Mich. congresswoman accepts aide's resignation after sexual harassment claims

By Juana Summers and Sunlen Serfaty, CNN

(CNN) -- The chief of staff for Michigan Rep. Brenda Lawrence has resigned after sexual harassment allegations from former staffers in her office.

Lawrence's chief of staff, Duron Marshall, had been placed on administrative leave last week after Politico published the accounts of three former female staffers about Marshall's treatment of women within the office.

In a statement Thursday, Lawrence said she had accepted Marshall's resignation and that she would move forward with an investigation into her own office.

"It is my goal to establish a clearly defined communication process as it relates to employee concerns," Lawrence said. "Through this workplace assessment, I intend to establish an office environment that would be a model for offices on Capitol Hill. No employee should ever be made to feel intimidated, harassed or otherwise discriminated against in their place of work."

Marshall could not immediately be reached for comment. His resignation comes as there is a furor over sexual assault and harassment on Capitol Hill. Earlier this week, House lawmakers held a hearing intended to review how Congress handles sexual harassment and misconduct complaints. Both chambers of Congress have within the past week required sexual harassment training to be done by members and their staff.

Last week, Lawrence said she was not aware of any allegations of sexual harassment within her office. She is the author of one of many pieces of legislation proposed on Capitol Hill to increase sexual harassment training within Capitol Hill offices.

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