California Capitol’s halls are stained by the ongoing protection of abusers and bullies

Nearly four years after 140 women challenged a predatory culture of abusive behavior within once-hallowed halls at the state Capitol, the state’s lackluster response is failing because it was designed to fail.

In 2018, a courageous group of activists known as We Said Enough risked their livelihoods and reputations by challenging the institutional safety enjoyed by (mostly) men who abused their positions of power by subjecting (mostly) women to toxic behavior that ranged from annoying to criminal and everything in between.

But what should have been a reckoning and a call to action for legislative leaders to make the state Capitol a place where women and men could work free of harassment instead morphed into performative justice.

Opinion

The Workplace Conduct Unit, a reportedly independent review panel designed to investigate new complaints of unacceptable workplace behavior, has brought little comfort to victims and actually wrought more pain and hurdles for those reporting abuse and discrimination within the Capitol.

We Said Enough co-founder and Sacramento lobbyist Samantha Corbin said she’s been fielding near-daily calls from women frustrated with the process in the years since the unit was established. Women who report their claims to the unit say they are being slow-walked until their paid leave runs out, which gives them few options other than to resign or withdraw the allegations. Meanwhile, they are still harassed and stonewalled by their abusers and their sycophants in the Legislature, while the investigation drags on.

Corbin said her recommendation to women who are reporting harassment, bullying, pay equity and racial and sexual discrimination is to seek legal counsel and find mental health support — because it’s going to be a long, frustrating process.

The unit is now facing a number of accusations, including from the original founders of the We Said Enough movement, who launched an independent survey this week to find out what the unit has actually accomplished and where it is falling short.

Moreover, the conduct unit places severe restrictions on its own authority. Claimants are left with no recourse unless the perpetrator is a member or employee of the legislature, even if the incident occurred within the Capitol building. A truly comprehensive investigatory board would cover every level of government and every operator who works therein — from school boards to city councils, and from lobbyists to members of the press.

“(The unit) is neither outside, nor independent from the California Legislature,” the We Said Enough group said in a statement. “Since the inception of the (Workplace Conduct Unit), We Said Enough has raised concerns that the system is not comprehensive enough to meet the needs of the government community, and that the system lacks independence and transparency.”

In March, the Workplace Conduct Unit was named as a defendant in a sexual harassment lawsuit against state Sen. Bob Archuleta, D-Pico Rivera, alleging that the Workplace Conduct Unit “failed to carry out in a timely manner the very objective that formed its founding” before the former staffer decided to resign, according to reporting by The Bee’s Hannah Wiley. Archuleta denies the accusations.

The unit claims to be independent of the Legislature by operating under the Office of Legislative Counsel, but this is not true. In fact, the Office of Legislative Counsel is appointed by the Legislature and enjoys attorney-client privilege with the very people being accused of these workplace crimes.

Unfortunately, even when the results of this study are released, Corbin said it’s likely the information will do little to sway the Legislature and its abusive culture, where everyone is so deeply entrenched in maintaining their tenuous grasp on power.

We Said Enough posits that only a ballot initiative will be enough to form a truly independent investigative board, similar to the State Auditor’s Office, which answers to no one and is free to release its findings without input or approval from the Legislature.

California voters should not be responsible for clearing the toxicity within the Legislature and be forced to pass a ballot measure. These lawmakers were elected to be representatives, not HR professionals who police their own misconduct.

Capitol leadership must stop protecting abusers so victims can have a chance to heal, and women can feel safe in California’s halls of power.