Report Assesses Congressional Compliance With Workplace Rights Laws

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

6,300 safety and health hazards projected to be found in Congressional properties for 111th Congress, a substantial decrease of 30% from 110th Congress
New workplace protections enacted for Congressional employees, while OOC continues to work with Congress to ensure approval of regulations to give eligible veterans preference rights in the Legislative Branch
Baseline survey reveals that most Congressional employees need to know more about their workplace rights and how to seek redress for violations of their rights
Most employment claims by Congressional employees relate to discrimination and/or harassment based on protected trait such as sex, race, disability, age.

Washington, DC – A newly released report assesses Congress’s compliance with workplace rights laws and provides statistical information about the types of claims, such as unlawful discrimination and harassment, made by Congressional employees against their employers in the Legislative Branch. The report also assesses Congressional compliance with safety and health requirements under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and access to public accommodations and services requirements for the disabled under Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The fiscal year 2009 annual report – “State of the Congressional Workplace: A Report on Safety & Health, Accessibility, and Workplace Rights Under the Congressional Accountability Act” – was issued by the Office of Compliance (OOC), an independent, non-partisan Legislative Branch agency. The report highlights new workplace rights laws that Congress extended to its employees in FY 2009 and which significant workplace rights Congressional employees still do not have compared to employees in the private sector and Executive Branch. The “Parity Gap Analysis” sections of the report recommend that Congress extend their additional protections to Congressional employees, applicants, former employees, and (with regard to access to public accommodations and services) the general public.

The OOC was established nearly 15 years ago by the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) as part of the statute created for the purpose of applying to Congress those employment, labor, and health and safety laws that apply to the private sector and the Federal Executive branch. Prior to the CAA’s passage, Congress exempted itself – and its Members and employing offices — from liability under these laws.

The OOC provides Congressional employees, including House and Senate staffers and most workers of Legislative Branch agencies, the venue to seek redress for alleged violations of employment, labor, and safety and health laws. Congress currently employs over 30,000 employees nationwide and is one of the largest employers in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. The General Counsel of the OOC also conducts inspections of over 17 million sq. ft. of Legislative Branch properties in the Washington, DC area to ensure safety and health compliance with the OSHA and access to public accommodations provisions of the Congressional Accountability Act and services under the ADA.