Female Congressional staffers say they're not allowed to be alone with their bosses

In an anonymous survey, a number of female Congressional staffers have told National Journal that the male congressmen they work for refuse to be alone with them for business meetings. That's more than just difficult for getting work done — it could actually be illegal under U.S. employment discrimination laws.

The female aides say they have been "barred from staffing their male bosses at evening events, driving alone with their congressman or senator, or even sitting down one-on-one in his office for fear that others would get the wrong impression," National Journal reports. Many of the respondents stressed that the issue was not that the congressmen would behave inappropriately, but that others would perceive the relationship as more than business.

Anonymous male staffers surveyed also said they'd witnessed female employees experiencing such discrimination. Some of the women surveyed reported that they eventually found employment in other congressional offices because of the discrimination.

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"Even though my boss is like a second dad to me, our office was always worried about any negative assumptions that might be made," a female staffer told National Journal. "This has made and makes my job significantly harder to do."