Federal Employees Face Hurdles Pursuing Sexual Harassment Claims
Even in the era of #MeToo, government workers struggle to obtain justice in cases of workplace misconduct.
Lisa Kincaid, in Washington, D.C.
Photographer: Greg Kahn for Bloomberg BusinessweekFor three decades, Lisa Kincaid relished her work as a special agent for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives—the agency that pursues gun runners, arsonists, and bombers. It wasn’t until she began looking into sexual harassment at the agency as an internal affairs investigator that she felt truly threatened.
In 2013, Kincaid was assigned to look into a claim filed by another veteran ATF special agent, SherryAnn Quindley, who said a male supervisor had harassed her and at least five others. After conducting dozens of interviews, Kincaid concluded that the supervisor had put his hand up one woman’s skirt, discussed oral sex in front of others, and bullied and belittled female employees.