IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The number of known cases of sexual harassment committed by employees in Iowa’s executive branch has spiked since responsibility for investigations shifted to a single agency.
The cases resulted in terminations of accused employees at multiple agencies, including the Department of Transportation, the Department of Human Services and the Department of Revenue. Allegations of unwanted touching of co-workers, sexual comments and other inappropriate behaviors were confirmed.
The fiscal year that ended June 30 was the first that the Department of Administrative Services had exclusive authority to investigate sexual harassment complaints. The department reports it confirmed 10 cases of sexual harassment in that year.
The department told lawmakers earlier this year that it was only aware of three founded cases during the three prior years combined.
