FEMA Cites Misconduct and ‘Lapses’ by Ex-Official

A former top Federal Emergency Management Agency official who recently resigned has been accused of what the agency’s leader on Monday called “deeply disturbing” sexual misconduct that spanned years and warrants further investigation.

In a statement, Brock Long, the agency’s administrator, said its former chief component human capital officer was the subject of a recent internal investigation, the results of which uncovered “lapses in professional responsibility.” The findings prompted Long to request additional inquiry by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General.

FEMA documents list the chief component human capital officer as Corey J. Coleman. An agency official confirmed that Coleman, former head of human resources, was the subject of the scrutiny and noted that he had resigned June 18 before an interview that had been scheduled with investigators.

The internal investigation, which began in January and was completed Friday, found that Coleman had had inappropriate relationships with two female subordinates and had hired an unqualified friend.

The Washington Post, which first reported the accusations Monday, cited employee statements in saying that Coleman would sometimes transfer female employees in hopes that his friends could try to have sexual relationships with them.

The agency official said that Coleman’s behavior might have risen to the level of criminal activity and that the inspector general would look into whether sexual assaults occurred, adding that there was concern that Coleman’s actions did not represent an isolated case.

“Harassment of any kind will not be tolerated at FEMA,” Long said in his statement. “Anyone who disagrees with this zero-tolerance approach will not be welcome.”

He told employees in an email Monday that the investigation had identified a “serious problem” that had been “ongoing for a number of years.”

A written summary of the internal investigation into Coleman provided to The New York Times redacted the name of the target of the inquiry, but said the person had “engaged in serious misconduct and mismanagement” that created a “'toxic’ workplace culture.”

A FEMA spokeswoman, Jenny Burke, said the agency would not comment beyond Long’s statement because the investigation was continuing.

Attempts to reach Coleman were not successful Monday.

The summary said an investigator had contacted 73 witnesses and taken 98 statements after the allegations of misconduct emerged. The inquiry found that Coleman had circumvented his office’s management structure in order “to concentrate unquestioned authority in himself” and intimidate “any subordinates who might question his decisions,” according to the summary.

The summary found that Coleman had sexual intercourse with one woman in 2015, while the woman was his subordinate. Coleman also made sure the woman was assigned to work directly with him; pressured her to go on dates; and the woman was at one point denied a promotion after she refused Coleman’s advances, the summary said. The woman told the investigator that she kept her job by telling Coleman that she might be willing to go on dates with him again, the summary said.

The investigation also found that Coleman had a second inappropriate relationship with a separate female subordinate in 2017 and 2018. He allowed the woman to work from his home and made her accompany him on official travel even though she was given few responsibilities. When the woman said she wanted to leave FEMA, he created a job for her — even though she was not qualified for it — and paid for it with disaster funding, the summary said.

Finally, the investigation found that Coleman had granted an unfair advantage when he hired a fraternity brother in 2014 for a job the man was not qualified for.

Long said that as a result of the initial investigation, he had ordered the officials to establish an Office of Professional Responsibility that would handle allegations of employee misconduct. He also has ordered a third-party review of how the agency handles such complaints; counseling services for FEMA employees; and mandatory training aimed at preventing sexual harassment.

Officials said Coleman came to FEMA in 2011 as deputy personnel chief and was later promoted.

“We — as an agency — have a lot of work to do,” Long wrote in his email to employees, “especially with respect to sexual harassment in the workplace.”