^tDsx
' O \
I® I
o
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Inspector General
At a Glance
17-P-0343
July 31, 2017
Why We Did This Audit
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Office
of Inspector General (OIG)
conducted this audit in
response to a congressional
request to determine whether
EPA Region 5 managers
appropriately handled sexual
harassment allegations.
The objective of the audit was
to determine whether
EPA Region 5's policies and
practices for addressing sexual
harassment complaints made
through the human resources
complaint process and the
Equal Employment Opportunity
(EEO) complaint process
adhere to established agency
policies and meet federal
requirements.
This report addresses the
following EPA goal or
cross-agency strategy:
• Embracing EPA as a high-
performing organization
EPA Region 5 Has Adequate Policies and Procedures
for Addressing Sexual Harassment Allegations
What We Found
EPA Region 5's policies and practices for
addressing sexual harassment allegations
adhere to EPA policies and procedures and
meet federal requirements in 29 CFR §§
1604.11 and 1614, as well as U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission
guidance.
EPA's sexual harassment complaints may be filed through the human
resources process, EEO complaint process, or both. Region 5 identified
12 sexual harassment complaints processed between fiscal years 2012 and
2016—six processed by the region's Human Resources Branch and six by
the region's Office of Civil Rights. Our review of the case files for the
12 complaints, and interviews with the EPA officials involved in resolving
these complaints, confirmed that Region 5 addressed the complaints in
accordance with agency policies and procedures.
Agency Response
No recommendations are being made because pertinent policies and
procedures were in place and being followed. We issued a discussion
document on June 20, 2017, for the agency's review. The agency response
suggested only minor edits. The OIG considered the agency's suggestions
and modified the report accordingly.
Noteworthy Achievements
Region 5 addressed
complaints in
accordance with agency
policies and procedures.
No recommendations
are being made.
During the audit, we learned that, starting March 2016, the Region 5 human
resources office began tracking all sexual harassment fact-finding
investigations in the agency's national tracking database—Labor and
Employee Relations Information System (LERIS)—regardless of whether
disciplinary action was involved. Agency policy only requires the tracking of
cases involving disciplinary actions. The additional tracking in LERIS could
enhance the region's ability to determine the pervasiveness of sexual
harassment and address it accordingly. The additional tracking also allows
Send all inquiries to our public	f°r information sharing with other regions, which could promote consistency
affairs office at (202) 566-2391	in corrective actions agencywide.
or visit www.epa.gov/oiq.
Listing of OIG reports.

-------