigators found merit in all of the original complaints and more.
Chavez-DeRemer herself was not interviewed as part of the investigation.She resigned her position a day before she was to be interviewed, the report revealed.In a statement shared with NPR, her attorney Nick Oberheiden pointed out that the report did not find that Chavez-DeRemer broke any laws."While some — with or without their own agenda — may not have liked the way she managed the Department, Secretary Chavez-DeRemer looks back with the same pride of having served President Trump's Administration and the American workers," Oberheiden wrote.Given the Labor Department's stated mission to improve working conditions and assure work-related rights, here are four notable findings of the investigation:People interviewed as part of the investigation described a "toxic, humiliating and intimidating" environment in the Office of the Secretary.
Witnesses described seeing Chavez-DeRemer...