Former staffers of Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersSenate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll Schumer, Sanders call for Senate panel to address election security MORE's (I-Vt.) 2016 presidential campaign alleged in a New York Times report published Wednesday that they dealt with sexism and harassment while working on the White House bid.

The Times interviewed nearly a dozen former state and national staffers who worked on Sanders's 2016 campaign, with several women detailing instances of harassment and criticizing how their superiors handled their claims. The report comes as Sanders is considering launching a White House bid for 2020.

One staffer who worked in Nevada said a supervisor ran his hands through her hair in a "sexual way" while the two were traveling together. When she reported it to a manager, he laughed off the incident, the Times reported.

ADVERTISEMENT

The news outlet reported that some men working on the campaign were paid thousands of dollars more than women working in similar roles, and that some former staffers said they were asked to sleep in rooms with male co-workers they didn't know.

The Times reported that it's not clear if Sanders himself knew of the allegations. Jeff Weaver, who led the 2016 operation, told the news outlet anybody who committed harassment "would not be asked back," and acknowledged the need to further diversify staffing in any future campaign to ensure more positive experiences among staffers.

Wednesday's report comes three days after more than two dozen alumni of Sanders's Oval Office campaign said they sent the senator a letter to request a meeting to discuss "sexual violence and harassment" that took place.

The campaign drummed up significant grass-roots support, vaulting the Vermont senator into the national spotlight. Sanders, 77, has not indicated whether he will run again in 2020, saying only that he will do so if he believes he is the best person to defeat President Trump Donald John TrumpBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Military leaders asked about using heat ray on protesters outside White House: report Powell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy MORE.