Our Mission
The mission of the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR) is to advance workplace rights, safety and health, and accessibility in the legislative branch of the federal government. The OCWR, formerly known as the Office of Compliance, was established to ensure the integrity of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (CAA) through programs of dispute resolution, education, and enforcement. These programs assist members of Congress, employing offices, employees, and the visiting public in understanding the 14 workplace and accessibility laws incorporated in the CAA.
To learn more about how the OCWR carries out its mission, please see our FY 2021-2026 Strategic Plan.
Our Office
The OCWR is comprised of three divisions: the Board of Directors, the Office of the Executive Director, and the Office of the General Counsel.
The OCWR Board of Directors
The majority and minority leaders of both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives appoint the five members of the OCWR’s Board of Directors. The Board members are selected based on their expertise in employment and labor law. The Board is responsible for adjudicating disputes under the CAA, promulgating regulations implementing the CAA’s statutory requirements, and recommending to Congress changes to the CAA to advance the rights of congressional employees.
The Office of the Executive Director
The Office of the Executive Director is made up of three statutory employees appointed by the Board of Directors, including the Executive Director, the Deputy Executive Director of the U.S. Senate, and the Deputy Executive Director for the U.S. House of Representatives, along with a professional staff.
The Executive Director acts as the chief operating officer for the OCWR and works with the Board of Directors to advise Congress on needed changes and amendments to the CAA.
The Deputy Executive Director for the U.S. Senate serves as the principal legal advisor to the OCWR Board of Directors concerning cases falling within the Board’s appellate jurisdiction.
The Deputy Executive Director for the U.S. House of Representatives handles legislative and public affairs and education programs concerning workplace rights, safety and health, and public accessibility as mandated by the CAA.
The professional staff is made up of members of the administrative dispute resolution program, the confidential advisor, workplace rights specialists, support staff, and an information technology team.
The Office of the General Counsel
The General Counsel of the OCWR is tasked with enforcing three of the statutes applied by the CAA: the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), the public access provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the unfair labor practice provisions of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (FSLMRS). The Office of the General Counsel is comprised of attorneys with expertise in these three areas of law, as well as a team of occupational safety and health professionals and support staff.
The Office of the General Counsel conducts biennial inspections of legislative branch facilities and programs for compliance with the OSH Act and the ADA public access provisions, as well as investigations into complaints of possible OSH Act violations, ADA barriers to access, and unfair labor practices. The General Counsel has the authority to issue citations under the OSH Act, and to file administrative complaints under all three statutes if violations cannot be resolved collaboratively with the employing offices.
The General Counsel also serves as in-house counsel to the OCWR, and represents the OCWR Board of Directors when its decisions are appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.