Kansas City Business Journal’s Post

BREAKING: A former Lockton executive has made a series of serious sexual harassment allegations against multiple senior executives at the firm and accused the Kansas City-based intermediary of wrongful termination... https://lnkd.in/e_mQRYhb #Broking #Property #PropertyCasualty #Retail #insurance #insurancemarket #insurancenews #reinsurance #reinsurancenews

The long-awaited outside investigation report of management misconduct at the FDIC was finally released yesterday (5/8/2024) by the law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. The report is devastating as it reveals a long history of management misconduct at the FDIC, including its current chairman, Martin Gruenberg. The Wall Street Journal provided a good summary of the law firm's investigtive report in its article below. A few key excerpts from the WSJ article: "Sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination have long pervaded the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., with perpetrators often receiving reassignments and even promotions, according to a blistering report on the agency’s culture that calls into question the leadership of Chairman Martin Gruenberg. "The report, crafted by law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and released Tuesday, was commissioned by the FDIC after a Wall Street Journal investigation in November revealed a toxic workplace culture at the agency. "Investigators spoke to more than 500 employees at the bank regulator out of fewer than 6,000, most of them current, who “painfully and emotionally” recounted their experiences of misconduct at the agency, the report said. "The 234-page report includes examples of brazen misconduct. Executives who were known for pursuing and having relationships with subordinates were promoted or moved to other regions or divisions rather than facing discipline. One senior FDIC examiner sent a woman a picture of his private parts, while another was known for going to brothels with colleagues during work trips. "Investigators also confirmed that multiple employees, including senior leaders, have experienced “extremely difficult and volatile” interactions with Gruenberg, a Democrat who has spent nearly two decades at the FDIC. FDIC employees, including senior leaders, felt “disrespected, disparaged and treated unfairly” by Gruenberg, and said the chairman was perceived as “someone who was angry and upset and who could not control his temper.” "After the Journal’s investigation was published, with reporting that Gruenberg had repeatedly berated staffers, he said he had been generally unaware of allegations of a toxic culture and resisted calls from Republican lawmakers to resign."  #fdic #finreg #federalgovernment #corruption #dcswamp #oversight #congress #banking #law #justice #usa https://lnkd.in/d-aKRjMg

Human services organizations are increasingly in the crosshairs of accusations and lawsuits related to sexual misconduct and abuse of patients and participants. And even accusations without merit can do irreparable damage to the organization’s reputation and bottom line. Discover ways to reduce your organization’s risk and how the professionals at Conner Strong & Buckelew can help. https://hubs.la/Q02GpcCq0

How will the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 and the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 affect employers? Victoria Wenn explores these two new Acts and how organisations can prepare for the new obligations coming into force. Having recently received Royal Assent, both Acts will have far-reaching implications for employers, with new liabilities regarding fraud and sexual harassment. Read our latest Insight to learn more about them: https://lnkd.in/eMtGh8kf #EmploymentLaw #WorkerProtectionAct #EconomicCrime

Companies talk a big game about a healthy workplace, but why then are so many facing huge lawsuits for sexism and harassment? Makes you wonder. Check out our latest blog about alleged abuses at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and leading insurance agencies for more on this. You will be shocked. Our Reflect AI tools could have helped prevent many of these abuses. #sexism #toxicworkenvironment #harmfullanguage #blogpost #aitoolsforbusiness #bettercommunication https://lnkd.in/eZTu9YmJ

Accountability = real consequences. To change a culture that for decades accepted behavior as widespread and egregious as occurred at FDIC, accountability measures, including termination, must be implemented. And agency leadership must not be cowed by threats of wrongful termination lawsuits. #accountability

Perhaps this case just passed me by due to the summer holidays, but this judgment goes to show that many lessons still need to be learned following the #metoo movement exploding onto public consciousness a few years ago. This seems particularly so in the specialist insurance sector which is known to be a male dominated space. Ranking as one of the highest payouts for sexual discrimination at a City company, it should go without saying but making any comments about someone’s sex life at work is never ok. This is why you need to train staff on appropriate behaviours in the workplace and take action when rules are breached. Senior staff also need to be reminded frequently of the impact such behaviour will have not only on their reputation but on the whole organisation. We only need to look at what happened at CBI to see the effects of this. Ex-Swiss Re underwriter wins £1.3mn in sexual discrimination tribunal case https://on.ft.com/48dlaBZ #discriminationlaw #ukemplaw #harassment #employmenttribunal

