Rules & Regulations

Ms. Grundmann:

The Office of the Senate Chief Counsel for Employment (“SCCE”) submits the following comments to the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (“OCWR”) in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) to implement proposed amendments to the Rules of Procedure, which was published in the Congressional Record on April 9, 2019. See 165 Cong. Rec. S2334-48 (daily ed. Apr. 9, 2019) (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Office of Congressional Workplace Rights) (“Proposed Rules”).

In December 2018, Congress passed, and the President signed into law, sweeping changes to the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (“CAA”). The changes contained within that new law, the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act (“CAARA”), Pub. L. No. 115-397, fundamentally alters many aspects of the CAA, including the process for pursuing claims of alleged violations of the CAA. ²

The SCCE appreciates the OCWR’s work in developing the Proposed Rules promptly but sees significant areas for improvement in approach, scope of coverage, and degree of precision. ³ In the spirit of ensuring that the Proposed Rules are faithful to the changes wrought by the CAARA ⁴ and are understandable and beneficial for all affected stakeholders, the SCCE recommends several modifications to the Proposed Rules, as discussed generally in this letter and as illustrated and discussed specifically in the attached exhibits. ⁵

I. The Proposed Rules Require Modification to Eliminate the Potential for Bifurcated Proceedings on a Claim – a Result at Odds with the CAARA and Congressional Intent.

Prior to enactment of the CAARA, some of the loudest criticism of the CAA pertained to its dispute resolution process, which was regarded by critics as unnecessarily complicated and time-consuming for aggrieved congressional employees. Congress addressed this issue in the CAARA in several ways, including by eliminating the CAA’s mandatory counseling and mediation processes and by permitting covered employees to file a lawsuit in federal district court immediately after filing a claim with the OCWR.