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After Bill Requiring Anti-Harassment and Anti-Discrimination Training Passes House, Norton Still Pressing for Congressional Employees to Receive Same Comprehensive Protections Afforded to Other Federal and Private Sector Workers

November 29, 2017

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), the first woman to chair the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), today spoke on the House floor in support of a resolution requiring House Members and staff to complete anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training, but even though it passed and is now in force, congressional staff still lack the same workplace protections afforded to executive branch and private sector employees. Last month, Norton, an expert in sexual harassment and other anti-discrimination laws, introduced a bill to subject Congress and its agencies to the very same comprehensive civil rights laws and federal health and safety standards that currently apply to executive branch and private sector employers. Norton's bill provides general whistleblower protections and anti-retaliation measures and makes additional Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) provisions applicable to the legislative branch, including providing subpoena authority to the Office of Compliance, which was established by the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, to conduct inspections and investigations into OSHA violations.

"The House today has taken an easy, non-controversial step that should have been law long ago," Norton said. "The posting of rights and training is certainly needed, with controversies about sexual harassment popping up in the House and Senate. It is not clear that Members of Congress and others who have power in the workplace even know what actions constitute sexual harassment. It is time they learned, and training should therefore help.

"However, even with today's bill passage, Congress still exempts itself from a number of critical workplace protections that it imposes on the American people, American businesses and others. Congress must afford a workplace culture where employees feel protected, and the debate should not stop at just sexual harassment. We need to take a comprehensive look at all ways to protect against unequal treatment in the congressional workplace."