Tennessee legislature's harassment policy so far unchanged since lawmaker resignation

No changes have been made to the legislature’s workplace harassment policy after a lawmaker faced no known consequences from Republican leadership following an ethics panel finding that he harassed a 19-year-old intern last year.

Former Rep. Scotty Campbell, R-Mountain City, resigned weeks after an ethics subcommittee found he had sexually harassed a 19-year-old intern – only after the panel’s findings were made public.

Meanwhile, legislative administration spent thousands of dollars to relocate the intern to a nearby hotel for the remainder of the legislative session, and move her belongings back to her home. Records of what taxpayers spent to remedy the situation while Campbell remained in office are still not available due to strict confidentiality requirements surrounding the House Ethics Subcommittee's work.

The ethics panel's deliberations are cloaked in secrecy designed to protect identity of victims. However, because of the way the Workplace Policy on Harassment and Discrimination is written, it could work to shield lawmakers who harass staff or interns from facing serious consequences for violations by effectively acting as a gag order on any discussion of ethics complaints.

Analysis: Does state House harassment policy shield lawmakers from consequences?

It appears that neither the ethics panel nor leadership took serious punitive action against Campbell, even after the finding was final: Campbell maintained his elected seat, his legislative committee assignments, his office and staff, and his leadership position as vice chair of the House Republican Caucus until until mounting public pressure led Campbell to suddenly resign.

Following Campbell’s resignation, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, said that the House should review the harassment policy and have changes in place before next year's internship class comes to the state Capitol in January. He said the policy should be changed to allow for more transparency while still protecting victims' identities, and said he would consider making spending records surrounding ethics complaints public in the future.

Sexton indicated in September that changes could be coming.

“We're looking into it,” he told reporters at a groundbreaking event in Nashville alongside Gov. Bill Lee, adding that he’d spoken with House speakers from other states about how their policies are worded. “We're researching it from that standpoint.”

The goal is to protect victims and their privacy, while allowing for true accountability for lawmakers and other staff who violate the policy.

“I've always said, you try to protect the victim the best that you can so that they feel safe coming forward to where you don't minimize them wanting to report stuff, but also give enough transparency to where people know what's happened,” Sexton said. “That's a delicate balance to find, and all states are kind of trying to find that right balance right now.”

But while further conversations about the policy have taken place, the legislature’s harassment policy remains unchanged, with weeks to go before lawmakers – and interns – return to the Capitol in January.

“As Speaker Sexton has previously said on multiple occasions, we are continuing to review and discuss the General Assembly’s Workplace Discrimination and Harassment Policy,” Sexton spokesperson Doug Kufner told The Tennessean.

The speaker’s office did not respond to questions about whether any meetings have occurred since April to discuss revisions to the policy, whether Sexton has consulted with the legislative internship coordinator or solicited feedback from any universities participating in the internship.

The office also declined to identify any specific policy changes the speaker feels should be made, including whether records of legislative administration spending surrounding ethics investigations and remedial measures should be made public.

Legislative officials still have yet to release any record – or even a dollar amount – of what taxpayer money the Office of Legislative Administration appears to have spent to address the situation created by Campbell’s harassment of an intern who lived in the same apartment building.

Director of Legislative Administration Connie Ridley also indicated that conversations have continued.

“We have and continue to conduct ongoing discussions regarding our Policy on Discrimination and Harassment,” Ridley told The Tennessean in an email.

Vivian Jones covers state politics and government for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.com. 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TN legislature harassment policy unchanged after Scotty Campbell case