Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms: Bureau's Handling of Sexual Harassment and Related Complaints

GAO discussed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' (BATF) procedures and practices for investigating and resolving sexual harassment and discrimination complaints. GAO noted that: (1) between 1988 and 1993, BATF received 198 formal equal employment opportunity complaints; (2) BATF has not developed, implemented, or communicated adequate guidelines and responsibilities that internal offices need to investigate alleged incidences of sexual harassment and other discriminatory practices; (3) BATF internal offices' sexual harassment investigations often overlapped and were duplicative; (4) although BATF has distributed workplace harassment policy statements, policy implementation has varied greatly between offices; (5) BATF employees lack confidence in the scope, independence, confidentiality, investigative techniques, and objectivity of the sexual harassment investigative process; and (6) BATF employees lack information about the actual or potential disciplinary actions BATF can take against employees engaged in discriminatory behavior.