Candidates were being interviewed for the new HR position after an ex-Republican Senate employee alleged a sexually-charged workplace and won a $1.75 million settlement. The new director will be charged with hearing sexual harassment complaints and with advising legislators and other statehouse supervisors about workplace issues.
Kevin Pokorny, a private sector expert on workplace sexual harassment, called the search for an HR director a “step in the right direction.”
“This is pretty generic as far as what an H.R. Director would be doing,” he said. “That’s been needed there.”
But Senate Minority Leader Janet Peterson (D-Des Moines) said her party had no involvement in coming up with the new position or the interviews. “Senate Democrats are focused on policy reforms and other changes that will actually ensure that the Iowa Senate becomes a safer and healthier workplace,” she said.