U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines, Chairman of the U.S. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on National Parks, today applauded action taken by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to create an action plan to combat the widespread and pervasive culture of harassment and discrimination throughout the National Park Service (NPS).
“Our National Parks must be a safe place to work for all employees – free of harassment,” Daines stated. “I have always said culture starts at the top, and I am glad Secretary Zinke is attacking this issue head-on. I will remain vigilant in our oversight on this issue toward ending harassment and ensuring that employees can come forward free of retaliation.”
On June 7, 2017, Daines chaired his first U.S. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on National Parks hearing on improving the workplace in National Parks as it relates to sexual harassment. In the hearing, Daines called for more action by the Department of the Interior including better empowering managers to address and resolve any issues, better training and more impactful changes overall to the National Park Service’s workplace environment for employees.
A recent work environment survey issued by the National Park Service found that 38.7% of employees experiences some form of harassment and/or assault.
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