Norton to Introduce Bill to Hold Congress More Accountable to Its Own Employees
Norton to Introduce Bill to Hold Congress More Accountable to Its Own Employees
February 17, 2011
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced today that Norton will introduce a bill to make Congress subject to federal workplace laws and standards that apply to private businesses and executive branch agencies. The Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) subjects Congress and its agencies to only thirteen of the many civil rights, labor, and workplace safety and health laws that apply to private businesses and the executive branch. Norton said, "Congress must lead by example if we expect businesses, organizations, and the public to understand why they must be held accountable to the nation's federal workplace laws and standards."
The Office of Compliance (OOC), an independent, non-partisan enforcement agency created by the CAA, in a recently released report, titled Recommendations for Improvements to the Congressional Accountability Act, provides Congress with the foundation to strengthen the CAA and lead America's workforce by example. Norton, the first woman to chair the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, will introduce a bill to resolve the remaining gaps in congressional workplace law enforcement, including reporting safety and health hazards, subpoena power to conduct health and safety investigations, and whistleblower protection for congressional and other legislative branch employees, such as protection against retaliation for reporting workplace safety hazards.
The bill is a follow-up to Norton's 2010 investigation of Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) staff complaints as chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management. Last year, a Norton hearing examined claims by the OOC of an estimated 6,300 safety hazards in the U.S. Capitol complex, as well as complaints by CVC guides that they were compelled to work in uniforms inappropriate for outdoor work in the summer and winter, and had limits on water consumption. Norton's work and the formation of a union local by these employees led to specific improvements in uniform and water consumption practices and policies.