283: Shawn Hamerlinck

Shawn Hamerlinck was an Iowa state senator for one term. He lost his seat in 2012, a year before Kristen Anderson was fired for complaining about sexual harassment. Nonetheless, he was named in her suit for his inappropriate behavior while in office. He liked to talk about women’s breast, commenting on their size and the hemlines of their skirts. Kristen Anderson was a Republican Caucus communications director who from 2010 to 2013 filed three complaints about rampant sexual harassment of Republican Caucus women employees. When she submitted her third memo, in 2013, she was fired seven hours later. She sued for retaliation and sexual harassment. She won $2.2 million.

The accusations

• Hammerlinck talked about the size of a lobbyist’s breasts. 
• He asked a staffer about the size of her nipples while on the Senate floor, according to multiple staffers. “I was humiliated,” legislative staffer Pam Dugdale said in her deposition.  
• He said most women lobbyists are “big flirts,” naming one he believed was exceptionally flirty.
• He discussed how short the pages’ skirts appear.
• One staff member described hearing him talk about women’s body parts and described him acting like a “frat boy.”
• Sen. Jerry Behn asked Hamerlinck not to drink while he was in the Senate chambers. At one point, Behn brought a breathalyzer to his office and had a deal with Hamerlinck where he would have him come up and take the test. Behn said he didn’t use the breathalyzer. 
• Asked a lesbian legislative staff member intimate details about her sex life.

Des Moines Register: Capitol harassment: Here are the detailed allegations against current and past Iowa lawmakers and staff members

After losing his senate seat, he was elected Clinton County Commissioner and was named in another discrimination suit, this time for age discrimination. The county had to pay $75,000 to settle the suit.

• Clinton Herald: Hamerlinck responds to GOP caucus suit
• KASI: Iowa senate staffers back harassment claim
• Des Moines Register: Capitol harassment: Here are the detailed allegations against current and past Iowa lawmakers and staff members