This Deputy Inspector’s actions and his attempt to cover up this incident and avoid any responsibility for it demonstrated tremendously poor leadership and character. Too often, men and women with bad, toxic, and/or arrogant leadership styles get promoted through systems that often go only by written test scores and not through a true examination of a persons skill abilities, knowledge, leadership traits, and character. As a profession, Law Enforcement needs to do a better job at selecting people for supervisory and command ranks. We must focus on getting good leaders and not good bullsh*ters or test takers. We need to select people of character not by optics. We need people that build relationships of trust and respect throughout the organization and with the community. Law Enforcement needs to focus on identifying talented, trustworthy, and skilled people with strong leadership traits and work on preparing them for future leadership roles. In 2011, Commissioner Charles Ramsey told me the following which 13 years later still rings true, “The greatest weakness in law enforcement is that we are not preparing leaders for tomorrow. Often in law enforcement, leaders are not selected by choice but by chance. In the military it is not an accident that leaders like General David H. Petraeus, US Army (Ret.) or Powell rise to the top. They are identified and developed for leadership.” We truly do need to start selecting our leaders by choice, not by chance. We need our agencies’ cultures to be focused not only on providing strong and effective leadership today but on developing our agenceis and the professions leaders for tomorrow. https://lnkd.in/gfk7taFx #police #policeofficer #policeofficers #officer #officers #lawenforcement #lawenforcementofficer #cop #cops #sheriff #policechief #policedepartment #deputy #criminaljusticesystem #copscountpolicematter #policing #policeman #criminallaw #publicsafety #communitysafety #qualityoflife #accountabilty #prosecute #districtattorney International Association of Chiefs of Police Police Executive Research Forum Major Cities Chiefs Association National Police Chiefs' Council National Policing Institute TEEX - Institute for Law Enforcement and Protective Services National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) National Tactical Officers Association National Police Association National Sheriffs' Association Police1 American Police Beat Law Enforcement Today California Police Chiefs Association California College and University Police Chiefs’ Association PORAC (Peace Officers Research Association of California) California Peace Officers' Association FBI National Academy Associates, Inc. (FBINAA) FBI National Academy Fox News TV Fox News Media https://lnkd.in/gf-9uRgz

This was obviously a bombshell when the WSJ article first dropped, this report makes it worse. I think there are legitimate questions around regulator performance when the individuals are facing conditions like those listed in the article. This is not so much a question on the performance of the FDIC and its findings, more so a pondering of if there are wider implications to be seen from the toxic environment at the FDIC. It's frankly shocking that the issues listed in the report are so wide-spread and lasted for so long. Could there be legal implications from this? We've already seen a significant legal actions against government regulators in the current environment, could this report help to launch more? "The report, commissioned by the FDIC and performed by law firm Cleary Gottlieb, portrayed a culture characterized by patriarchy and insularity, with reports of discrimination and harassment, particularly from female employees and individuals belonging to marginalized groups." "Over a span of five months, investigators took testimony from more than 500 individuals, primarily current FDIC employees. The firm also conducted interviews with another 167 individuals and meticulously reviewed thousands of related documents uncovering hundreds of instances of misconduct, some occurring as recently as weeks before the report's publication on Tuesday." "The misconduct detailed in the review ranged from inappropriate and racially discriminatory comments towards minorities to instances of sexual harassment, stalking and unwelcome advances — mostly towards women — at the agency. These incidents occurred across various levels of the organization, from field offices to agency headquarters. The misconduct, according to the report, often went unaddressed, with wrongdoers being moved to different positions rather than facing official sanction. Employees also reported a fear of retaliation within the FDIC, which they said discouraged them from reporting instances, while those who did make reports faced job loss or reprisal." #Banks #Regulators https://lnkd.in/gBDZRZe2

This news comes as no surprise to anyone who has been following the deteriorating situation at SSA OIG over the past few years. Two important takeaways. First, when designing an #antifraud program, #equity and due process matter. If you end up issuing exorbitant fines primarily to poor, disabled, and elderly people who don’t even know what they are being accused of, you probably need to go back to the drawing board. Second, an antifraud program without an ethical tone at the top is not just a recipe for ineffectiveness, but also for #corruption. It is a sobering reality that corrupt leaders and regimes are among the eagerest to position themselves as #fraud fighters. #oversight #accountability #CIGIE #ESG