http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Assemblyman-Steve-McLaughlin-sanctioned-for-12391743.php
Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin sanctioned for workplace harassment
Updated 11:34 am, Wednesday, November 29, 2017
ALBANY — Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin, the Rensselaer County executive-elect, has been sanctioned by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie for his actions related to a June 2016 incident in which a female Assembly aide accused him of asking her to provide nude photos.
The incident involved an aide to Assemblyman Andy Goodell, a Republican from Jamestown, who said McLaughlin approached her on the floor of the Assembly and made inappropriate comments.
The sanctions, handed down Wednesday morning, followed a more than year of investigation by an independent outside counsel into "offensive lewd comments" McLaughlin made to the female Assembly staffer.
The Assembly's Ethics Committee initially reported to Heastie in June that it was split on whether the alleged sexual harassment took place but recommended that McLaughlin receive additional harassment training. McLaughlin agreed to undergo that training and did so in July.
The committee initially split on whether to take action against McLaughlin, according to a person briefed on the matter. But the investigation was revived when allegations surfaced that McLaughlin may have leaked information about the probe, in violation of legislative rules. The committee learned of the leak in June before issuing its recommendations to Heastie.
McLaughlin was invited to appear before a legislative ethics committee last week but failed to appear.
The investigation was not related to separate allegations uncovered by the Times Union in late August indicating a top female aide to McLaughlin accused him of roughing her up during a heated argument at his residence that month. In that case, McLaughlin denied that he ever assaulted his aide but conceded that he had made multiple vulgar remarks to her.
The Legislative Ethics Commission recently turned away a complaint that was filed in connection with the August incident involving McLaughlin and his former aide. Lisa Reid, in a written response to a complaint that was filed by a person close to the aide, said the commission "does not have the authority to conduct investigations" and referred the person to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE), according to a copy of the response obtained by the Times Union.
In September, the Assembly committee issued a final report detailing that McLaughlin had disclosed the June 2016 allegations to an Assembly employee who then spread the information. The committee also asserted that McLaughlin made those disclosures before he was told by the Ethics Committee who brought the complaint, "undermining his claim (during the initial investigation) that he had no idea who would make such claims against him."
McLaughlin, who was interviewed by the committee in August 2017 and January 2017, declined to go before the Ethics Committee in October and again this month after the committee notified him of "renewed allegations" that he had sexually harassed an employee. In declining to be heard, McLauglin implied in a letter that the committee was the source of the leak, according to the documents.
Karl Sleight, McLaughlin's attorney, did not respond to a request for comment last week after McLaughlin declined to appear before the Assembly's ethics committee, which met for more than two hours behind closed doors on Nov. 21.
The committee concluded that McLaughlin was the source of the leak. What's more, the timing of the leak "indicates that he is guilty of the sexual harassment of which he was accused" and that McLaughlin lied to the independent investigator and was not credible in his denial of the accusations.
"The Ethics Committee notes the critical importance of confidentiality during the investigation process," members wrote to Heastie last week. "It was reported to us that, for approximately 4 years, virtually every witness interviewed by the Independent Neutral Investigator for Assembly investigations has expressed a concern about confidentiality. One of the purposes of the Policy's confidentiality provisions is to ensure that targets of harassment are not dissuaded from complaining, and witnesses feel safe to come forward. Therefore, the Ethics Committee finds that individuals that leak information that they have been instructed to keep confidential should be held accountable."
The sanctions include, according to Heastie's office:
- A letter of admonition be issued publicly to Assemblymember McLaughlin by the Speaker on behalf of the entire Assembly, enumerating the findings of the Committee and stating that Assemblymember McLaughlin's conduct violated the Assembly's Policy Prohibiting Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation as it pertains to sexual harassment and confidentiality, and is consistent with the standards of conduct to which Members of the Assembly should be held;
- Assemblymember McLaughlin be directed to cease revealing the name of the complainant and details of the allegations and investigation;
- Assemblymember McLaughlin be precluded from having any interns working in his Assembly or district office, and that the prohibition applies to interns assigned by the Assembly as well as any interns that might be engaged through unofficial channels; and
- Assemblymember McLaughlin be required to reimburse the Assembly for the cost of the comprehensive supplemental sexual harassment and retaliation prevention training he took in July 2017.
