Former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer violated her department’s anti-harassment policies and directed subordinates to perform personal tasks for her benefit, according to a new report released Thursday by the Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG).<\/p>\n
The findings conclude a months-long investigation initiated by an anonymous complaint alleging that Chavez-DeRemer fostered a hostile work environment, engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a member of her security detail, failed to comply with travel regulations, and used staff for personal errands. The investigation was led by OIG head Anthony D’Esposito, a former Republican congressman from New York.<\/p>\n
After interviewing 53 current and former employees, investigators determined that the allegations had merit. Chavez-DeRemer was not interviewed as she resigned one day prior to being scheduled for questioning. Her attorney, Nick Oberheiden, stated in a release to NPR that the report did not find she broke any laws, adding that she takes pride in her service to President Trump and American workers.<\/p>\n
The report highlighted four primary areas of misconduct:<\/p>\n
Tolerance of Harassment<\/strong><\/p>\n Witnesses described a “toxic, humiliating and intimidating” atmosphere within the Office of the Secretary. Investigators found that Chavez-DeRemer’s chief of staff, Jihun Han, and deputy chief of staff, Rebecca Wright, engaged in threatening and demeaning communication with staff, including remarks about appearance and hygiene and frequent threats of termination.<\/p>\n Several employees reported that Wright hired staff based on physical appearance rather than qualifications. Allegations included Wright advising an employee against cutting her hair to avoid “turning into a lesbian” and relocating a desk so a “fat person” would not be visible in the front office. The OIG concluded that Chavez-DeRemer was aware of this behavior but failed to intervene or discipline the staff members involved.<\/p>\n Inappropriate Relationship with Security Detail<\/strong><\/p>\n While evidence did not prove a romantic or sexual relationship, investigators established that Chavez-DeRemer maintained an “inappropriately close and unprofessional relationship” with a member of her security detail, identified in the report as ASAIC 1. This included obtaining electronic hotel records and surveillance footage from her residence.<\/p>\n The report detailed an incident in which Chavez-DeRemer asked her driver to enter a strip club with her and ASAIC 1. She gave the driver money to pay a performer, instructing him to drop bills onto the partially nude woman. When the agent hesitated, ASAIC 1 directed him to comply, and the report states the agent obeyed against his wishes.<\/p>\n Use of Staff for Personal Favors<\/strong><\/p>\n Investigators found that Chavez-DeRemer repeatedly directed employees to perform personal tasks during work hours. Using department-provided transportation, her personal aide and executive assistant visited her residence mid-workday to organize her closet, hang laundry, and fold dry cleaning. The report noted that a video of these tasks was sent to the secretary, constituting a violation of ethical standards as the duties fell outside their official scope.<\/p>\n Misuse of Official Travel Funds<\/strong><\/p>\n The report also addressed Chavez-DeRemer’s “America at Work” 50-state tour, alleging that Wright added official engagements to personal trips to justify the use of government funds. In December 2025, after Chavez-DeRemer received complimentary rodeo tickets from a lobbyist in Las Vegas, the speaking engagement originally assigned to then-deputy Keith Sonderling was reassigned to her to provide an official business justification for the travel.<\/p>\n Additionally, Chavez-DeRemer failed to report the tickets, valued at approximately $100 each, despite having completed ethics training on gift policies. Following her resignation in April, Sonderling was promoted to acting labor secretary, a role he currently holds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Labor Department inspector general report found former Secretary Chavez-DeRemer tolerated harassment, engaged in an unprofessional relationship with security staff, and misused government resources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1563,1561,1562,427,26,1564,10],"class_list":["post-670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-inspector-general","tag-labor-department","tag-lori-chavez-deremer","tag-trump-administration","tag-us","tag-workplace-harassment","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yovao.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}