?anittd germs 0%En?tt WASHINGTON, DC 20510 January 29, 2018 Mr. R. Alexander Acosta Secretary of Labor Department of Labor 200 Constitution Avenue NW Washington, DC 20210 Mr. William]. Wiatrowski Acting Commissioner Bureau of Labor Statistics Postal Square Building 2 Massachusetts Avenue NE Washington, DC 20212 Dear Secretary Acosta and Acting Commissioner Wiatrowski, In recent weeks and months, the #MeToo movement has brought to light the experiences of countless workers who have endured sexual harassment for far too long. A vast majority of the American public agrees that this problem1 is severe, and it is time for our leaders to stand up and address this issue head on. However, there has not been an exact accounting of the extent of this discrimination and the magnitude of its economic costs on the labor force. We therefore request that your agencies work to collect this data. What is known is that harassment is not confined to one industry or one group. It affects minimum- wage fast?food workers, middle?class workers at car manufacturing plants, and white~collar workers in finance and law, among many others. No matter the place or source, harassment has a tangible and negative economic effect on individuals? lifetime income and retirement, and its pervasiveness damages the economy as a whole. The data currently available about sexual harassment paints a disturbing picture. While the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reports that 87,683 sexual harassment claims were ?led between 2010 and 2016,2 these numbers are confined to those workers who have been able to ?le a claim with that agency. The EEOC has also asserted that anywhere from 25% to 85% of women report having been sexually harassed in the workplace.3 Another nongovernmental source 1 Langer, G. (2017, October 17). Unwanted sexual advances not just a Hollywood, Weinstein story, poll finds. Retrieved january 10, 2018, from storyPidZ 50521721 2 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (rid). Charges alleging sex-based harassment (charges ?led with EEOC) FY 2010 - FY 2016. Retrieved january 10, 2018, from 3 US. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (June, 2016). Select task force on the study of harassment placed the number of women who have experienced unwanted sexual advances from male co? workers closer to 33 million, or 30%, of female workers in the United States.4 The personal costs of sexual harassment are often invisible, yet are no less real, and are often coupled with negative economic consequences. Sexual harassment can have both and physical consequences, including depression, anxiety, muscle aches, headaches, and high blood pressure.5 These ailments can result in missed workdays and reduced productivity. Harassment can also result in decreased self-esteem or self?worth as a professional.6 Often, employees are ?nancially coerced into enduring this toxic environment because they cannot afford to leave it. One report found that 90% of female restaurant workers have experienced sexual harassment.7 More than half of those workers endured those behaviors on at least a weekly basis, and often by customers. In some instances when workplace sexual harassment occurs, employees choose to leave their job, or even their career, rather than continue to experience harassment.8 In fact, women who have been harassed are 6.5 times more likely to change jobs than those who have not.9 These consequences are particularly concerning in science, technology, engineering, and math ?elds, where approximately one in ?ve women report experiencing sexual harassment at work.10 When women are involved in patenting activity, they are roughly as likely as men to commercialize their ideas, and mixed-gender teams are even more likely to do so than when men work alone,11 yet women with science and engineering are more likely to leave the ?eld than men. Those losses rob opportunities from our country as well as those individuals. When a worker changes jobs or industries, there are costs for the employer as well as the worker. Employees lose out on the ability to be promoted or receive raises or bonuses, and employers have to cover replacement costs to ?nd a new worker. This drives down the labor force participation rate in the workplace (C. R. Feldblum V. A. Lipnic, Authors). 4 Langer, G. (2017, October 17). Unwanted sexual advances not just a Hollywood, Weinstein story, poll finds. Retrievedjanuary 10, 2018, from Politics/ story?id=50521 721 5 Spector, N. (2017, November 10). The hidden health effects of sexual harassment. Victims of sexual harassment often experience emotional and physical for years to come. Retrieved November 17, 2017, from Spector, N. (2017, November 10). The hidden health effects of sexual harassment: Victims of sexual harassment often experience emotional and physical for years to come. Retrieved November 17, 2017, from 7 The Restaurant Opportunities Centers United Forward Together. (2014, October 7). The glass floor: sexual harassment in the restaurant industry. Retrievedjanuary 10, 2018, from http: rocunited.org/ wp-content/ uploads/ 2014/ 10/ 5 Merchant, N. (2017, November 29). The insidious economic impact of sexual harassment. Retrieved january 10, 2018, from Harvard Business Review website: hbr.org/ 2017 1 1/ 9 (Compared to approximately 50% of women who were not harassed). McLaughlin, I-I., Uggen, C., Blackstone, A. (2017, August 17). The cost ofsexual harassment. Retrievedjanuary 10, 2018, from workinprogress.oowsection.org/ 201 7/ 08/ ?0 Funk, C., Parker, K. (2018,january 9). Women and men in STEM often at odds over workplace equity. Retrieved january 1 1, 2018, from http:/ 201 8 01 09 Shambaugh, J., Portman, B. (2018, january 8). How many Grace Hoppers have been lost from the innovation pipeline? Retrieved )anuary 1 1, 2018, from 201 8/ 01 08/ from? the-innovation-pipeline Putm_campaign= 59909562 and increases the wage gap. Moreover, it is a loss to society. Right now, we do not know how many gifted workers and innovators were unable to contribute to our country because they were forced to choose between working in a harassment~free workplace and their career. We hope that you will seriously address this enormous threat to our nation?s workers by collecting data on the prevalence and cost of sexual harassment that can better inform policy and procedures to address these problems. We look forward to your prompt response. Sincerely, I: i Z. I :0 Kirsten Gillibrand Patty May United States Senator United States Senator Sherrod Brown Bernard Sanders United States Senator United States Senator Richard Blumenthal Jeanne Shaheen 7 United States Senator United States Senator I Inf? 1 M, Dianne Feinstein Margaret United States Senator United States Senator Aw Lam my; Amy ch? Mazie?k. Hirono United States Senator United States Senator Catherine Cortez Masto United tes Senator United States Senator Ron Wyden My Edward J. Maikley United States Senator United States Senator ck Reed nited States Senator Robert Menendez United States Senator ory A. Booker Unite States Senator United States Senator Tina Smith UCamala D. Harris United States Senator United States Senator A4644- Richar J. Durbin Chris Van Hollen United States Senator United States Senator