In Florida, paid more than $ 11 million to resolve cases of harassment

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The state of Florida paid more than 11 millions of dollars over 30 years to settle hundreds of cases where government employees were sexually harassed by their supervisors, other employees, or forced to work in a hostile environment.

This is evidenced by the official data on remittances to settle claims, reports CBS News.

Since 1987, more than 30 lawsuits have been registered, settled by cash payments. The amounts ranged from 5 500 dollars to 1,3 million dollars that were paid to a student who was harassed by an official. Nearly 60% of harassment incidents concerned staff who worked in the Department of Corrections.

One woman received a payment of nearly 129 000 dollars in 2016 as a two-year settlement of claims, according to which her manager at the Florida Department of Health discussed her sexual experiences with her and also commented on her breasts and buttocks.

Marie Matox, a lawyer representing the woman, said she does not believe that sexual harassment is “more common” in the public sector. But she noted that in some agencies these cases are more common, and the settlement of such cases in the public sector takes much longer than in private companies.

John Tupps, spokesman for Florida Governor Rick Scott, said that only 2% of these payments were made while Scott was in office. He also noted that Scott signed a bill this year that protects people who are victims of sexual harassment, keeping their names confidential after filing a complaint.

“The Governor wants every government employee to be able to work in an environment where they feel safe. The vast majority of these expenditures occurred prior to the incumbent governor's appointment and were approved by the chief financial officer,” Tapps said.

The information collected contains only one payment made to settle a claim against an employee of the Legislative Assembly. In 1997, 165 000 dollars were paid in this claim.

But the report does not contain information about the secret payment in the amount of 47 000 dollars, made in 1988, when an influential member of the Florida legislature accused a female analyst of working with him in harassment. She was paid compensation even before going to court to avoid a scandal. But as a result, this case became public.

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