sexual-harrassment
Shapiro’s office reached settlement of $295,000 with woman who accused top aide of harassment
About $45,000 came from the governor’s office and $250,000 from the taxpayer-funded state Employee Liability Self Insurance Program.
GOP lawmakers say Shapiro’s response to harassment case shows room for improvement
As lawmakers return to Harrisburg this week, some in the state House and Senate say they will be discussing a response to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s handling of sexual harassment allegations against a longtime ally and cabinet secretary that reportedly led to a secret settlement with the accuser. In response to statements by the administration that […]
Gov. Josh Shapiro makes first public comments about former aide accused of sexual harassment
During a press conference on Thursday announcing a conservation project in the Lehigh Valley, Gov. Josh Shapiro spoke for the first time publicly about the resignation of a top aide who resigned last week after being accused of sexual harassment. SpotlightPA reported that Mike Vereb, the Shapiro administration’s former secretary of legislative affairs, was accused […]
States seek to let teens as young as 14 serve booze in restaurants
WASHINGTON — As a former bartender and current tipped worker, Trupti Patel knows that customers tend to get grabby when there is alcohol involved. After working in the food service industry for more than a decade, she is accustomed to dealing with drunk customers who get out of hand, especially if they become belligerent or […]
With the Pa. House and more at stake, the race to replace a disgraced DelCo lawmaker is heated
A special election for a legislative seat in the Philadelphia suburbs would normally be a quiet affair, but with control of the Pennsylvania House at stake, the campaign to replace former state Rep. Mike Zabel, D-Delaware, is unusually intense. Zabel resigned in March after several women accused him of sexual harassment. The House Democrats’ narrow […]
House ethics panel prepares to take complaints as lawmaker accused of harassment officially resigns
A special election for former Democratic Rep. Mike Zabel's Delaware County seat is set for primary day on May 16.
I’m an abuse survivor. The Pa. General Assembly has to do better | Opinion
Changing and updating legislative rules are just the beginning -- not the end -- of addressing the issue.
Pa. Rep. Mike Zabel resigns under growing pressure from sexual harassment accusers
Pennsylvania state Rep. Mike Zabel, D-Delaware, told House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia, on Wednesday that he would resign in the wake of sexual harassment allegations from multiple women.
Women accuse Pa. state rep. of misconduct as House adopts new rules on sexual harassment
House Republicans, critical of the Democrats' move to block amendments, said the sexual harassment rules don't go far enough.
Lobbyist’s harassment claim shines new light on efforts to hold Pa. lawmakers accountable
A union lobbyist’s allegation of sexual harassment by a sitting member of the Pennsylvania House has again highlighted the need for comprehensive sexual harassment policies in the General Assembly, lawmakers advocating such rules say. Andi Perez, a lobbyist for the Service Employees International Union 32BJ, said last month that she was touched inappropriately by a […]
N.J. lawmakers pass bill to make ‘sextortion’ a crime
TRENTON, N.J. — Using sexual images to extort victims could soon become a crime in New Jersey after lawmakers in the Senate unanimously passed legislation last week to criminalize “sextortion.” Sextortion can involve someone hacking into a person’s computer or phone to steal sexual material and threaten to distribute it, or coercing a victim into taking […]
Wolf announces four bills aimed at expanding Pa.’s ‘It’s On Us’ initiative
In 2016, Pennsylvania established its own branch of the national “It’s On Us,” an organization aimed at preventing sexaul assault on college campuses and at schools, under the Wolf administration. However, Wolf noted Monday that it’s time to do more.