OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE
SECTION 301( H) REPORT TO CONGRESS
JANUARY 1, 2000 - DECEMBER
31, 2000
January, 2001
INTRODUCTION
The Congressional Accountability Act (CAA) generally
applies provisions of eleven federal labor and employment laws to
over 20,000 covered congressional employees and employing offices.
The Office of Compliance (Office), an independent agency in the
legislative branch, was established by the CAA to administer and
enforce the Act and provide a process for the timely and confidential
resolution of workplace disputes. Section 301( h) of the CAA requires
that the Office of Compliance:
. . . compile and publish statistics on the
use of the Office by covered employees, including the number and
type of contacts made with the Office, on the reason for such
contacts, on the number of covered employees who initiated proceedings
with the Office under this Act and results of such proceedings,
and on the number of covered employees who file a complaint, the
basis for the complaint, and the action taken on the complaint.
This fifth annual report, which provides information
for the period from January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2000, begins
with a summary of the authority and responsibilities of the Office
of Compliance.
OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE AUTHORITY
AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The CAA establishes the Office of Compliance
with a Board of five members, who serve on a part-time basis, and
four statutory appointees: the Executive Director, Deputy Executive
Director for the Senate, Deputy Executive Director for the House,
and the General Counsel. The Office is charged with providing alternative
dispute resolution procedures, and adjudicative hearings and appeals
for covered legislative branch employees and education and information
on the CAA to members of Congress, other employing offices, and
employees of the legislative branch. The Office of the General Counsel
enforces the provisions of sections 210 and 215, relating to health
and safety and public access requirements, including investigation
and prosecution of claims under these sections, and periodic inspections
to ensure compliance. Additionally, the General Counsel investigates
and prosecutes unfair labor practices under section 220 of the CAA.
The CAA applies the rights and protections of
provisions of the following eleven labor and employment statutes
to covered employees within the legislative branch: title VII of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination in Employment
Act of 1967; title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990;
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; the Family and Medical Leave Act
of 1993; the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; the Employee Polygraph
Protection Act of 1988; the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification
Act; chapter 43 of title 38 of the U. S. Code (relating to veterans'
employment and reemployment); the Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990 relating to public services and accommodations; the Occupational
Safety and Health Act of 1970; and chapter 71 of title 5 of the
U. S. Code (relating to federal service labor-management relations).
FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
JANUARY 1, 2000 - DECEMBER 31, 2000
NUMBER OF CONTACTS RECEIVED BY THE OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE:
426
Employees and employing offices may, at any
time, seek informal advice and information on the procedures of
the Office and the rights, protections, and responsibilities afforded
under the CAA. The office responds to all inquiries on a confidential
basis.
426 requests for information
from covered employees, employing offices, the public, unions, and
the press were made by phone and in person from January 1, 2000
to December 31, 2000. Contacts were as follows:
Employees |
235 |
Employing offices |
65 |
Public |
113 |
Unions |
10 |
Press |
3 |
Total |
426 |
176 calls were made to the Office of Compliance
Recorded Information line. In addition, the Office of Compliance
website received approximately 30,000 "hits,"proving to
be a frequent and efficient means for covered employees, covered
employing offices and the general public to access information on
the CAA.
