Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is calling for Senate employees to attend mandatory sexual harassment training, according to a Tuesday letter to the Senate Rules Committee.
The training is at this time voluntary, but Grassley called for that to change. "My understanding is that many offices require their staff to participate in sexual harassment training provided by the Office of Compliance for the United States Congress. But as this training is not mandatory, some may not be receiving it," Grassley wrote.
"I am convinced that sexual harassment training is vitally important to maintaining a respectful and productive work environment in Congress."
Grassley proposed that a letter from the committee would be enough to make the training mandatory for current and new employees, citing a 2016 letter that made cybersecurity training a requirement.
The Office of Compliance, which handles harassment issues, circulated an email in Senate offices on Monday encouraging staff members to complete training in the office's sexual misconduct awareness program.
The sexual harassment training course provides "valuable information on what behavior is considered sexual harassment and how to prevent sexual harassment in the congressional workplace," Laura Cech, the OOC's publications and outreach manager, wrote in the email, according to Politico.
Over in the House of Representatives, Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., introduced a bill to make training mandatory and to streamline the process for a harassment victim to get results from a complaint, Politico reported.
Forty-eight percent of women said they have experienced sexual harassment at work, according to a Monday poll by NBC and The Wall Street Journal.
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