Norton Introduces Bill to Strengthen Workplace Protections for Legislative Branch Employees
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) yesterday introduced the Congress Leads by Example Act, which would subject Congress and the rest of the legislative branch to workplace laws that protect employees in the private sector and the executive branch.
"Especially given ongoing reports of workplace abuses in the legislative branch," Norton said, "Congress must abide by the laws it imposes on the American people and workplaces. Congress already acknowledged the importance of accountability in the legislative branch workplace when it passed the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 and further confirmed it when it passed the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act in 2018. As a former chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, I take these issues very seriously. My bill builds on the protections in previous laws, bringing the protections for legislative branch employees in line with those for other workers."
Norton's introductory statement follows.
Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton
On the Introduction of the Congress Leads by Example Act of 2022
August 23, 2022
Today, I introduce the Congress Leads by Example Act of 2022, which would subject the legislative branch to many of the laws that protect employees in the private sector and the executive branch. Congress should abide by the laws it imposes on others. In 1995, Congress passed the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA), which applied 13 existing civil rights, labor and workplace safety and health laws to the legislative branch. In 2018, after reports of sexual harassment in Congress and in light of the #MeToo movement, Congress passed the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act (Reform Act), which changed the name of the Office of Compliance to the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR), revised the process to resolve workplace claims and extended CAA protections to unpaid staff, interns and fellows. It also made Members of Congress personally liable for their own violations of workplace harassment and retaliation laws.
The CAA and the Reform Act were important steps in making the legislative branch accountable for its employment practices, but they did not finish the job. As noted, the CAA brought the legislative branch under 13 civil rights, labor and workplace safety and health laws but it omitted important substantive and procedural protections. In its two most recent Section 102(b) biennial reports to Congress, OCWR identified additional federal workplace laws and procedures that should be applicable to the legislative branch. OCWR's recommendations for the 116th Congress included making the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 applicable to the legislative branch. The OCWR's recommendations for this Congress included allowing the OCWR Board of Directors to authorize the OCWR General Counsel to seek appropriate temporary relief after filing an unfair labor practice charge, amending the confidentiality provisions of the CAA to exclude proceedings under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and the public access provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and requiring mediation upon the request of the claimant. This bill takes into account OCWR's recommendations, and seeks both to apply the standard of fairness to employees of the legislative branch that Congress requires for other employees and provide a safer work environment for the legislative branch and visitors by bringing the legislative obligations in line with the legal requirements of the private sector and the executive branch.
This bill provides general whistleblower protections and anti-retaliation measures and makes additional Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) retaliation provisions applicable to the legislative branch. This bill also provides subpoena authority to OCWR to conduct inspections and investigations into OSHA violations.
This bill also furthers the CAA's goal of preventing workplace discrimination in the legislative branch by prohibiting the legislative branch from making adverse employment decisions on the basis of an employee's wage garnishment or involvement in bankruptcy proceedings pursuant to the Consumer Credit Protection Act and Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code.
Finally, this bill bolsters the CAA's recordkeeping requirements. It applies to the legislative branch the obligation to maintain accurate records of safety information and employee injuries, as otherwise required by OSHA, as well as employee records necessary to administer anti-discrimination laws.
This bill would help restore the public's trust in Congress by redoubling our efforts to exercise leadership by example. I urge support for this important measure.
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