WASHINGTON -- Two months after uncovering rampant sexual harassment, bullying and other misconduct at the National Park Service, a House oversight panel says similar problems plague the Forest Service.
A longtime employee at California's Eldorado National Forest said Thursday that the Forest Service "is rigged against women for reporting sexual harassment or assault," adding that male supervisors who harass or assault women are rarely disciplined.
Denice Rice, a fire prevention technician, told the House Oversight Committee that a supervisor who harassed and assaulted her was allowed to retire with full benefits, then was rehired as a contractor and even selected to give a motivational speech to an elite firefighting group.
"Rehiring this predator was a message to me and other employees that the agency did not feel he did anything wrong," Rice said. "I felt devalued and as if I didn't matter."
Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, called the agency's treatment of Rice "offensive" and said it echoed widespread problems uncovered at the park service, especially among firefighters.
The oversight panel heard testimony in September about frequent sexual harassment, bullying and other misconduct at national parks across the country, including at iconic sites such as Yosemite, Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. At Yosemite, at least 18 employees complained about harassment so severe that a recent report labeled working conditions at the park "toxic."
Park Superintendent Don Neubacher retired weeks after the hearing amid allegations of mismanagement, as did his wife, Patty, a deputy regional director for the Pacific West Region, which covers 56 national parks in six states.
Following the Sept. 22 hearing, lawmakers were deluged with "stories of harassment, discrimination and retaliation," Chaffetz said, not only at the park service, but also at the Forest Service, Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies.
"The number of examples and despicable acts were quite horrifying," Chaffetz said. "Some of these women had even been raped by co-workers but refused to testify due to the threat of retaliation and having their careers destroyed."
Chaffetz called the behavior "an immediate crisis" that needs urgent action.
"While many changes are still needed, the Park Service has begun the process to deal with their cultural problems and removed some bad managers from their positions of leadership," Chaffetz said. By contrast, concerns raised at the Forest Service and the Agriculture Department have been "dismissed as isolated incidents," he said. The Agriculture Department oversees the Forest Service.
Lesa Donnelly, a former Forest Service worker who now works with agency employees on workplace issues, said she has reported "egregious incidents of sexual harassment, work place violence, discrimination and reprisal" to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack since 2009 to no avail.
Forest Service investigations "invariably are turned against the employee reporting incidents," Donnelly said. "Reprisal is swift and severe."
A spokeswoman for Vilsack denied that and said "USDA has taken unprecedented actions" in recent years to combat harassment and bullying.
"USDA, including the U.S. Forest Service, has a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment in the workforce," said spokeswoman Catherine Cochran. "We take all complaints seriously and take assertive measures ... up to terminating employees when wrongdoing is confirmed."
Lenise Lago, deputy chief of business operations for the Forest Service, told the oversight panel that at least 70 people have been disciplined because harassment or other misconduct in the past three years, including 30 who retired or were fired.
While women comprise about 35 percent of the agency's 40,000 workers, the number of female firefighters remains significantly below that, Lago said.
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., said sexual harassment and assault of female workers is commonplace at the Forest Service.
"Paraphrasing from William Shakespeare, there's something rotten in USDA and the Forest Service, and it's been going on for 40 years," Speier said.
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