The Department of Justice concluded that former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and his executive staff subjected female employees to a “sexually hostile work environment,” and then retaliated against several who complained, according to a settlement announced on Friday.
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The findings appear to largely substantiate the investigation of the New York attorney general, Letitia James, who concluded that Mr. Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women, amid a culture of fear and intimidation. Mr. Cuomo, who denied having sexually harassed anyone, resigned in August 2021, shortly after the release of Ms. James’s report.
Since his departure, Mr. Cuomo has engaged in a multipronged campaign to discredit the report and Ms. James as being politically motivated, and has been slowly maneuvering toward re-entering political life.
But Mr. Cuomo’s efforts may be sharply compromised by the Justice Department findings, which determined that he repeatedly subjected women who worked for him to unwelcome sexual contact, comments and looks, and gave preferential treatment to some women based on their physical appearance.
The report adds that Executive Chamber staff enabled this conduct, retaliating against some of the people who complained. The Justice Department characterized the chamber’s response as being “designed only to protect Cuomo from further accusations, rather than to protect employees from sexual harassment.”
Rita Glavin, a lawyer for Mr. Cuomo, called into question the methodology of the Justice Department’s investigation, noting that Mr. Cuomo had not been contacted. “This is nothing more than a political settlement with no investigation,” Ms. Glavin said, adding: “Governor Cuomo did not sexually harass anyone.”
The Justice Department’s findings were included in a settlement it reached with the administration of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who succeeded Mr. Cuomo.
Under the terms of the settlement, the Hochul administration has initiated a series of reforms aimed at preventing future misconduct, which include new avenues of external reporting and investigation, an expansion of the chamber’s human resources department and removal of employees who were identified as having enabled Mr. Cuomo’s misconduct.
Ms. Hochul said in a statement that she was pleased the Justice Department had acknowledged her administration’s efforts, adding: “The moment I took office, I knew I needed to root out the culture of harassment that had previously plagued the Executive Chamber and implement strong policies to promote a safe workplace for all employees, and took immediate action to do so.”
Last week, Mr. Cuomo filed a lawsuit seeking to compel Ms. James’s office to release investigative materials that he has claimed will vindicate him. He has also aggressively defended himself against civil suits from women who claim that he sexually harassed them.
In 2021, Mr. Cuomo was charged with groping a former executive staff member named Brittany Commisso. The case was dropped after the Albany County district attorney found that there was not sufficient evidence to proceed. District attorneys in Westchester, Nassau, Manhattan and Oswego Counties also investigated the conduct in Ms. James’s report, but chose not to pursue charges against the former governor.
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