Louisiana Lacks Consistent, Overall Policy on Sexual Harassment Training & Procedures for Agencies

An audit of sexual harassment policies among Louisiana’s executive branch agencies, including the four public university systems, found that the State does not have an overall sexual harassment policy in place that governs all agencies. Instead, each agency has its own policies on sexual harassment, but those policies are inconsistent between, and sometimes within, agencies in the same department.

In contrast, auditors found at least 20 other states that have promulgated a centralized sexual harassment policy or, at a minimum, guidelines that must be included in each state agency’s policy.

Auditors also sent a confidential survey to 30,000 Louisiana state employees to assess their knowledge of sexual harassment procedures. Approximately 3,200 employees, or about 10 percent, responded.

Among the survey questions was one that asked whether employees had experienced any degree of sexual harassment at work. About 16 percent of employees said they had experienced sexual harassment in their jobs. Of those, 19 percent said they reported the behavior to their supervisor, while 77 percent said they did not report it to anyone. When asked why not, 17.5 percent said they did not think the harassment was serious enough; 13.8 percent feared retaliation; and 12.3 percent believed nothing would be done.

Auditors also found that, between 2013 and 2017, state agencies reported 311 internal complaints involving sexual harassment and that Louisiana has spent approximately $5 million on lawsuits involving sexual harassment claims since fiscal year 2009.