FBI settles sexual discrimination suit for $22 MILLION

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has agreed to pay $22 million in a sexual discrimination class-action lawsuit that was brought against the agency. The payout is going to 34 different women who were allegedly singled out, dismissed, and discriminated against at the Quantico FBI training facility in Virginia. 

According to the Washington Examiner, the women who brought the class-action lawsuit against the FBI argued that they were sexually harassed by instructors, accused of infidelity, and were told to take birth control to "control their moods."

The lawsuit was filed originally in 2019 and stated that the women at the facility were subject to a hostile working environment and were treated differently than male co-workers. The lawsuit said that one woman was told to "smile more" and had to turn down sexual advances from those at the FBI training facility. 

Another woman accused in the lawsuit that one instructor would stare at her chest while sometimes "licking his lips." After additional reporting from the Associated Press in 2020 on the situation, it was alleged that senior officials in the FBI were accused of sexual misconduct with women who were under their authority at the workplace.   

“Through passive tolerance, the FBI has intentionally allowed the Good Old Boy Network to flourish unrestrained at the FBI academy,” the lawsuit states. The settlement in addition to the $22 million must provide the women who were part of the class action lawsuit "guaranteed placement" in their preferred field offices after they complete training.  

The FBI has not commented on the settlement and many of the reports were corroborated by an audit of the Department of Justice. In response to the AP's investigation into the FBI, the agency said it would be implementing a series of reforms that would include a 24-hour tip line to report agents engaged in sexual misconduct.