The secretary of labor’s chief of staff and deputy chief of staff were placed on administrative leave on Monday, as the Labor Department’s watchdog begins investigating allegations of professional misconduct involving the secretary, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
The move to place the two officials on leave followed a report by The New York Post on Friday that said a formal complaint had been filed against Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer with the department’s inspector general’s office, accusing her of abusing her office and of having an affair with a subordinate.
Ms. Chavez-DeRemer’s chief of staff, Jihun Han, and deputy chief of staff, Rebecca Wright, were also named in the complaint, The Post reported. Politico reported the moves to sideline Mr. Han and Ms. Wright earlier on Monday.
According to The Post, the complaint accused Ms. Chavez-DeRemer of committing “travel fraud” by having Mr. Han and Ms. Wright create trips for the secretary where she could spend personal time with friends and family. The complaint also accused Ms. Chavez-DeRemer, who is married, of having an “inappropriate” relationship with a subordinate, The Post said.
According to complaint, the Post reported, Mr. Han and Ms. Wright knew about Ms. Chavez-DeRemer’s behavior. Both worked for Ms. Chavez-DeRemer when she served in Congress — she represented Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District for a single term, from 2022 to 2024.
Mr. Han and Ms. Wright could not be reached for comment on Monday night.
In a statement on Saturday, a spokeswoman for the Labor Department’s inspector general’s office said: “It is the policy of the D.O.L. O.I.G. to neither confirm nor deny the existence or nonexistence of any O.I.G. investigation or complaint beyond what is published on our website. D.O.L. O.I.G. remains committed to rooting out fraud, waste, abuse and corruption through objective, independent oversight of the U.S. Department of Labor.”
The inspector general, former New York congressman Anthony D’Esposito, assumed the office just last week. According to The Post, the complaint was filed in December.
Rebecca Davis O’Brien covers labor and the work force for The Times.
The post Labor Secretary’s Aides Placed on Leave in Misconduct Investigation appeared first on New York Times.
