The Texas Senate, under Lt. Dan Patrick’s watch, has systematically buried and dismissed sexual harassment allegations against senators and staffers to protect the upper chamber’s image, according to a Texas Monthly investigation.
According to the investigation, two senators have been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women, Republican Charles Schwertner and Democrat Borris Miles, but the Senate has no records against either senator.
Currently, the Texas Senate has a policy that allows senators, supervisors, and their chiefs of staff to handle complaints within their offices without requiring that the complaints be recorded or reported to higher authorities.
The policy requires victims of sexual harassment to first report the misconduct to their supervisor or chief of staff before filing a complaint with the Director of Human Resources or the Secretary of the Senate. The investigation found that allegations are buried in the first step, and only the latter are counted as official reports.
Senate Secretary Patsy Spaw said no sexual harassment complaints have been filed in the Senate since 2001.
“The fact that they say that shows they have a problem,”Lisa Banks, an employment attorney, told the Monthly. “The clear inference is they’re making an effort to not have anything in writing, to cover themselves.”
The senate’s approach contrasts with Texas law, which holds employers legally liable for harassment if they are aware of the behavior and fail to correct or prevent it.
“Leaders in the Texas Senate have created a system in which lawmakers who sexually harass employees, interns, and students—a state crime—are seldom held accountable,” Texas Monthly’s investigation reads. “As a result of a lack of records, the public is left in the dark.”
Two women spoke to the magazine about the harassment they suffered at the hands of Schwertner, and five more said they were harassed by Miles, but despite the allegations against both senators, Patrick has not called for an investigation into any of them.
In fact, Patrick has rewarded Schwertner by putting him at the head of the Senate Administration Committee – the committee charged with enforcing the Senate’s sexual harassment policy – and last session he chaired the Business and Commerce Committee.
Patrick’s lack of commitment on pursuing sexual harassment allegations have been widely criticized, as the House does seems capable of investigating and punishing sexual harassment.
Last year, the Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan allowed the chamber’s General Investigating Committee to open an investigation over allegations that Rep. Bryan Slaton provided alcohol to a 19-year-old staffer to have sex with her. Ultimately, the House voted to expel Slaton from the chamber.
“The persistence of sexual harassment in the Texas Capitol has been an enduring stain, perpetuated by a culture of silence and complicity,” Phelan wrote in a letter. “However, the Texas House of Representatives has taken significant strides in recent years to combat sexual misconduct among members and staff as a part of a continual effort to ensure all Texans’ voices are heard and respected.”
After the Texas Monthly’s story, Patrick defended the Senate’s policies.
Patrick told the Austin American-Statesman that the Senate has a “strong policy that offers multiple avenues for victims to report sexual harassment without fear of retaliation while providing a fair and just process for those accused.” He also said he does not plan to change the Senate’s policies or adopt an investigative committee like the House.
Several senators have called for a change, as the magazine’s investigation showed that it is widely known in the Senate that staffers are free to sexually harass employees.
“Sexual harassment is not about sex. It’s about power,” Sen. Sara Eckhardt, D-Austin, told the American-Statesman. “We are in desperate need of fair processes, transparency, and accountability. Without them, power — and abuse of power — go unchecked. Clearly our current system does not work.”
