Harassment Training, Reporting Under Scrutiny In Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota lawmakers are moving to tighten the Legislature’s sexual harassment training and policies. The nationwide reckoning with the issue came to St. Paul late last year. Two male lawmakers, Democratic Sen. Dan Schoen and GOP Rep. Tony Cornish, resigned over sexual harassment allegations.

House and Senate policies only require sexual harassment training every five years after legislators are elected. Party leaders say they plan to do it more often and expect most of the state’s 201 lawmakers to go through training in 2018.

Several female lawmakers say more needs to be done. Democratic Rep. Erin Maye Quade and others are pushing to create a formal reporting process for victims and establish an independent investigative body for complaints.