Fed Board fired four staffers, disciplined five others for sexual harassment, bombshell report reveals

The Federal Reserve Board fired four staffers and disciplined five others after receiving complaints alleging sexual harassment between 2020 and 2023, according to a report.The Board — one of the Fed’s three main entities along with the Federal Open Market Committee and the Federal Reserve Banks — received a total of 11 sexual harassment complaints during that span, according to a document the central bank released to Reuters last month.Between 2020 and 2023, the Board issued “last chance” warnings to four staff members for sexual harassment and fired another four for sexual harassment “and other work concerns,” according to the list, which Reuters obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request filed last year.The Board also disclosed three other sexual harassment complaints.

In two of those cases, the Board said it took no action because one allegation “wasn’t supported,” and the other was made against an individual who was not a Fed employee.Another staffer was “counseled on unprofessional communication,” according to the list of disciplinary actions taken under the Board’s harassment policy.It did not provide more details.“Sexual harassment has no place in our society and it is prohibited at the Federal Reserve,” a Fed spokesperson told The Post.

“We have a zero-tolerance policy which prohibits all forms of harassment, even if the behavior does not violate the law.”While federal regulators must disclose the number of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) harassment complaints made against the agency under anti-discrimination laws, they are not generally required to disclose disciplinary actions taken against individuals in the absence of such formal complaints when the reported behavior may not violate the law.As a result, it is not clear how the Fed data released to Reuters compares with that of other agencies.Subscribe to our daily Business Report newsletter! Please provide a valid email...