Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer reportedly accused of having an inappropriate relationship with staffer

The world is filled with irony, especially in 2026. Just a month ago, the world’s biggest HR organization lost a workplace discrimination suit. Now, the Department of Labor (DOL) could be facing its own potential HR violations.

A DOL employee filed a complaint against Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, alleging she abused her office and had an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate, the New York Post reported on Jan. 9. According to documents seen by the Post and its sources, the complaint also alleges that Chavez-DeRemer committed “travel fraud” by going on taxpayer-funded trips to spend time with family and friends.

The complaint, filed last week with the DOL’s Office of Inspector General, according to the Post, alleges the labor secretary invited her subordinate to her hotel room while traveling and to her private DC residence. It also alleges she engaged in other unprofessional behavior, including drinking during official department travel and in her office during work hours.

The secretary reportedly has personal ties in at least 10 of the 37 states she traveled to in 2025. On these trips she made brief public appearances, followed by “personal stuff,” according to the complaint, as seen by the Post, which also alleges that Chavez-DeRemer’s chief of staff and deputy chief of staff may have known about the misconduct. The staffers, who worked for Chavez-DeRemer while she was in Congress, have been put on administrative leave. It’s unclear who is helping run her office in their absence, according to Politico.

​​“These unsubstantiated allegations are categorically false,” Courtney Parella, a DOL spokesperson, told the Independent in defense of Chavez-DeRemer. “The secretary is considering all possible avenues, including legal action, to fight these baseless accusations from anonymous sources.”

A spokesperson for the office of the DOL inspector general, currently New York Congressman Anthony D’Esposito, told the Post in a statement, “It is the policy of the DOL OIG to neither confirm nor deny the existence or non-existence of any OIG investigation or complaint beyond what is published on our website.”

The Department of Labor did not respond to requests for comment.