The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's board of directors announced the creation of a special committee on Tuesday to help investigate allegations of a "toxic" workplace culture and sexual harassment.
The board said the committee, which consists of two bipartisan board members and up to three other nonvoting members, will oversee an independent third-party review of the workplace culture. The committee will not include FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg, who has an alleged reputation for bullying and leniency regarding employee misconduct.
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“All employees at the FDIC need to feel safe and able to speak out if they are subject to, witness or encounter inappropriate behavior in the workplace," the board said in a statement. "Sexual harassment, discrimination, and other misconduct are totally unacceptable and have no place at the FDIC. ... The Board supports taking all actions necessary to identify and address the root cause of the problem and to promote accountability."
The new committee will be led by acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu, a Democrat, and Republican board member Jonathan McKernan. The two will serve as co-chairs. The agencywide review will be conducted by a third party who will report the findings exclusively to the board.
The review comes after at least 20 women who used to work for the FDIC reportedly told the Wall Street Journal last week the agency failed to eliminate widespread harassment and misogynist behavior among its employees. The report has led to calls for Gruenberg's removal by conservative members of Congress, even after Gruenberg promised to address the problems.
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Travis Hill, the board's vice chairman, praised the creation of the special committee in a separate statement on Tuesday, claiming his support partly came after the board agreed to provisions that limit the ability of FDIC board members outside of the committee to influence or engage with the review.
"I have had a number of conversations with current and former employees over the past week that have reinforced the need for the review to be truly independent," Hill said. "I know many employees, myself included, are proud to be associated with the FDIC and its mission. But that is not something we should take for granted. Pride and trust always and continually need to be earned, nobody is entitled to them, and I hope the FDIC comes out of this a better agency on the other side."