Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz announced today the release of a Management Advisory Memorandum to the Deputy Attorney General identifying concerns in the handling of supervisor-subordinate relationships across DOJ components.
This memorandum arises out of the wide variation the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has identified among the policies of DOJ components regarding romantic or intimate relationships between supervisors and subordinates. During recent investigations, the OIG observed that most DOJ components have policies regarding supervisor-subordinate relationships, but that those policies substantially differ from one another. The OIG is concerned that these different policies have led or will lead to inconsistent disciplinary treatment of supervisor-subordinate relationships across the Department for similar or even identical conduct.
The OIG’s review of allegations involving supervisor-subordinate relationships across components has led us to conclude that the imbalance of power between supervisors and subordinates has, in many instances, raised questions about the consensual nature of such romantic or intimate relationships. The OIG believes that a comprehensive review of the policies of the various components governing such relationships would result in an increased ability to manage the potential issues such relationships present.
Based on our investigations, the OIG makes three recommendations to the DOJ.
Memorandum: The memorandum released today is available on the OIG’s website under “Recent Reports,” and at the following link: https://oig.justice.gov/reports/2020/i20035.pdf
###