D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton recently introduced the Congress Leads by Example Act, which would subject the U.S. Congress and the rest of the legislative branch to workplace laws that protect employees in the private sector and the executive branch.
“Congress must abide by the laws it imposes on the American people and their workplaces,” the Democratic lawmaker said. “Congress already acknowledged the importance of accountability in the legislative branch workplace when it passed the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 and further confirmed it when it passed the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act in 2018. As a former chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, I take issues of workplace discrimination and abuse very seriously.
“My bill builds on the protections in previous laws, bringing the protections for legislative branch employees in line with those for other workers,” she said.
In 2018, Congress changed the name of its Office of Compliance to the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR) revised the process to resolve workplace claims and extended Congressional Accountability Act protections to unpaid staff, interns and fellows. Plus, it made members of Congress personally liable for their own violations of workplace harassment and retaliation laws.
This bill provides general whistleblower protections and anti-retaliation measures and makes additional Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) retaliation provisions applicable to the legislative branch. The legislation also provides subpoena authority to OCWR to conduct inspections and investigations into OSHA violations.
Additionally, it provides extended paid parental bereavement leave to legislative branch employees.
“This bill would help restore the public’s trust in Congress by redoubling our efforts to exercise leadership by example,” Norton said.