The U.S. Department of Labor detailed a “recurring pattern” of workplace misconduct under former Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer in a Sept. 3 report.
The investigation was launched in early January in response to an anonymous complaint that alleged Chavez-DeRemer — along with her chief of staff and deputy chief of staff — created a hostile work environment. The complaint also alleged the secretary engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a security team member, flouted travel regulations, drank alcohol at DOL and during work hours, asked direct reports to perform personal tasks and accepted gifts without following the department’s ethics policy.
Chavez-DeRemer resigned amid the controversy in April.
In addition to investigating the secretary, the two chiefs of staff and a security team member, DOL also investigated the director of advance, who served as the lead planner of the secretary’s public appearances, events and travel.
DOL’s Office of Inspector General interviewed 53 current and former DOL employees and reviewed more than 500 documents, images and videos, according to the report, finding that “a preponderance of the evidence substantiated multiple violations of DOL policy by all five former DOL officials who were subjects of this investigation[.]”
Harassment allegations
According to the report, 38 witnesses told OIG the work environment surrounding Chavez-DeRemer was “toxic, intimidating and humiliating,” with the chief of staff and deputy chief of staff repeatedly named as central to this environment.
Witnesses said Chavez-DeRemer and her chiefs of staff discussed employee performance matters in front of other staff, including “whether employees had cried” during performance-related meetings. Employees described “widespread fear and job insecurity” at DOL, with threats of termination, favoritism toward senior staff and “beatdowns” — in which workers were berated for perceived performance issues — all common.
The director of advance engaged in bullying and intimidation, per the report; witnesses described one incident in which the director backed a career employee into a cubicle while confronting them over unpaid travel vouchers, for example.
Claims of an inappropriate relationship and more
OIG also said it interviewed 35 witnesses about Chavez-DeRemer’s alleged relationship with a member of her protective detail. “Witnesses described interactions they viewed as inconsistent with the professional boundaries ordinarily expected between a Cabinet-level protectee and a protective-detail agent,” the report said.
Employees observed the two regularly exchanging text messages, including outside of work hours and on non-department matters. They also described unusually informal interactions, a massage and sexual innuendo. OIG further obtained door lock records from hotels the two traveled to and discovered “activity that appeared to indicate the two subjects spending at least portions overnight in the other’s room.”
The relationship directly affected other staff as well, investigators found. Per the report, during a trip to Oregon, the secretary requested a stop at an establishment featuring “partially nude dancers.” She entered with the security member and her driver, and gave her driver money to give to a performer. When the driver expressed hesitation, the security member told him to listen to the secretary, according to the report.
The relationship also interfered with the agent’s ability to perform his protective duties, the report concluded.
Beyond the harassment and relationship allegations, investigators found that Chavez-DeRemer improperly combined personal and official travel, violated the department’s vehicle rental policies, regularly drank and stored alcohol on-site without the proper approval, directed subordinates to perform personal tasks, and accepted gifts — such as tickets to a rodeo and an alligator-hide wallet — without going through the proper ethics channels.
Next steps
As a result of the investigation, OIG recommended DOL establish structural independence for the division of protective operations; establish independent and recurring oversight of DOL senior official travel; establish or revise a department-wide policy regarding relationships between supervisors and subordinates; mandate training on inappropriate workplace relationships; and strengthen whistleblower protections.
The report appears to cap off a scandal-ridden year for the department of labor under Chavez-DeRemer, who was confirmed in March 2025. She was succeeded by former Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling, who remains acting secretary and whose confirmation is pending.
HR Dive contacted Think Big, the PR firm where Chavez-DeRemer is now a senior advisor, to try to reach her but did not receive a response by press time.
