The Labor Department’s inspector general has opened a formal review after text messages revealed Secretary Lori Chavez‑DeRemer and senior aides repeatedly asked staff to procure wine and maintain personal contact with her husband and father. Exchanges, some sent during regular work hours, show the secretary requesting rosé for a hotel stay in Myrtle Beach and directing aides to arrange drinks for meetings.

Investigators say former deputy chief of staff Rebecca Wright told a junior employee to pick up “a bottle or two” of champagne for a toast, while the secretary’s father texted a young female staffer about private meetings, prompting civil‑rights complaints from three employees who described a hostile environment. Four senior officials, including the chief of staff, have been dismissed.

The probe, launched in response to a complaint alleging widespread misconduct, has already forced out the department’s director of advance and a member of the secretary’s security detail accused of an affair. Prosecutors declined to charge Dr. Shawn DeRemer, the secretary’s husband, after a police sexual‑assault inquiry found insufficient evidence.

With the internal review now in its final stage, the department investigation faces mounting pressure from Congress and labor unions to restore credibility and enforce stricter workplace standards. The scandal threatens morale and could complicate the agency’s pending rulemaking on wage‑hour enforcement, underscoring the need for immediate leadership overhaul.