REASONS FOR EMPLOYEE CONTACTS
235 covered employees
contacted the Office asking questions under the following sections
(note: Aggregate numbers will not necessarily match category totals
as a single contact may involve more than one section or subsection
of the CAA, and/ or more than one issue or alleged violation):
Section |
Description |
Contacts |
201 |
Rights and protections under title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967,
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and title I of the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990 |
96 |
202 |
Rights and protections under the Family and Medical Leave
Act of 1993 |
16 |
203 |
Rights and protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act
of 1938 |
14 |
204 |
Rights and protections under the Employee Polygraph Protection
Act of 1988 |
0 |
205 |
Rights and protections under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining
Notification Act |
1 |
206 |
Rights and protections relating to veterans' employment and
reemployment |
5 |
207 |
Prohibition of intimidation or reprisal |
16 |
210 |
Rights and protections under the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 relating to public services and accommodations;
procedures for remedy of violations |
0 |
215 |
Rights and protections under the Occupational Safety and Health
Act of 1970; procedures for remedy of violations |
5 |
220 |
Application of chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code,
Relating to Federal service labor-management relations |
7 |
CAA |
Questions regarding the general application of the CAA |
35 |
N/A |
Questions on matters which were not cognizable under the CAA |
76 |
The 235 employee contacts were for information
regarding:
Assignments |
2 |
Compensatory time off |
1 |
Compensation |
19 |
Demotion |
2 |
Discharge |
16 |
Discipline |
22 |
Equal pay |
1 |
Evaluation of performance |
5 |
Exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act |
1 |
General questions regarding statutory requirements |
46 |
Harassment |
32 |
Hiring |
10 |
Hours of work |
3 |
Layoff |
4 |
Leave |
10 |
Overtime pay |
6 |
Promotion |
12 |
Reasonable accommodations |
14 |
Reassignment |
4 |
Recordkeeping |
1 |
Recruitment |
2 |
Reinstatement |
2 |
Scheduling |
1 |
Termination |
32 |
Terms and conditions of employment |
18 |
Requests for written materials |
8 |
NUMBER OF PROCEEDINGS INITIATED BY COVERED EMPLOYEES:
105
Pursuant to title IV
of the CAA, the Office of Compliance provides dispute resolution
in the form of counseling and mediation. A proceeding under the
CAA is initiated by an individual employee's request for counseling
alleging a violation of the CAA.1
105 employees from the following employing offices
filed formal requests for counseling:
The Architect of the Capitol |
35 |
Capitol Police |
52 |
General Accounting Office |
1 |
House of Representatives (not member or committee offices) |
3 |
House of Representatives (member offices) |
4 |
Joint Committees |
1 |
Senate (not member or committee offices) |
6 |
Senate (member offices) |
2 |
Library of Congress |
1 |
Total |
105 |
These 105 requests for
counseling alleged violations under the following sections of the
Congressional Accountability Act (please see note above regarding
aggregate numbers):
Section |
Description |
Cases |
201 |
Rights and protections under title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967,
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and title I of the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990 |
212 |
202 |
Rights and protections under the Family and Medical Leave
Act of 1993 |
6 |
203 |
Rights and protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act
of 1938 |
3 |
206 |
Rights and protections relating to veterans' employment and
reemployment |
2 |
207 |
Prohibition of intimidation or reprisal |
136 |
Workplace issues raised
by employees requesting counseling under the CAA fell into the following
categories: (Please see note above regarding aggregate numbers.)
Assignments |
4 |
Compensation |
1 |
Discipline |
26 |
Equal pay |
6 |
Harassment |
15 |
Hiring |
2 |
Layoff |
2 |
Overtime Pay |
3 |
Promotion |
15 |
Reasonable accommodations |
41 |
Reassignment |
2 |
Reinstatement |
1 |
Termination |
21 |
Terms and conditions of employment |
38 |
RESULTS OF THE PROCEEDINGS
COUNSELING
Of the 105 counseling requests received between
January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2000, and the 7 pending on January
1, 2000:
- 42 cases
closed during or after counseling, but before mediation
- 0 settled
- 42 sought
no further action;
- 10 cases were
pending at the end of 2000;
- 60 requests
for mediation were filed.
MEDIATION
60 mediation requests were received between January
1, 2000 and December 31, 2000. In addition, on January 1, 2000 there
were 9 cases pending in mediation, and 282 cases which had completed
mediation and were in the open period for filing a complaint. Of
those 351 cases:
- 321 cases closed
during or after mediation
- 9 cases were settled (one
additional case in which a District Court suit was filed
in 1999 was also settled)
- in 18 cases, no further action
was taken by the covered employee
after mediation ended
- 294 civil actions were filed
in District Court;
- 16 cases were
pending in mediation on December 31, 2000;
- 9 cases had
completed mediation and were in the time period when a complaint
could be filed;
- 5 complaints
were filed after mediation ended.
COMPLAINTS
If the dispute remains unresolved after counseling
and mediation, an employee may elect to file a civil action in the
district courts of the United States or to file a complaint with
the Office. If a complaint is filed with the Office, a Hearing Officer
is appointed to hear the case and issue a decision.
