Office of Compliance
Report to Congress On the Use of the Office of Compliance By Covered Employees

Pursuant to Section 301(h) of the Congressional Accountability Act
January 1, 2001-December 31, 2001

January 2002

January 31, 2002

Dear Speaker Hastert and President Pro Tempore Byrd:

Section 301( h) of the Congressional Accountability Act (CAA) requires that the Office of Compliance annually publish statistics on the use of the Office by covered employees.

I am pleased to provide you with a copy of the annual statistical report of the Office of Compliance for calendar year 2001.

We will be pleased to provide additional information about this report, or any other aspect of the Office of Compliance and the Congressional Accountability Act upon request.

Sincerely,

William W. Thompson, II Executive Director

cc: Susan S. Robfogel, Chair, and Members of the Board of Directors The Honorable Robert Ney
The Honorable Steny Hoyer
The Honorable Christopher Dodd
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
The Honorable Joseph Lieberman
The Honorable Fred Thompson

Table of Contents

Introduction

I. Initial Contacts Received by the Office of Compliance
Reasons for Employee Contacts
Issues Raised by Employees Contacting the Office of Compliance for Advice and Information

II. Proceedings Initiated By Covered Employees
Issues Raised by Employees Seeking Counseling

III. Results of Proceedings
Counseling
Mediation
Complaints
Bases of Complaints
Action Taken on Complaints

IV. Labor Management Relations

V. Office of the General Counsel

SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS
OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE
JANUARY 1, 2001 -DECEMBER 31, 2001

Introduction

The Congressional Accountability Act (CAA) generally applies provisions of eleven federal labor and employment laws to over 20,000 covered Legislative Branch 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)( 3) 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 filed a complaint, the basis for the complaint, and the action taken on the complaint.

This sixth annual report, which provides information for the period from January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2001, begins with a summary of the authority and responsibilities of the Office of Compliance.

Office of Compliance Authority and Responsibilities

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).

The CAA established the Office of Compliance with a five member Board of Directors, 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 CAA 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.

I. Initial Contacts Received by the Office of Compliance

Employees and employing offices covered under the Congressional Accountability Act may, at any time, contact the Office of Compliance seeking informal advice and information on the procedures of the Office and the rights, protections, and responsibilities afforded under the CAA. For example, employees believing that they have been subject to employment discrimination in violation of the CAA may call the office and speak to a counselor concerning the matter. The office responds to all inquiries on a confidential basis.

Statistics for
January 1, 2001 - December 31, 2001

During calendar year 2001, the Office received 439 contacts requesting information from covered employees, employing offices, the public, unions, and the press. These contacts were made by phone and in person; the contacts were as follows:

During the past year our website received thousands of "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. In addition to those contacts, 162 calls were made to the Office of Compliance Recorded Information line.

Reasons for Employee Contacts:

Employees contact the Office to discuss matters they believe may violate a provision, or section, of the CAA. For example, an employee who believes that he or she has been discriminated against would call the Office to discuss a possible violation of section 201 of the CAA.

Two hundred fifty eight (258) 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):

Issues Raised by Employees Contacting the Office for Advice and Information:

Employees contact the Office to discuss many different employment issues. For example, an employee who has been demoted may call the Office because he or she believes that the demotion was in retaliation for having used Family and Medical Leave to care for a seriously ill child. The issues presented by callers in the calendar year 2001 are as follows:

The 258 employee contacts were for information regarding:

II. Proceedings Initiated by Covered Employees

Pursuant to title IV of the CAA, the Office of Compliance provides dispute resolution in the form of counseling and mediation. Dispute resolution is designed to assist the parties in obtaining an early resolution to a dispute. To initiate a claim arising under the CAA, an employee must request counseling from the Office of Compliance.¹

395 employees from the following employing offices filed formal requests for counseling:

¹ It should be noted that the alleged unlawful application of a single policy of an employing office may involve multiple individual claims.
² This category represents Legislative Branch agencies not covered by the Administrative and Judicial Dispute-Resolution procedures of the Office of Compliance.

The 395 requests for counseling alleged violations under the following sections of the Congressional Accountability Act: (note: a single proceeding may involve more than one section or subsection of the CAA, and/or more than one issue or alleged violation).

Issues Raised by Employees Seeking Counseling:

Workplace issues raised by employees requesting counseling under the CAA fell into the following categories: (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).

III. Results of the Proceedings

Nine cases (9) were pending in counseling on January 1, 2001 and 395 counseling requests were received between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2001. Of these 404 matters in counseling:

13 cases were closed during or after counseling, but before mediation

• 0 settled
• 13 sought no further action;

381 requests for mediation were filed; and

10 cases were pending in counseling on December 31, 2001.

