In July 2015, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) completed a preliminary review in response to a complaint alleging that the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation, District Court Section, had failed to properly discipline an attorney who had committed sexual misconduct. The OIG’s preliminary investigation found that the Civil Division had imposed discipline on the attorney pursuant to its processes and therefore did not substantiate the allegation; however, the preliminary review revealed broader concerns regarding the discipline imposed by the Civil Division in incidents of sexual harassment and misconduct, as well as the Civil Division’s failure to report alleged misconduct to the OIG. Following these concerns, the OIG initiated this review to examine how the Civil Division responds to sexual harassment and misconduct allegations and to assess whether penalties adequately and consistently address substantiated misconduct.
Although there were few reported allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct in the Civil Division from fiscal year (FY) 2011 through the first two quarters of FY 2016, we identified significant weaknesses in the Civil Division’s tracking, reporting, and investigating of the 11 sexual harassment and misconduct allegations that we reviewed, as well as inconsistencies among penalties imposed for substantiated allegations. We believe that because each allegation of sexual harassment or misconduct requires consideration, the Civil Division must address these weaknesses and provide adequate guidance to ensure that it acts consistently with the Department’s zero tolerance policy.