Five complaints were filed with the Office between
January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2000 and one complaint was pending
on January 1, 2000.
BASIS OF COMPLAINTS
The complaints filed during 2000 involved the
following issues:
- alleged discipline in retaliation for opposing
practices made unlawful by the CAA
- alleged discrimination based on race and gender
and in retaliation for opposing practices made unlawful by the
CAA
- alleged discrimination in terms and conditions
of employment and failure to evaluate an employee's performance
properly in retaliation for the employee's participation in a
proceeding under the CAA
- alleged failure to promote an employee based
on race
- alleged failure to provide reasonable accommodation
to an employee with a disability
ACTION TAKEN ON COMPLAINTS
Any party aggrieved by a Hearing Officer's decision
may file a petition for review of the decision by the Board of Directors
of the Office.
During January 1, 2000 - December 31, 2000:
HEARINGS
- 1 hearing officer
decision was issued;
- 3 cases were
settled or otherwise resolved before the hearings concluded;
- 2 complaints
were pending, awaiting a decision by the Hearing Officer.
APPEALS
- No petitions
for review of Hearing Officer decisions were filed with the Board.
BOARD ACTION
- No Board decisions
were issued in 2000;
- No petitions
for review of Hearing Officer decisions were pending on December
31, 2000.
JUDICIAL REVIEW
- 1 Petition for
Review was filed;
- 1 court decision
was issued on a petition for review docketed in January 2000.
The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the
Board's decision.
LABOR-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS
The Office carries out the Board's investigative
authorities under section 220 of the CAA, involving issues concerning
the appropriateness of bargaining units for labor organization representation,
the duty to bargain, and exceptions to arbitrators' awards.
During January 1, 2000 - December 31, 2000:
- 2 representation
petitions were filed: a representation petition seeking to represent
a unit of approximately 4 employees for purposes of collective
bargaining; and a unit.
- 1 clarification
petition seeking to clarify the placement of certain employees
in a certified unit.
- 1 clarification
petition pending from the previous year was settled and withdrawn.
- 1 petition for
impasse assistance was filed and eventually withdrawn following
a settlement by the parties.
- 1 petition seeking
a Board determination on the negotiability of a collective bargaining
proposal was filed by a labor organization.
- 2 election agreements
were entered into by the parties and approved by the Executive
Director involving two petitions that were filed in 1999.
- 2 elections
were conducted pursuant to the election agreements. As a result
of the elections, two labor organizations were certified as bargaining
representatives of two units of employees.
- 3 matters were
pending on December 31, 2000: the representation petition seeking
to represent a unit of approximately 4 employees for purposes
of collective bargaining; the unit clarification petition seeking
to clarify the placement of certain employees in a certified unit;
and the negotiability petition.
THE OFFICE OF THE GENERAL
COUNSEL
The Office of the General Counsel is responsible
for matters arising under three sections of the CAA: section
210 - Public Services and Accommodations under the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990; section 215 - Occupational
Safety and Health Act of 1970; and section 220 - unfair labor
practices under chapter 71, of title 5, United States Code.
96 requests for Information and Technical Assistance
were made from January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2000 under the
following sections:
Section |
Description |
Cases |
210 |
Public Services and Accommodations under the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 |
14 |
215 |
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 |
74 |
220 |
Unfair Labor Practices under chapter 71, of title 5, United
States Code |
8 |
From January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2000
the following actions occurred:
Section 210 |
Charges filed |
1 |
|
Cases closed |
1 |
|
Cases pending as of December 31, 2000 |
0 |
Section 215 |
Requests for inspections filed |
14 |
|
Cases closed |
6 |
|
Cases pending as of December 31, 2000 |
13 |
Section 220 |
Unfair Labor Practice charges filed |
38 |
|
Complaints issued |
2 |
|
Cases closed |
35 |
|
Cases pending as of December 31, 2000 |
3 |
Disposition of Complaint(s):
A February 2000 complaint alleging discriminatory
discharge of a pro-union employee was withdrawn when, after a pre-hearing
conference, the employing office consented to a settlement providing
full relief. A December 2000 complaint alleging refusal to bargain
in good faith is still pending; a trial date has been set for February
12, 2001.
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