Michigan Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence has placed her chief of staff on paid administrative leave following reports that former female staff members are alleging he made them feel uncomfortable with inappropriate comments.
The anonymous reports of sexual harassment emerged in a Politico report today. The article cited three former aides who left the lawmakers office after reporting a variety of concerns about the behavior of Dwayne Duron Marshall.
Lawrence is the Democratic Congresswoman for Michigan’s 14th District. The allegations come just weeks after Lawrence introduced the Congressional Sexual Harassment Training Act, which would require every congressional office to enroll employees in training to prevent sexual harassment.
Today she issued a statement saying she did not know about the sexual harassment allegations.
After further questioning from the 7 Investigators about the status of her Chief of Staff, Rep. Lawrence revised her statement announcing that Duron Marshall has been placed on leave.
“I have requested the assistance of House and outside independent management resources to investigate and assess the current environment of my office so that I can take appropriate corrective action as necessary. The Chief of Staff has been placed on administrative leave pending results of the investigation. I will continue to fight for an environment free from sexual harassment and my commitment has not wavered,” said Lawrence.
Marshall also issued a statement to the 7 Investigators:
“In my 28 years of public service, I have never had any kind of complaint filed against me nor have I ever sexually harassed anyone! In fact, for the last 17 years of my career, I have directly represented women in the workplace. Despite these slanderous accusations, I will continue to focus on working on behalf of the constituents in our district.
I will also continue working diligently to identify co-sponsors for Congresswoman Lawrence’s H.R. 4155 ‘Congressional Sexual Harassment Training Act’ which prevents the very sexual harassment I have advocated against my entire life.”
