The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR) administers the Congressional Accountability Act (CAA) and works to guarantee the rights provided by the CAA to employees and employing offices in the legislative branch. Pursuant to Section 220 of the CAA, 2 U.S.C. § 1351, for employees who are eligible to join a union, the OCWR investigates and processes petitions for union representation and union elections, and the OCWR Office of the General Counsel investigates and prosecutes charges alleging unfair labor practices (ULPs).
Below are answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) the OCWR receives about the duty to bargain and the scope of bargaining. For information about other labor-management relations topics, please see our FAQs on labor-management relations in the legislative branch.
The framework for the labor-management program in the legislative branch is set forth in the CAA and described in more detail in the OCWR’s substantive regulations on collective bargaining and unionization. These regulations are cited in these FAQs as “OCWR Substantive Regulations.”
Disclaimer: These FAQs contain general information and are not legal authority or legal advice. Particular answers may have unstated exceptions, qualifications, and/or limitations, or may become outdated due to changes in the law. For these reasons, please consult with an attorney prior to initiating any proceeding described in these FAQs.
If you have additional questions about labor-management issues in the legislative branch, please email LMR@ocwr.gov.
