(CNN) — Taxpayers have paid more than $300,000 in confidential sexual harassment settlements on behalf of six former members of the House of Representatives or their offices, according to GOP Rep. Nancy Mace and documents reviewed by CNN.

The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights was compelled to turn over the settlement documents to Congress following a subpoena from Mace, who has helped lead an effort on Capitol Hill to push for transparency and accountability following sexual misconduct allegations that led to a pair of high-profile resignations.

A CNN review of over 1,000 pages of case files, including counsel notes, settlement documents and formal complaints, offers a window into allegations that certain members leveraged their positions of power to mistreat their staff.

The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights is involved with a range of complaints against members, not exclusively sexual harassment claims.

From January 1, 1996, through December 12, 2018, the office approved 349 awards or settlements “to resolve complaints against legislative branch offices,” its general counsel said in a letter sent to House Oversight Chair James Comer obtained by CNN. Eighty of those cases were settled by a House or Senate office for a host of different reasons. From that subset, seven cases led to payments to address allegations of sexual harassment. The payments referenced in the letter used taxpayer money from a Treasury account that no longer exists as an option for lawmakers.

Twenty-three case files of settlements in the jurisdiction of the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights were destroyed pursuant to the office’s record retention policy.

“This ‘OCWR Record Retention Policy’ was put in place in 2013 to align OCWR with regular government-wide record retention practices,” General Counsel John N. Ohlweiler wrote.

The general language of the settlement contracts reviewed by CNN do not have the accused office admitting to any wrongdoing, but rather state the office is agreeing to the settlement “to avoid the inconvenience of protracted litigation and the expense to the parties and the taxpayers of such litigation,” as one settlement read. The settlement agreements also lay out how the office is meant to handle questions related to the terms or conditions of the claimant’s termination of employment.

Following policy changes made in 2018 in the wake of the #MeToo Movement, members could no longer rely on taxpayer dollars for settlements. The House Ethics Committee announced in a recent statement that since the enactment of the new law, “the Committee has not been notified of any awards or settlements relating to allegations of sexual harassment by a member.”

Mace named six former lawmakers or lawmakers’ offices involved in the settlements totaling more than $300,000 in an X post on Monday. Most of the members named by the congresswoman resigned from Congress after publicly facing allegations of sexual misconduct. In several cases, it was publicly reported prior to their resignations that the member had used taxpayer funds for settlements.

CNN has attempted to reach out to either the former member or a representative for all six members named by Mace. Three of the former lawmakers named by the congresswoman are deceased.

The documents reviewed by CNN show that three separate settlement payments totaling $115,000 were made on former Democratic Rep. Eric Massa’s behalf due to allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against him from some of his male employees.

A close friend for Massa said the former congressman knew nothing of the complaints and claimed the payments were made after he resigned from Congress without his input. CNN has reached out to Massa for comment.

Massa resigned in 2010 before the House Ethics Committee could finish a probe into allegations of sexual misconduct. At the time, he cited health concerns as a reason for leaving Congress and denied reports that he had harassed one of his Capitol Hill staff members.

The documents show that one staffer of former Democratic Rep. John Conyers received a settlement of $50,000 and another received severance pay of over $27,000 due to allegations of his unwanted sexual advances.

Conyers resigned in 2017 as he was facing a House Ethics Committee investigation into multiple allegations that he had sexually harassed women who worked with him. At the time, he denied any wrongdoing, but did not dispute the existence of a settlement or payment. Conyers died in 2019.

The documents show that an employee of former Republican Rep. Rodney Alexander received $15,000 after alleging she was harassed and unfairly terminated because of her sex and race.

In a statement to CNN, Alexander said, “Nineteen years ago, during my tenure in Congress, there were two separate and unrelated incidents involving the behavior of two staffers in my office. The allegations were referred to the proper authorities and settlement payments were made by the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights. After an immediate investigation, both offending staffers’ employment with my office were terminated immediately. At no time during my tenure in Congress was any allegation made against me.”

An employee of former Democratic Rep. Carolyn McCarthy received $8,000 from the fund on behalf of the congressional office, the documents show, after alleging she was harassed and denied a promotion by another employee.

McCarthy died in 2025. A former representative for McCarthy declined to comment on the matter.

The documents show that an $84,000 settlement was made on behalf of former GOP Rep. Blake Farenthold to a former staffer because of allegations of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment.

Farenthold resigned in 2018 while also facing an ethics probe. At the time, he denied some of the allegations against him, but apologized for using inappropriate language and his role in creating a hostile workplace and vowed to repay taxpayer money used for a settlement. Farenthold died in 2025.

The documents show former GOP Rep. Patrick Meehan faced two cases resulting in a severance pay of over $39,000 to a former staffer alleging sexual harassment.

Meehan resigned in 2018, saying at the time that he would pay back $39,000 that had been used to settle a sexual harassment accusation. He was also facing a House ethics investigation and said at the time that he believed he would have been exonerated of any wrongdoing if the investigation had proceeded.

Once a member is no longer in office, they are no longer under the jurisdiction of the ethics panel.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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