Taxpayers shelled out nearly $100,000 last year to settle an employment discrimination claim out of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s former congressional office, documents show.
The $98,650 settlement was linked to a complaint alleging a violation of the federal statute banning discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR) annual report, obtained by The Post, shows.
The “Office of Congresswoman Lori Chavez DeRemer” is the only House office listed in the report as having had to settle a claim in 2025.
Chavez-DeRemer served as Oregon’s 5th District representative in Congress from January 2023 until January 2025, just before she departed the House to serve in President Trump’s Cabinet.
The settlement – paid out by the Treasury Department – is reportedly the largest stemming from a complaint out of a House office since at least 2019, according to Roll Call.
The exact nature of the allegation and when it was made is unclear.
It’s unclear if Chavez DeRemer was specifically accused of any wrongdoing.
The Labor Department did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Earlier this month, The Post reported that Chavez-DeRemer was under investigation by the Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General over allegations she abused her position by pursuing an “inappropriate” relationship with a member of her security detail.
The labor secretary was also accused of drinking in her office during the workday and committing “travel fraud” by having her chief of staff and deputy chief of staff “make up” official trips to destinations where she could spend time with family or friends on the taxpayers’ dime.
An alleged outing to an Oregon strip club Chavez-DeRemer took with staff shortly after she was confirmed by the Senate is also under scrutiny.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has launched its own probe into the allegations.
Chavez-DeRemer’s security man, chief of staff Jihun Han and deputy chief of staff Rebecca Wright have all been placed on administrative leave.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters earlier this month that Trump is “aware of the internal investigation, and he stands by the secretary, and he thinks that she’s doing a tremendous job at the Department of Labor on behalf of American workers.”
