Jan 17, 2018 3 min read

In this turbulent #MeToo moment, more than one observer has pointed out sexual harassment has less to do with sex than it has to do with power.

A November article in Psychology Today explained that sometimes individuals holding down positions of power “are more likely to view people as objects, rather than as individuals.”

So it shouldn’t be surprising Hollywood is far from the only place where sexual harassment has been an unspoken plague. Several recent news reports indicated it’s been happening in the far less glamorous warrens of Harrisburg, but the difference between the two is that Tinseltown harassers have had to settle cases out of their own pockets and face ostracism, whereas some Pennsylvania lawmakers have had their settlements drawn up out of sight, and have used taxpayer dollars to resolve these claims.

The Associated Press recently found Pennsylvania has paid out more than $1.5 million to victims of sexual harassment since the start of the decade, with a full $900,000 being paid two years ago to bring a Department of Revenue case to a conclusion, while a jury awarded $250,000 in December to a state trooper. The dollar amount could end up being higher as more cases come to light.

Then there’s the situation surrounding state Rep. Tom Caltagirone, a Berks County Democrat. A former legislative assistant was paid $165,500 in 2015 to settle a sexual harassment claim, and $82,500 went to her lawyer. The money was paid out of the commonwealth’s Employee Liability Self-Insurance Program. Former state Rep. Jewell Williams, a Democrat who is now Philadelphia’s sheriff, was subject to accusations of harassment when he was in the House, and the program had to pay $30,000, and Williams is facing similar misconduct charges in his new role.

This has led some lawmakers to say enough is enough, and propose policy changes that would make lawmakers pay out of their own wallets when they have to settle harassment cases, and not put taxpayers on the hook. They also want those settlements to be revealed when they are reached, and not swept under the rug.

Gov. Tom Wolf has also urged that payments no longer be made out of the Employee Liability Self-Insurance Program, and that Caltagirone resign.

“Verbal and physical harassment is flat-out wrong, whether towards an employee or any other person,” Wolf said.

Pennsylvania’s legislature has its share of distinctive problems, but it is not unique in having to confront sexual harassment. USA Today reported in November how Iowa taxpayers had to cover a $1.7 million settlement to a former staffer of the Hawkeye State’s Republican Senate Caucus after she complained about sexual harassment and was fired. Kentucky’s house speaker had to resign after being accused of misconduct, and a former federal prosecutor has been installed in Illinois to monitor sexual harassment among state lawmakers and their employees.

If a legislator – or any other official in Harrisburg – engages in misconduct, they shouldn’t expect it to quietly disappear on the taxpayer’s dime. They should be held to account. And the settlement payments should come out of their own accounts.