Transcript
[The Congressional Accountability Act: Protection Against Reprisal or Intimidation]
Monique: The Congressional Accountability Act prohibits employing offices from intimidating, retaliating against, or discriminating against employees who exercise their rights under the CAA.
William: This protects employees from being retaliated against by their employer.
Karen: But it also protects employees who initiate a proceeding, make a charge, provide testimony, or participate in a hearing or other proceeding brought under the CAA.
[Music]
Khizer: A position opened up that would have me in a more public role. Management basically said, “Listen, Khizer, you’re a great writer. You’ve got great ideas, but we need the face of the organization to look, you know, American.” I knew what was happening was wrong. So, I called the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to figure out what to do next. How to file a claim. I spoke to one of their confidential advisors. I was all set to move forward when my supervisor took me aside and warned me that if I file a claim, I’d never be promoted. He said if I made waves, everyone would think I wasn’t a team player.
Monique: Fear of reprisal is often a reason why people don’t speak up.
Karen: But in this case, the law is very clear. When Khizer asserts his right under the CAA, he is protected from retaliation by his employing office.
William: Not only is Khizer protected, any covered employee who testifies, assists him, or participates in any manner in a hearing or other OCWR proceeding is also protected.
Monique: It’s also important to remember that covered employees are protected from retaliation, even if they haven’t started a formal proceeding. Covered employees are also protected from retaliation for opposing any practice made unlawful by the CAA.
[Music]
Dana: At first I was flattered when he asked me out, but he just wouldn’t take no for an answer. And this was like my boss’s boss. He told me that if I didn’t go out with him, then there was nothing that he could do about my work assignments. When I finally got the courage to tell my supervisor what had happened, she told me that the CAA protects me from unlawful harassment and retaliation. Soon I had all of my projects back and the harassment finally stopped.
Christopher: Yeah, in this case, the CAA’s protections apply both to Dana’s conversation with her supervisor about her director’s harassment, as well as to filing a claim with the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights.
Now, both actions are protected because they constitute opposing a practice made unlawful by the CAA—sexual harassment. It would be unlawful for the employing office to retaliate against Dana for opposing such harassment.
Rosario: Now, the CAA doesn’t make all difficult interactions in the workplace illegal. Courtesy and resiliency are also valuable workplace tools.
Audrey: There was a core group of men that tried to make things so miserable for me that I would quit. Anonymous notes with derogatory words about women started showing up on my desk. They made it clear that they didn’t want a woman in charge. I went to HR to talk with them about how to start documenting this behavior, so I could take disciplinary action as their supervisor. When my boss found out that I had run to HR, he tried to demote me, saying that I just wasn’t an effective leader. That’s when I went to the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights.
Monique: Audrey’s office should have advised all employees that harassment will not be tolerated, and trained employees and managers to identify and prevent harassing behavior. Instead, her supervisor violated the anti-retaliation provisions of the CAA by blaming Audrey and demoting her.
Karen: It takes courage to stand up for yourself. The CAA wouldn’t be effective if those with power were allowed to intimidate or retaliate.
William: Understanding the value of workplace protections encourages employing offices to work with their employees to resolve issues.
Preet: I had one patron who was always belligerent and aggressive toward me. My pagri, or turban, seemed to set him off. I talked to my supervisor about it, but he just told me to ignore him. That there just wasn’t anything he could do. Once Workplace Rights got involved, my supervisor stood up to the harassment on my behalf. I found out later that he was afraid of getting in trouble for not allowing a member of the public access to our services. He seemed relieved to be able to help me.
Monique: The CAA offers many workplace protections. But one of the most important is that it protects employees who raise a concern or seek to help a coworker whose rights are being violated.
Narrator: The Congressional Accountability Act prohibits employing offices from intimidating, retaliating against, or discriminating against employees who exercise their rights under the CAA. These protections cover employees who oppose a practice made unlawful by the CAA. They also protect covered employees who initiate a proceeding or file a claim with the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights.
Covered employees are also protected when they assist someone in making a charge, provide testimony, or participate in a hearing or proceeding brought under the CAA.
The Office of Workplace Rights works to help ensure that the legislative branch is free of discrimination and harassment, safety and health hazards, accessibility barriers, and employment and labor violations. If you have questions or concerns about intimidation in the workplace, or any of your rights under the CAA, reach out to the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights.
[Music]