A report says Arizona Congressman Raul Grijalva reached a settlement in 2015 with a former employee, who accused the Democrat of being frequently drunk and creating a "hostile workplace environment."
The "Washington Times" report says the House Employment Counsel negotiated a deal for the employee to be paid five additional months' salary, following her complaint. The report says the female aide received more than 48-thousand dollars of taxpayer money.
In an email to the newspaper, Grijalva said, "I provided a severance package to a former employee who resigned. The severance did not involve the Office of Compliance and at no time was any allegation of sexual harassment made."
Grijalva added, "Under the terms of the agreement, had there been an allegation of sexual harassment, the employee would have been free to report it. Regrettably, for me to provide further details on this matter would violate the agreement."
The payoff appears to violate house rules that prohibit Congress members from retaining an employee who does not perform duties.