SALEM — The person tasked with investigating workplace complaints within the Oregon Legislature quit recently after only a little more than two months on the job, citing a disorganized and dysfunctional office in a scathing exit memo.

Nate Monson, who held the job of acting legislative equity officer, stepped down June 16. In his resignation letter, Monson painted a portrait of an office that was struggling when he arrived, and not much better upon his departure.

“The severity of the situation means that justice is not being given to those who have come forward,” wrote Monson, who attached a memo detailing problems with the office that serves as a clearinghouse for workplace complaints filed by lawmakers and legislative staffers.

The nonpartisan office was created in 2019 as part of an attempt to improve workplace culture at the Oregon Capitol. It came after multiple women, including lawmakers, accused then Sen. Jeff Kruse, R-Roseburg, of repeatedly harassing them. Kruse resigned, but the incident spurred calls for more robust handling of sexual harassment complaints.

Monson said that when he took the job in April, there were no case files, minimal records of who had completed anti-harassment training and unanswered emails from people who had waited months to hear back from the office.

“There is a track record of individuals reporting and cases being unheard,” wrote Monson, without detailing the nature of the unheard cases. “The consequences of this office’s failures are astonishingly serious.”

He also suggested that some complaints from people working in the Capitol were not being taken seriously.

“I noticed a dismissive culture in the building of staff members. ‘They are crazy’ was said a lot,” Monson said. “I would encourage accountability of all appointing authorities, managers, and members. No one should be dismissed on their case for ‘being crazy.’”

Monson sent the resignation letter and memo to the four co-chairs of the Joint Conduct Committee, which oversees the office.

None of the four co-chairs, two Democrats and two Republicans, responded to requests for comment from The Oregonian/OregonLive. Monson could not be reached.

A spokesperson for House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, said that while the speaker doesn’t directly oversee the Legislative Equity Office, the co-chairs of the Joint Conduct Committee have brought Monson’s concerns to Kotek’s attention.

Kotek “supports their efforts to get to the bottom of any past problems and increase financial and administrative oversight of the office moving forward,” said Lindsey O’Brien, the speaker’s chief of staff.

The person who led the office before Monson is defending their work. Jackie Sandmeyer, who was the first person to serve in the role, held the job from Dec. 2019 until just before Monson took over in April.

“I was surprised to learn of Mr. Monson’s claims,” said Sandmeyer in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive. “I am proud of my work to establish the Legislative Equity Office, including developing reporting processes and policies and procedures, all of which had not existed before.”

Sandmeyer, who leads a Portland consulting firm that specializes in federal and state sexual harassment laws, said they offered to stay on the job for an additional three months to help provide a smooth transition in leadership. But they said Monson refused the offer.

“He told me he was confident in his responsibilities in the role and thanked me for my support,” wrote Sandmeyer. “At no time while we were working together nor afterward did Mr. Monson bring any concerns to my attention, request additional information nor let me know that he was experiencing challenges in the role.”

Among the problems Monson said he encountered when he took the job: an ongoing failure to pay law firms hired to conduct independent investigations of lawmakers accused of harassment.

“The unpaid balances have resulted in paused work multiple times,” wrote Monson. “This has impacted every investigation.”

When Monson took over the job April 12, he immediately had a new harassment complaint on his hands. A Republican lawmaker, Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson of Prineville, accused Rep. Brad Witt of Clatskanie, the Democrat who chaired a committee she served on, of sending her text messages that appeared to suggest Witt would exchange his vote on one of Breese-Iverson’s bills for a date or sexual favors.

During an initial review of the complaint by the House Conduct Committee, Sarah Ryan, an attorney with the Portland office of Jackson Lewis, said she didn’t expect the investigation to take long.

“I believe that I would be in a position to issue a draft report by the end of the month,” said Ryan during the April 16 meeting. “Unless the scope changes dramatically, this is not going to be a long, drawn-out investigation.”

That was welcome news to committee members, who were accustomed to monthslong investigations, such as those into the complaints about then-Reps. Diego Hernandez, D-Portland, and Mike Nearman, R-Independence.

“I very much am looking forward to the unusual event that we can close an investigation in such a timely manner,” said Rep. Ron Noble, R-McMinnville, during the meeting.

But instead of being finished by the end of April, it wasn’t until May 19 that Ryan’s report was made public, and the committee did not deliberate the case until June 1, less than a month before the end of the legislative session.

According to Monson’s exit memo, the longer time frame for the investigation was because “contractual caps were reached for Jackson Lewis.”

A spokesperson for the law firm did not respond to a request for confirmation of Monson’s statement.

Monson concluded his memo to the Joint Conduct Committee with a recommendation: “Do not hire anyone for the legislative equity officer role until a thorough evaluation of the office is conducted.”

But the Legislature appears to be ignoring that advice. The job was posted June 23, with an advertised salary of up to $157,212 per year.

Before taking on the job of acting legislative equity officer, Monson had served as the director of an Iowa nonprofit that works to support LGBTQ students. He was one of three finalists for the Oregon job, and was “unanimously identified as the top candidate,” according to a March memo from the legislature’s human resources office.

But after leaving a job he’d held for more than a decade, Monson spent less than 10 weeks in his new role.

“I came nearly 2,000 miles to do good work,” wrote Monson. “For the sake of the next person, take some time to consider the office, the role, and how to be strategic in its functions.”