Gallupsurvey: about 1 in 5 reported harassment; Legislative Equity Office received 60 reports in 17 months

Gallup researchers presented results from a Capitol Culture and Climate Survey to the Joint Committee on Conduct, reporting that roughly one in five survey participants said they had experienced harassment in the last five years and that most people who reported harassment said their most recent incident occurred at the State Capitol Building.

Michael Tilton, a managing consultant at Gallup, said the survey sampled legislative members, branch employees and lobbyists to “understand how people experience the climate of the Oregon State Capitol.” Tilton and colleagues noted overall response rates were sufficient for analysis: branch employees had the highest response rate at about 42 percent, members about 35 percent, and lobbyists a lower rate.

Gallup described three categories of incidents asked about in the survey: harassment (unwanted behavior that impacts work), discrimination (treatment based on protected characteristics) and retaliation (because someone reported or participated in an investigation). When asked to define harassment, Tilton said the survey framed it as “receiving unwanted behavior that impacts your work or impacts your ability to perform your…