Report describes 18 reforms that address workplace misconduct in federal courts
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.
Federal judges will be trained in preventing sexual harassment while federal court employees will receive instruction on their workplace rights, according to a report released Tuesday.
The Federal Judiciary Workplace Conduct Working Group described 18 reforms addressing workplace conduct in an interim report on the U.S. Courts website. The National Law Journal has coverage.
The group was created at the behest of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. after the Washington Post published sexual misconduct allegations against then-Judge Alex Kozinski of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The report said Kozinski had made inappropriate sexual comments and engaged in inappropriate touching.
Kozinski announced his immediate retirement in December. He said his “broad sense of humor” had caused some of his law clerks to feel uncomfortable but that was not his intent.
Roberts had said the working group would evaluate the judiciary’s standards of conduct and its procedures for investigating inappropriate behavior. The current judicial conduct code for federal judges does not specifically address sexual harassment, according to a law professor’s Huffington Post article published in December.
The interim report says codes of conduct for judges and employees are being examined and clarified, but details are not provided.
Among other reforms noted in the report:
- Newly appointed judges attended a session on sexual harassment during ethics training in February. In addition, the subject of workplace sexual harassment will be included in existing judiciary programs on discrimination and courtroom practices.
- Orientations for law clerks and judiciary employees will include increased training on workplace conduct rights, responsibilities, and recourse.
- Less formalized options will be available for employees to raise concerns about workplace misconduct.
- An exit interview process will be created to help identify potential misconduct issues.
- Sexual misconduct will become a separate category in data collected on complaints against the federal judiciary.
- Ambiguous language on confidentiality has been removed from a model statement on the judiciary’s internal website. The language could have unintentionally discouraged law clerks and other employees from reporting sexual harassment.
