U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA) has called on the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reassess internal policies following the sexual harassment charges levied against the agency’s former human resources director.
Former employee Corey Coleman has resigned that position with FEMA after being accused of sexually harassing female subordinates in what Rep. Comstock called “a predatory pattern of harassment.”
“These serious accusations include reported incidents of trading jobs for sex and hiring women whom he met on dating websites over more-qualified candidates,” the congresswoman said in a statement released earlier this week.
“With FEMA having a major facility in Winchester, I am calling on FEMA to revisit their sexual harassment policies regarding reporting, investigating and disciplining employees,” she said. “There also needs to be an audit of all employees hired by Coleman to insure there are no other problems created from his behavior.”
Rep. Comstock sent an Aug. 6 letter to FEMA Administrator Brock Long acknowledging Coleman’s resignation, but pointed out that “this incident speaks to a larger problem with the agency,” which reportedly promoted Coleman despite receiving the first reported sexual harassment charge against him in 2015.
“It is imperative that Mr. Long creates and implements a comprehensive plan regarding how the agency will correct the problems and injustices that Coleman created while taking advantage of a senior position within FEMA,” Rep. Comstock said in her statement. “Behaviors such as Coleman’s are unacceptable and federal employees should never be the subject of such harassment.”
The lawmaker expects FEMA to promptly address the harassment to ensure employee confidence around workplace safety “and without fear of harassment by those who hold power over them.”
Toward eliminating sexual predators at FEMA, as Rep. Comstock wrote in her letter to Long, the congresswoman wants him to submit “an outline of how the agency plans to strengthen their policies and correct the problems and injustices that Coleman created.”
No timeline for submitting that outline was mentioned in the letter.