Office of Congressional Workplace Rights OCWR

For most of its history Congress exempted itself from the employment laws it wrote for everyone else. The Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, the first bill passed by the new Republican House majority that year, applied about a dozen of those laws to the legislative branch, including civil rights, disability, family leave, minimum wage, and workplace safety laws, and created the Office of Compliance to administer them. The office was renamed the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights in 2018.

The renaming came with the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act, passed in December 2018 amid the MeToo movement and reports of harassment settlements paid with public money. The reform ended mandatory counseling and mediation periods that critics said discouraged complaints, required members of Congress to personally reimburse the Treasury for awards and settlements in harassment cases they commit, and required public reporting of such awards. Employees may file a claim with the office, request a hearing before an administrative hearing officer, or go to federal court.

The office is led by a five-member board of directors appointed jointly by congressional leaders and an executive director. Besides handling claims, it inspects the Capitol complex for workplace safety and disability-access violations, educates staff about their rights, and offers confidential advice through independent legal advisers.