The Congressional Accountability Act, which went into effect in 1996, provides a number of workplace protections to federal legislative employees. The Act extends the protections of 11 primarily private-sector workplace laws to most employees of the legislative branch of the federal government. The Office of Compliance enforces the Act, which educates employees and employers and provides remedies for violations.

The Act applies to employees, applicants, and some former employees of the following offices:

• U.S. House of Representatives;
• U.S. Senate;
• The Capitol Guide Service;
• The Capitol Police;
• The Congressional Budget Office;
• The Office of the Architect of the Capitol;
• The Office of the Attending Physician;
• The Office of Compliance; and
• The Office of Technology Assessment.

Protections

The Act applies protections from the following federal laws to many of the employees within its scope. For various reasons, not all protections apply to all legislative branch employees.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

The Act applies the basic protections of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to most legislative branch employees. Specifically, all personnel actions affecting covered employees are to be free from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967

All personnel actions within the legislative branch are to be free from age discrimination. These protections stem from the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967.

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

The Act applies protections from the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to most legislative branch employees. Under the law, personnel actions must be free from discrimination based upon disability.

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

The Act also applies certain protections from the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to covered employees. Consequently, most legislative branch employees are entitled to a minimum wage and to overtime protection.

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

Pursuant to the Act, most legislative branch employees get 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for sick relatives, take care of a new baby, or recover from a serious illness. This leave is in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.

Occupational Safety and Health Act

The Act requires the legislative branch of the federal government to comply with most provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Other Laws

The Act also applies a number of other private-sector laws to the legislative branch of the federal government. These include:

• The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988,
• The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act,
• The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, and
• Some labor-management relations laws.

Enforcement

The Act requires employees to initially submit their complaints to a counseling and mediation process. If no resolution is obtained through this alternative dispute resolution procedure, an employee may either seek a judicial administrative hearing before the Office of Compliance or file a lawsuit in federal court.

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