The Office of Compliance, which educates some 30,000 congressional employees on their workplace rights, announced today that it has released an enhanced sexual harassment online module and has begun presenting in-person training on bystander intervention to combat workplace harassment.
With congressional and public pressure for all workplaces to recognize and prevent sexual harassment, the training is designed to give employees the tools to respond to inappropriate conduct and the confidence to report offensive acts.
The new online sexual harassment module aligns with new ways of teaching, including nipping behaviors in the bud and moving away from focusing solely on legal standards of harassment cases. The new in-person bystander training informs employees about how to approach victims of harassment or co-workers who make offensive comments.
Bystander response training has historically focused on college campuses and military installations. The OOC believes that congressional employees can also benefit from this unique, practical training as it relates to workplaces.
“Developing educated, empowered employees is essential to combatting workplace harassment,” says Deputy Executive Director Paula Sumberg, who oversees the OOC’s education programs. “Our goal is for employees to recognize offensive behaviors and know how to respond.”
Both new courses are part of a growing catalog of training opportunities offered by the OOC, including a 15-minute video on family and medical leave and a 40-minute online module on recognizing and preventing workplace discrimination.
The current catalog also includes: an orientation to the OOC and congressional workplace rights, navigating the dispute resolution program, and preventing disability discrimination. To access the OOC’s online system, start here. (New users: Enter an email and create a password.)
About the Office of Compliance: The Congressional Accountability Act (CAA) of 1995 requires Congress and legislative branch entities to follow many of the same employment and workplace safety laws applied to private business and the rest of the Federal government. The CAA established the Office of Compliance to educate the workforce, administer dispute resolution programs, and enforce the CAA. For more information, please visit www.compliance.gov and follow the Office on Twitter @LegBranch_OOC.
