Section 301(l) of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, as amended by Pub. L. No. 115-397 (CAA), provides, in relevant part, that the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR) “shall prepare and submit to Congress, and publish on the public website of the Office, an annual report regarding payments from the account described in section [415(a)]2 that were the result of claims alleging a violation of part A of title II” of the Act, referred to in the CAA as “covered payments.” For employing offices other than employing offices of the House of Representatives or employing offices of the Senate, not later than 180 days after receiving a notification from the OCWR Executive Director, the head of the employing office involved shall transfer to the section 415(a) account, out of any funds available for operating expenses of the office, a payment equal to the amount paid from the section 415(a) account for an award or settlement in connection with a claim alleging a violation of section 201(a) or 206(a) of the CAA. 2 U.S.C. § 1415(e). The OCWR will notify the employing office of any outstanding receivables on a quarterly basis. The employing offices has 30 days from the date of the notification of an outstanding receivable to respond to the OCWR regarding the accuracy of the amounts in the notice.
Section 301(l) requires reporting, on an annual basis, “the amount of the covered payment or portion of the covered payment and information on the employing office involved,” and “identifying each provision of part A of title II that was the subject of a claim resulting in the covered payment or portion of the covered payment.” Moreover, OCWR Procedural Rule § 9.04(h) provides, for employing offices other than employing offices of the House or Senate, that receivables outstanding for more than 30 days from the date of the notification from the OCWR Executive Director will be noted as such in this annual report and on the OCWR’s public website.
For 2020 and each subsequent calendar year, the report shall be submitted by January 31 of that year and shall reflect covered payments made in the previous calendar year.
Pursuant to section 301(l), the OCWR submits to Congress this Report on Awards and Settlements for Calendar Year 2020 for Employing Offices other than Employing Offices of the House of Representatives or the Senate. This Report is also available to the public on the Office’s website at https://www.ocwr.gov.
