More than a third of employees at FDIC report harassment

FILE PHOTO: A view of a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation building October 25, 2010. REUTERS/Jim Young/File Photo© Thomson Reuters

(Reuters) -More than a third of employees surveyed at the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation reported experiencing or witnessing workplace harassment, the agency’s watchdog reported on Thursday.

The findings by the FDIC’s Office of Inspector General follow more than a year of turmoil at the top banking regulator that saw its chairman Martin Gruenberg offer to resign in the wake of an internal investigation, which uncovered widespread misconduct and toxic behavior.

The OIG’s review of settlements and complaints also supported the view among staff that some top managers had failed to protect or had retaliated against those who complained, the office said.

“These conditions occurred because FDIC leadership does not consistently implement the agency’s policies and stated core values, specifically, fairness, accountability, and integrity,” the watchdog agency said in a statement.

However, most survey respondents said they felt “safe, valued and respected” and reported positive views about their co-workers and immediate superiors, the office said.

The OIG had also reported in August that the FDIC’s sexual harassment prevention efforts were deficient.

In written comments on the report’s findings submitted prior to release, FDIC Chief Operating Officer Daniel Bendler said the agency accepted all six of the OIG’s recommendations for improving the tone set by FDIC leadership and other matters.

Bendler also said the agency had made progress on a plan of action adopted last year and there was “no higher priority” at the FDIC than creating a safe working environment.

In June, President Joe Biden tapped Christy Goldsmith-Romero, a member of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, to replace Gruenberg.

However the Democratic-controlled Senate had not voted to confirm her before Donald Trump won November’s presidential elections. Gruenberg has said he will retire in January, clearing the way for Trump to replace him.

(Reporting by Douglas Gillison; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Aurora Ellis)