Feb 19 - The husband of U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has been prohibited from the department's main office following complaints from at least two female employees that he sexually assaulted them inside the department's building, according to people familiar with the matter and details contained in a police report.
The women told department officials that Shawn DeRemer, an anesthesiologist and the secretary's husband, touched them inappropriately while at the Labor Department building on Constitution Avenue in Washington, the sources said. A police report filed with Washington's Metropolitan Police Department on January 24 documents a complainant reporting sexual contact against her will at the department's Constitution Avenue location on December 18.
A police spokesman confirmed that the department's sexual assault unit is investigating the incident described in the report but declined to verify whether the report referred to the individual identified by department officials. The spokesman also noted that the police report was the only one linked to the Labor Department address in the past three months.
Department officials have not publicly responded to requests for comment, and Shawn DeRemer could not be reached for comment.
Video footage from office security cameras reportedly captured one of the incidents on the morning of December 18. The footage, which was reviewed in connection with a criminal inquiry, showed an extended embrace between the man and one of the women, according to people familiar with the investigation.
Following the accounts provided by the women to investigators, the man was barred from entering department premises, the sources said. The allegations about his conduct were raised in January as part of an internal inquiry by the department's inspector general, which was examining broader allegations of misconduct involving the secretary and members of her senior staff.
Earlier reporting indicated the broader inquiry led to several members within Chavez-DeRemer's inner circle being placed on administrative or investigative leave. On January 9, a Labor Department spokesperson told a media outlet that "unsubstantiated allegations" against the secretary were "categorically false." At that time, a spokesperson for the inspector general's office said it was the office's policy not to confirm or deny the existence of any investigation or complaint beyond information published on its website.
At present, criminal and internal probes remain active. The police investigation referenced the December 18 report and a separate internal review by the inspector general continued to examine allegations tied to the office of the secretary and its senior staff. Public details about the scope and timing of those inquiries remain limited to the specific reports and statements already described.
What is known
- At least two female Labor Department staffers reported being inappropriately touched by the secretary's husband inside the department building.
- A police report filed on January 24 records a December 18 complaint of sexual contact against a woman's will at the Constitution Avenue building.
- Security camera footage reportedly captured one of the incidents and was reviewed during a criminal inquiry.
- The inspector general is conducting an internal probe that raised the allegations in January, and several senior staff members were subsequently placed on leave.