Colorado House workplace harassment committee sends complaint to outside investigator
(Colorado Newsline) For the second time since its creation, the House Workplace Harassment Committee decided that a complaint warrants an outside investigation.
The committee, formed in 2019 in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal at the Colorado Legislature, voted 5-0 on Wednesday that the complaint in question falls in the scope of the harassment policy and moved to have it investigated by a third party.
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Due to confidentiality rules, the nature of the allegation, who made it and who it is against has not been publicly disclosed. The committee considers complaints that involve a lawmaker or partisan staffer. An executive summary with some of those details will be made public if the investigation determines that the respondent violated policy. It is unclear how long the investigation could take.
The committee met in a closed-door executive session for less than an hour Wednesday to discuss the allegation. Members then voted for it to move forward.
Committee members include Representative Ryan Armagost, a Berthoud Republican serving as chair; Representative Karen McCormick, a Longmont Democrat serving as vice chair; Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat; Representative Lisa Frizell, a Castle Rock Republican; Representative Matthew Martinez, an Alamosa Democrat; and Representative Mary Bradfield, a Colorado Springs Republican. Bradfield was absent from the meeting.
The committee met once before, in May 2023, when it also voted to refer a complaint to an outside investigator. Details about that investigation were not made public.
Legislative leadership is considering a change in the harassment policy that would allow the Office of Legislative Legal Services to speak with a respondent about allegations earlier in the process to determine if the complaint was made in bad faith.
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