Congressional Accountability Act of 1995

The Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) (Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 104–1 (text) (PDF)), the first piece of legislation passed by the 104th United States Congress, applied several civil rights, labor, and workplace safety and health laws to the U.S. Congress and its associated agencies, requiring them to follow many of the same employment and workplace safety laws applied to businesses and the federal government. Previously, agencies in the legislative branch had been exempt from these laws. The act also established a dispute resolution procedure as an alternative to filing claims in federal court. The act is administered and enforced by the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights.[1]

The Congressional Accountability Act[2][3] was passed by vote of 98–1 in the Senate and 390–0 in the House.[4] The law was the first plank in the Contract with America, the Republican Party agenda for the 1994 Congressional elections.

The act was amended by the passage of the Office of Compliance Administrative and Technical Corrections Act of 2015.(H.R. 1213, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 114–6 (text) (PDF))

Specific laws applied

The CAA applies twelve specific laws to the U.S. Congress and its associated agencies, giving various rights to the 30,000 employees in the legislative branch.[5][6]

Criticism

Due to revelations related to Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual offenses and other sexual victims, the Congress has been criticized for lack of regular civil rights protections for its workers against sexual harassment by Members.[7][8] Many have advocated for changes in the Congressional Accountability Act in light of these scandals.[9]

References

  1. "What is the CAA?". Office of Compliance. Archived from the original on 2008-03-27.
  2. "H.R. 1 (104th): Congressional Accountability Act of 1995". Govtrack.us. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  3. "H.R. 1 (104th): Congressional Accountability Act of 1995". Govtrack.us. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  4. "S.2 - Congressional Accountability Act of 1995". Congress.gov. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  5. "Office of Compliance: Your rights". Archived from the original on 2008-03-23.
  6. "Office of Compliance Media Fact Sheet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-06.
  7. Ye Hee Lee, Michelle and Viebeck, Elise. (27 October 2017). "How Congress plays by different rules on sexual harassment and misconduct". Washington Post website Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  8. "She Said That A Powerful Congressman Harassed Her. Here's Why You Didn't Hear Her Story". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  9. Berry, John V., Time to Fix the Congressional Accountability Act (Dec. 2017)
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