The former personnel chief at FEMA allegedly created a 'toxic' work environment where sexual harassment was rampant
- Corey Coleman, the now-dismissed personnel chief at FEMA, is reportedly under investigation for creating a "toxic" work environment, according to a Washington Post report published Monday.
- Coleman allegedly hired and promoted college fraternity brothers and women he met in bars and on dating websites.
- Coleman had also allegedly transferred female employees between departments so that his friends could have sexual relationships with them.
The former personnel chief at the Federal Emergency Management Agency is reportedly under investigation for creating a "toxic" work environment where sexual harassment ran rampant. Coleman allegedly hired and promoted fellow college fraternity brothers and women he met in bars and on dating websites.
Corey Coleman, the senior executive who had been employed by the agency since 2011, resigned in June, before an interview with investigators, according to The Washington Post. Officials were unable to question him since his resignation.
The allegations against Coleman reportedly included transferring female employees between departments so that his friends could have sexual relationships with them, an anonymous FEMA official citing statements and interviews said to The Post.
"What we uncovered was a systemic problem going back years," FEMA Administrator Brock Long said, according to The Post.
Long added that the investigation was "not going to stop" with Coleman and suggested that it issues at the agency may persist.
"The biggest problem I may solve here may be the eradication of this cancer," Long said to The Post. "How many complaints were not heard? I've got to make sure we have a safe working environment for our employees."
According to the preliminary investigation and FEMA officials, Coleman allegedly had sexual relations with two subordinates who accompanied him to work trips. He is also accused of sexually harassment.
One of the women alleged that Coleman refused to give her a promotion and tried to fire her after she cut the relationship off, The Post wrote. According to the report, the woman claimed to have kept her position by telling Coleman she may be willing to date him in the future.
The second woman claimed that when she wanted to leave the agency, Coleman created a new position for her that she was unqualified for. Coleman reportedly had also allowed this woman to work from his house.
Prior to overseeing FEMA's hiring practices for all 20,000 people in the agency, Coleman was the chief human resources officer for the information technology department at the US Secret Service, according to The Post.