The FDIC's culture transformation remains a top priority for the agency. The Corporation continues to implement recommendations made by the FDIC’s Office of Inspector General (i.e., Special Inquiry Pt. 1 and Sexual Harassment Prevention Program reports) and the independent third-party review (PDF) (i.e., Cleary Gottlieb recommendations). Actions taken focus on ensuring an effective anti-harassment program with new policies in place, confidential reporting channels, credible procedures for investigating and addressing misconduct, and accountability when allegations are substantiated. This webpage provides highlights of those efforts in support of maintaining a strong workforce culture that reflects FDIC values.
The most critical piece of the agency’s cultural transformation efforts is the complete revamp of its investigative process for allegations of harassment and interpersonal misconduct. Two new investigative offices – the Office of Professional Conduct (OPC) and Office of Equal Employment Opportunity – have been created to intake and investigate complaints. Both offices are independent of other FDIC offices to ensure their investigations are unbiased and free of conflicts of interest.
The FDIC has also taken a range of other steps to improve our culture and fix the broken processes of the past. Additional actions are listed below.
Workplace Reforms
Through Board Resolutions and comprehensive policy updates, the FDIC created a new confidential, neutral, and independent structure for reporting misconduct, including:
- Established a new Office of Professional Conduct (OPC) to intake and investigate allegations of harassment, interpersonal misconduct, and retaliation for reporting these allegations, and to recommend and/or take discipline and other corrective actions when allegations are substantiated.
- Established a new Office of Equal Employment Opportunity (OEEO) to intake and investigate complaints of discrimination and retaliation for engaging in the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) process.
- Comprehensively updated the anti-harassment directive to address recommendations made by Cleary Gottlieb and the Office of Inspector General, and to incorporate best practices and feedback from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
- Significantly revised our anti-retaliation policy to protect complainants from retaliation and to hold accountable those found to have engaged in retaliation.
- Developed a new Personal Relationships in the Workplace policy to guard against conflicts of interest and potential abuses of power or authority that might result from such relationships.
- Developed an interim solution for tracking harassment, retaliation, and interpersonal misconduct complaints, and expect to have a new case management system in place in 2026.
- Realigned the anti-harassment program coordinator function to OPC.
- Realigned the EEO alternative dispute resolution process to OEEO.
- Implemented standard operating procedures to ensure that OPC and OEEO investigations are fair and unbiased and that OPC has a neutral and consistent process for recommending and/or taking discipline and other actions when allegations are substantiated.
- Enhanced free counseling services available to employees including dedicated counselors with expertise in harassment and discrimination.
- Established a hotline in OPC where individuals can file a complaint about harassment, interpersonal misconduct, or retaliation confidentially or anonymously. OPC strives to contact individuals who file a complaint within two business days or less.
- Shared summary information and data with the workforce about allegations of harassment, interpersonal misconduct, and retaliation, and accountability for wrongdoers. Furthermore, rollout of the new case management system will allow for more granular data collection and reporting.
- Updated our agency-wide Code of Conduct and published a new Modeling FDIC Values document that emphasizes the FDIC’s organizational values.
- Developed counseling contact cards that provide information on the clinical counseling services and how to contact the dedicated counselors. The cards are available in the Student Residence Center and Health Units, nationwide.
- Developed and implemented new scenario-based anti-harassment and anti-retaliation training in 2025 based on best practices and consultation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
- Implemented new employee orientation that includes anti-harassment and anti-retaliation training for all new FDIC hires, including executives.
- Updated leadership performance standards to better support accountability for the detection and prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, and developing training for managing employee performance under these new standards.
- Conducted a travel policy survey that solicits employees’ feedback on current FDIC travel regulations, as well as Divisional/Office and Regional travel practices. Approximately 2,400 responses were received and are being evaluated.
- Published new guidance for renting vehicles to ensure that employees have options for sharing vehicles when on travel status.
- Retained an independent monitor to evaluate the effectiveness and sustainability of the FDIC’s remediation of its workplace environment.