Report reveals lawsuits by Legislative Branch employees for $165 million halted by the PROMESA Act
The Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico (OCPR) published a study on the adverse effects of dismissals, disciplinary actions, or other personnel transactions in the Legislative Branch on the Government's finances. In particular, those lawsuits, judgments, and related payments for workplace harassment and sexual harassment against employees or officials, and for political-partisan discrimination, were analyzed. For the evaluation, documentation was requested from nine entities and eight responded. The Senate of Puerto Rico did not certify or deliver the documents requested for this Study.
The Study reveals that, on June 21, 2022, the General Court resolved a workplace harassment lawsuit in favor of the Civil Rights Commission filed by two employees, with no amount claimed. In addition, four civil lawsuits filed by 108 officials before the Federal Court, with a claim of $165,000,000, were halted by the PROMESA Act. The lawsuits were filed for dismissals, disciplinary actions, or other personnel transactions for political-partisan reasons; none for sexual harassment or workplace harassment. The entities sued were: the House of Representatives, the Superintendency of the Capitol, and the Legislative Services Office of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico. The adjudication of these lawsuits in favor of the employees would be onerous and adverse for the entities of the Legislative Branch.
On the other hand, four entities certified that they had no lawsuits or other personnel actions for the period from January 1, 2018, to June 30, 2023. These entities were: the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico (OCPR), the Joint Commission on the Comptroller's Special Reports, the Joint Special Commission of Legislative Funds for Community Impact, and the Office of the Citizen's Ombudsman. The OCPR has complaints whose evaluation will be presented in a forthcoming report.
The Special Report recommends to the Secretary of Justice that he guide the principal officials of the entities of the Legislative Branch on the adverse effects of the actions taken against employees for political-partisan reasons, sexual harassment, and workplace harassment. In addition, the Secretary must guide them on the responsibility they have as officials.
This Special Report covers the period from January 1, 2018, to June 30, 2023.
The Special Report OC-25-14 can be obtained on our website: www.ocpr.gov.pr
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