Why is Scott Walker’s DWD burning through Secretaries at a record rate? Workplace harassment might be one reason…

As reported here (and elsewhere) earlier this month, October marked the fourth consecutive month of job losses in Wisconsin, despite Republican rhetoric that they were focused on creating jobs in the state. In fact, despite their rhetoric about being focused on job creation in Wisconsin, Republicans in the legislature instead focused their time and effort on passing legislation protecting nursing home that abuse their residents, allowing the concealed carry of weapons, allowing home owners to shoot people on their property thanks to the “Castle Doctrine,” and on implementing abstinence only sex education in Wisconsin’s schools.

While Gov. Scott Walker and Republicans in the legislature have abjectly failed to create jobs in Wisconsin, the folks at the state Department of Workforce Development (DWD) haven’t fared much better, no doubt due in large part to the fact that in the 10 months of Gov. Scott Walker’s administration the DWD has had three secretaries. Manny Perez, Gov. Walker’s first appointee to head the DWD, left that agency under suspicious circumstances, and we now know that Perez is the subject of a workplace harassment complaint filed by a subordinate of his:

An official with the state Department of Workforce Development who was dismissed in October said she had earlier filed a harassment complaint against a secretary of the agency.

A week before she was terminated, Administrative Services Administrator Allison Rozek sent an email to one of her bosses saying he had avoided her for two weeks and met with her staff multiple times without her present. She asked if his treatment of her was related to her filing a harassment complaint against former Secretary Manny Perez or her “prior connection” with then-Secretary Scott Baumbach.

Welcome to Scott Walker’s version of state government.