Mediation

Seventeen (17) cases were pending in Mediation and nine (9) cases which had completed mediation were in the open period for filing a complaint on January 1, 2001. Three hundred eighty one (381) mediation requests were received between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2001. Of those 407 cases:

368 cases closed during or after mediation

• 7 cases were settled;
• in 17 cases, no further action was taken by the covered employee after mediation ended;
• 344 civil actions were filed in District Court;

12 cases were pending in mediation on December 31, 2001;

17 cases had completed mediation and were in the time period when a complaint could be filed;

10 complaints were filed after mediation ended.

Complaints

If a 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.

Two complaints were pending on January 1, 2001. An additional ten complaints were filed with the Office between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2001.

Bases of Complaints

The complaints filed during 2001 involved the following issues:

• alleged unfair discipline based on race and in retaliation for opposing practices made unlawful by the CAA
• alleged discrimination based on disability and in retaliation for opposing practices made unlawful by the CAA
• alleged failure to promote an employee based on race and discrimination based on disability and retaliation for opposing practices made unlawful by the CAA
• alleged termination based on race, sex and disability, violation of the family and Medical Leave Act and retaliation for opposing practices made unlawful by the CAA
• alleged discrimination based on sex and in retaliation for opposing practices made unlawful by the CAA.

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, 2001 - December 31, 2001:

Hearings

• 2 hearing officer decisions were issued;
• 7 cases were settled or otherwise resolved before the hearings concluded;
• 3 complaints were pending on December 31, 2001, awaiting a decision by the Hearing Officer.

Appeals

• 2 petitions for review of Hearing Officer decisions were filed with the Board.

Board Action

• 1 Board decision was issued in 2001;
• 1 petition for review of a Hearing Officer decision was pending on December 31, 2001.

Judicial Review

• No Petitions for Review were filed.

IV. 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, 2001 - December 31, 2001:

• No new representation petitions were filed; and as of December 31, 2001, no representation matters were pending.
• 1 election was conducted pursuant to a labor organization's pending petition seeking to represent approximately 4 employees for purposes of collective bargaining. As a result of the election, the labor organization was certified as the exclusive representative.
• 1 clarification petition pending from the previous year was reviewed and granted in part by the Board. The Board clarified certain positions into the existing bargaining unit, while other positions found to fall within certain statutory exclusions were excluded from the certified unit.
• 3 negotiability petitions, one of which was pending from the previous year, were reviewed and decided by the Board. In the 2 cases filed in 2001, the Board ruled that the bargaining proposals offered by the labor organizations involved subjects over which the parties were required to bargain. However, in the matter pending from the previous year, the Board denied the petition, holding that the bargaining proposals were not negotiable.

V. The Office of the General Counsel

The Office of the General Counsel is responsible for matters arising under three sections of theHad trouble resolving dest near word <copies> action type is Launch 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.

Sixty-nine (69) requests for Information and Technical Assistance were made from January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2001 under the following sections:

From January 1, 2001 - December 31, 2001, the following actions occurred

Section 210

• Charges filed - 0
• Cases closed 0
• Cases pending as of December 31, 2001 - 0

Section 215

• Requests for inspections filed - 18
• Cases closed - 9
• Cases pending as of December 31, 2001 - 6

Section 220

• Unfair Labor Practice charges filed - 19
• Complaints issued - 2
• Cases closed - 12
• Cases pending as of December 31, 2000 - 6

Office of Compliance Mission

The Office of Compliance was established in January 1996 to serve as the neutral and independent agency within the legislative branch to administer and enforce the Congressional Accountability Act (CAA). The CAA applies eleven labor and employment laws to Legislative Branch employees and employing offices. The Office is charged with administering an administrative dispute resolution process--counseling, mediation, and adjudicative hearings and appeals--and with educating Members of Congress, employing offices and employees of the Legislative Branch concerning their rights and responsibilities under the Act.

To Obtain Copies of the Report

The fastest and easiest way to obtain copies copies of OOC reports is through the Internet. The Office of Compliance Web site (www. compliance. gov) contains reports, studies, and other OOC products.

Order by Mail or Telephone

To request Office of Compliance publications send requests to:

Office of Compliance
Room LA-200, John Adams Building
110 Second Street S.E.
Washington, D. C. 20540-1999

To order by telephone:

Voice (202) 724-9250
TDD (202) 426-1912
Fax (202) 426-1913

Office of Compliance materials are available in alternative formats upon request.

Office of Compliance

Office of Compliance
Room LA-200, John Adams Building
110 Second Street S.E.
Washington, D. C. 20540-1999
www. compliance. gov

(202) 724-9250 Telephone
(202) 724-9260 24 hour recorded information line
(202) 426-1912 TDD
(202) 426-1913 FAX

2001 Office of Compliance
301(h) Report Prepared by

Teresa James
Director of Counseling

LaShean Kelly
Case Manager

William W. Thompson, II
Executive Director

Alma R. Candelaria
Deputy Executive Director, House