Amid talk of Kamala Harris’ veepstakes, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro faces renewed scrutiny for how he addressed sexual harassment allegations against a key member of his Cabinet.
Last year, the Democratic governor’s office paid $295,000 in tax dollars to settle the complaint of an employee there who claimed Shapiro’s legislative affairs secretary, Mike Vereb, sexually harassed her.
A women’s organization has called for the vice president to take the case into consideration as she chooses a running mate. Separately, the Pennsylvania news outlet Broad+Liberty filed a related public records lawsuit last month.
Shapiro’s office should have done a better job preventing sexual harassment, said Emma Davidson Tribbs, director of the National Women’s Defense League.
“As the Harris campaign and the Democratic Party consider their options for vice presidential candidates, we urge them to consider the handling of past complaints of sexual harassment inside the Pennsylvania governor’s office,” Davidson Tribbs said Wednesday in a public statement.
“The American people deserve to know that, if called to a higher office, Gov. Shapiro will do more to ensure the safety and dignity of employees, volunteers, and constituents in his office,” she said.
In May, the employee filed a complaint against Vereb with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. Vereb resigned from Shapiro’s Cabinet in September, shortly before Broad+Liberty reported on the complaint.
Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, a Republican, criticized the governor last week in a post on X.
“Women are not props,” Ward wrote. “Don’t use me to rationalize mishandling of @GovernorShapiro sexual harassment scandal. It’s not over. Case filed recently in Commonwealth Court against Office of the Governor for more information.”
The separate lawsuit, filed July 14, seeks more information under Pennsylvania’s public records law.
The case first became public after media requests made under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law. However, the governor’s office has withheld many of the requests.
The plaintiff in the lawsuit is Broad+Liberty. When Shapiro’s office didn’t deliver on requests for records, the news outlet took the case to the Office of Open Records, or OOR. The agency ruled partly in favor of the news outlet and partly in favor of the governor’s office.
The news outlet then sued in state court.
“Petitioners respectfully request that this Honorable Court enter an order reversing the OOR final determination, in part, and directing the Pennsylvania office of the governor to provide petitioners with copies, including unredacted copies, as applicable, of all responsive records exempted by the OOR, along with any other relief deemed appropriate by the court,” the lawsuit says.
Shapiro’s office didn’t respond Friday to an inquiry from The Daily Signal.
However, Shapiro spokesperson Manual Bonder previously said: “Complainants and defendants often settle litigation for reasons not related to the validity of the underlying facts and claims.”
The Harris campaign did not respond to an inquiry for this story.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect the impact of a local news outlet.