Effective December 2021, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 (FCA) will apply to the legislative branch through the Congressional Accountability Act (CAA). The FCA prohibits legislative branch employers covered under the CAA from requesting a job applicant’s criminal history information until first considering the applicant’s qualifications and after conditionally offering the job to the applicant. Positions in law enforcement, involving classified or national security information, and other specific positions are exempt from the law.

The idea of removing conviction and arrest history questions from the job application process will offer more applicants a fair chance at employment opportunities.

Let’s Talk Training

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the OCWR’s Education Team has continued to educate legislative branch staff on their workplace rights and protections. Using live, virtual training platforms, the OCWR provides courses on the Congressional Accountability Act (CAA), Implicit Bias, and Civility and Inclusion. Training on the CAA outlines the rights of legislative branch staff to work in a safe, fair, and accessible environment, and the procedures available to pursue those rights. The OCWR’s module on Implicit Bias examines how perceptions of people different from ourselves influence how we treat them. The recently created module on Civility and Inclusion examines the important concepts of workplace civility and its institutional benefits, and explores conflict management techniques. Recently, the OCWR has added a 90-minute training on Implicit Bias and Racial Sensitivity that provides attendees with practical engagement strategies to promote equity and diversity in the workplace.