FILE - Oregon State Capitol building, May 18, 2021. A recent survey found 20% of Oregon State Capitol workers faced discrimination or harassment in the past five years among 651 respondents.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
About one in five people working in the Oregon State Capitol say they have faced discrimination or harassment in the past five years.
That’s according to a survey of 651 branch employees, lobbyists and legislative members at the capitol. Gallup, an opinion polling company, presented the results Wednesday to the Oregon Legislature’s Joint Committee on Conduct.
“What is the definition of harassment?” Sen. Suzanne Weber, R-Tillamook, asked. “How are these people being harassed?”
“It is receiving unwanted behavior that impacts your work or impacts your ability to perform your work,” said Michael Tilton, a managing consultant at Gallup, explaining how the survey question was presented to respondents.
In all, 131 respondents said they faced at least one incident of harassment. Of those, nearly a third described experiencing sexual harassment — inappropriate advances, requests for favors, or other offensive behavior, jokes or comments — and more than two thirds said they had experienced discrimination due to their sex.
About 22% said they had been harassed because of their gender identity or sexual orientation, including remarks or symbols offensive to LGBTQ people.
The number of people who report such incidents is “very low,” the survey said — about 18% of those who experienced harassment and about 10% of people who faced discrimination. Respondents said they feared facing retaliation, losing their jobs or that nothing would happen.
The survey was the latest indication of an ongoing issue at the state Capitol, which over the years has been rocked by sexual misconduct scandals and investigations into lawmakers who failed to act. In 2018, the state’s labor commissioner accused state legislative leaders — including Gov. Tina Kotek, who was house speaker at the time — of creating a hostile work environment in which reports of sexual harassment were ignored, underplayed or buried.
Wednesday’s hearing comes as lawmakers said they intend to change or amend Rule 27, the Legislature’s personnel rule for addressing harassment, discrimination and retaliation.
It’s unclear what those changes might look like, but Sen. Floyd Prozanski, a Eugene Democrat, said during the hearing that lawmakers should convene to discuss potential changes during this year’s legislative session. The rule has been updated repeatedly over the years.
More than half of the survey respondents “agreed or strongly agreed” that they are treated with respect at the state Capitol. In response to the survey, House Speaker Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, and Senate President Rob Wagner, issued a joint statement to OPB.
“We want to thank the Legislative Equity Office for initiating this survey and everyone who took time to respond,” the statement said. “We are committed to continuing the work to ensure the Oregon Capitol building is a safe, welcoming, and equitable space for everyone who works here.”
Still, about 28% of respondents blamed legislative members for committing harassment, compared to 20% for lobbyists and less for other staff and employees. A similar trend was reported among those who said they faced discrimination.
Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio, said during the hearing that the participation rate for the survey was “a bit low,” noting that only 17% of lobbyists responded.
“Are you more likely to have respondents that have issues, and the people who don’t have issues are not responding?” Diehl asked.
Camille Lloyd, a portfolio director for Gallup, said the survey’s response rate among lobbyists was higher than general population surveys.
“We don’t see a distinguishable difference with those who have had negative experiences responding more, or at a higher rate, than those who have had a positive experience,” Lloyd said.
The survey results were presented alongside an annual report from the Legislative Equity Office, which handles workplace complaints for the legislature. It said the office received reports of 53 separate incidents between August 2023 and December 2024. The majority — 26 — involved sex.
Of those, 39 triggered a review. Legislative Equity Officer Bor Yang told lawmakers that an investigator will only review an incident with a victim’s agreement, and ultimately reviewed nine different “circumstances.” Yang did not elaborate on what these circumstances were.
The investigator — who was not named Wednesday — declined to review six different incidents, either because the statute of limitations expired, the allegations were outside the scope of Rule 27, or the victim failed to cooperate. One of the remaining three was found to be a violation of Rule 27.