A major controversy is unfolding at the U.S. Labor Department. At least two female staffers have made allegations that they were sexually assaulted by the husband of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, who has not been criminally charged but has been barred from the Labor Department's headquarters in Washington, according to reporting from The New York Times.
The women said DeRemer, who is an anesthesiologist in Portland, Oregon, "had touched them inappropriately at the Labor Department's building on Constitution Avenue," according to the Times. One of the incidents occurred on the morning of December 18 and was recorded on office security cameras, with the video showing DeRemer giving one of the women an extended embrace. The incident was reviewed as part of a criminal investigation.
The Washington Metropolitan Police Department's Sexual Assault Unit is conducting an active investigation. A building restriction notice was reportedly issued stating that if DeRemer attempts to enter the Labor Department premises, he would be asked to leave. DeRemer denied wrongdoing in a phone interview with the Wall Street Journal. The matter comes as the Labor Department's inspector general is also investigating Chavez-DeRemer's chief of staff Jihun Han and his deputy Rebecca Wright over allegations of personal trips paid with taxpayer dollars, with Chavez-DeRemer herself accused of having an affair with a subordinate and drinking on the job.