A senior enforcement attorney at the CFPB and former civilian attorney for the judge advocate general at Fort Bragg, Martin said Scott Pluta, the CFPB assistant director of the Office of Consumer Response, demoted her after she filed a formal complaint of discrimination for being “isolated” and prevented from performing any “meaningful work” in Dec. 2012.
“There is a pervasive culture of retaliation and intimidation that silences employees and chills the workforce from exposing wrongdoing,” she said.
Martin alleges that in the two minute conversation with Director Cordray, he also said he was assigning her to another position within the agency, but the next day Martin discovered that position went to someone else, as MHProNews has learned.
A workplace private investigator who was hired by the CFPB to investigate the case, Misty Raucci, backed up Martin’s testimony, and said after six months she became a “veritable hotline for employees at CFPB, who called to discuss their own maltreatment at the bureau, mainly at the hands of Scott Pluta or [CFPB official] Dane D’Alessandro.”
Raucci stated Martin was subjected to “open bashing, bullying and marginalization” by D’Alessandro, and Pluta removed her from her position as chief counsel in the Office of Consumer Response.
Raucci alleges Pluta encouraged two lower-level employees to file complaints against Martin, one of whom stood to directly benefit from Martin’s removal from her position.
“I found that the general environment in Consumer Response is one of exclusion, retaliation, discrimination, nepotism, demoralization, devaluation, and other offensive working conditions which constitute a toxic workplace for many of its employees,” said Raucci.
While Martin’s complaint is still pending, Raucci said she has received complaints from a dozen other CFPB employees.
Vowing to continue investigating what he sees is a hostile work environment at the CFPB, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee said, “Hearing evidence of government-sanctioned discrimination is beyond the pale. And as chairman of this committee, if this was merely restricted to Ms. Martin’s story—as compelling as it is—I would not have allowed this hearing to go forward,” Hensarling said. “But instead, regrettably, shamefully, this appears to be the tip of the iceberg.”
CFPB officials were invited to testify before the committee, but the agency refused to send any witnesses.
While first calling for cancellation of the hearing, Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) are now calling for a hearing with CFPB management to discuss the allegations against the agency since hearing Ms. Martin’s and Ms. Raucci’s testimony. ##
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