Some Lawmakers Regard OOC Inspections As Intrusive

18 politico tuesday, july 13, 2010

Rating the Risk Most Frequent Hazards 1,742 Hazard Severity Codes The OOC projects that thousands of hazards exist Probability I II III IV in the 111th Congress, some that could result in 1,058 Categories serious injury or even death. The graphic shows the Likely to occur RAC RAC RAC RAC most frequently discovered hazards. immediately 1 1 2 3 61 23 70 102 Probably will RAC RAC RAC RAC occur in time 1 2 3 4 Electrical Fire Safety First Aid HAZCOM Machine Storage Emergency Guarding Shelving Possible to RAC RAC RAC occur in time 2 3 4 Unlikely to RAC RAC occur 3 4 Some Lawmakers Regard OOC Inspections as Intrusive Severity Category I: Death or permanent total disability Severity Category II: Permanent From safety on Page 1 but those reports typically languish in obscurity. access to information required to understand the partial or temporary total disability; off This year, the compliance office is also releasing nature and extent of the hazard. Consequently, work for more than 3 months morning, does not detail the costs of repairing the information more broadly, in an effort to draw employees and visitors may have been unneces- Severity Category III: Lost workday or all the violations it discovered. But other reports the congressional community’s attention. sarily exposed to dangerous hazards, with po- compensable injury and congressional testimony make clear the cost In the background are lingering questions tential for serious injury or worse.” Severity Category IV: First aid or minor supportive medical treatment is steep — one reason some longstanding haz- about how serious lawmakers are about pro- Backers of the compliance office’s efforts, in- ards have lingered. tecting their employees and holding the institu- cluding former congressional officials who have Fixing the Jefferson Building’s stairwells, tion — and themselves — accountable. Further- been involved in the administration of the Capi- Risk Comparison for instance, would be an $18 million job, and more, the report makes clear that the hazards tol Hill complex, say the relationship between The Senate is projected to have the installing better fire protection at the Capitol may prove dangerous to Capitol Hill visitors, the OOC and legislators has been uneven. most potentially deadly RAC 1 hazards. building would be $2 million. including constituents and lobbyists. It starts with a fundamental ambiguity: The 109th Congress 110th Congress While the compliance office’s report paints a The compliance office was formed in 1995 un- office is supposed to monitor workplace prob- 111th Congress (projected) dire picture of workplace safety, it also docu- der the Congressional Accountability Act. lems, even as its efforts are overseen by the very ments some significant improvement. In the This measure was inspired by that year’s new congressional leaders it is monitoring. House compliance office’s report for the 109th Con- Republican majority and some Democrats who In the past, the office’s relationship with 9 gress, it found 13,141 hazards. were aggrieved by what they saw as supreme hy- congressional leaders has bordered on hostile, 3 Even so, the latest study offers arresting de- pocrisy: Congress and regulatory agencies im- sources said, but in recent years, relationships

0 RAC 1 tail. Investigators estimate there are 1,742 electri- posed all manner of rules on the private sector have become somewhat smoother. 1,036 cal hazards, 1,058 fire-safety hazards, 102 storage and the states through laws such as the Family When the compliance office began safety in- 861 shelving issues, 61 first-aid emergency-care laps- and Medical Leave Act and the Americans With spections in congressional offices during the

230 RAC 2 es and 70 machine-guarding problems, to name a Disabilities Act, but lawmakers themselves did 109th Congress, some members were upset by few found so far. Inspections are ongoing. not have to obey those rules. what they considered an intrusion. 4,764 The hazards include industrial machines that The compliance office is a step toward ending The compliance office identified some of the 2,500 lack safety guards, threatening to injure ground- what its latest report describes as a “parity gap.” fire-trap issues highlighted in this year’s report

968 RAC 3 skeepers. In some members’ tiny, antique offices, But skeptics say the step remains modest and since 2000, but Congress has slow-walked the daisy chains of electrical wires often snake across sometimes halting. issue. 372 office floors, overloading electrical outlets, and The compliance office — which often goes by To some, it is obvious by now Congress needs 333 storage shelves block sprinkler systems. the acronym OOC — is small, with about two to act — even if it means spending money to fix 167 RAC 4 The report divides the hazards into catego- dozen employees, and relatively obscure. Many problem buildings — -rather than study. ries, with some more routine and others poten- congressional employees are unaware that there “It’s hard to defend Congress when things are Senate tially life threatening. is an agency to protect their rights. this bad,” said Center for Progressive Reform 3 Senate buildings harbor the highest concen- The compliance office cannot issue investi- board member Sidney Shapiro, who has worked 8 tration of life-threatening hazards, with at least gative subpoenas to Congress and its entities, as an OSHA consultant. “Separation of powers 9 RAC 1 nine top-level fire hazards that could be deadly even to seek information that could solve a is a concern. Congress was sensitive to being 451 or critically dangerous. workplace hazard. subject to fines and edicts from the executive 221 House buildings have an eye-opening 230 vio- Whistleblower protections for staffers who branch. ... But if Congress is going to insist on

97 RAC 2 lations that are slightly less severe, the report report hazards are essentially nonexistent, running its own safety regime, then it ought to found, but that could still cause serious injury. leaving aides responsible for their own litiga- do it the right way.” 1,808 The buildings most likely to harbor an injury- tion costs if they are fired or an office retaliates “If you work for Congress, you’re just not as 981 causing hazard include House office buildings against them. protected as other places,” said Melanie Sloan, 166 RAC 3 Rayburn, Longworth and Cannon — some of the While most workplaces require employers to executive director of Citizens for Responsibility 258 largest in the legislative branch. Hart and Russell publicly inform and educate employees about and Ethics in Washington. “It’s galling that Con- 273 top the most hazardous on the Senate side. their workplace safety rights by hanging post- gress has felt able to legislate for the rest of the

41 RAC 4 The Capitol building itself, by comparison, is ers in break rooms and requiring training, Con- federal government and yet exempt itself from somewhat safer, with only 78 hazards. The most gress is under no obligation to do so. key parts of OSHA. There’s simply no reason for hazardous building on the Capitol Hill campus Even more troubling, according to safety ad- this exemption.” Library of Congress is the Library of Congress’s Jefferson Building, vocates, Congress is not required to keep records But some of the committees that oversee 3 with 537 hazards. of injuries, death or hazardous exposure on the OOC — the Senate Committee on Homeland Se- 8 The compliance office’s report itself is a nota- job, often making it difficult for officials with the curity and the House Administration Commit- 4 RAC 1 ble step toward transparency on a subject that compliance office to discover problems. tee — tell a different story. 641 historically has received little public notice on “To properly assess a hazard and its severity, “Congress has by now come under all of the 764 the Hill. we often need information from employing offic- major nationwide employment laws. As part 302 RAC 2 The office keeps a tight guard and confidenti- es. In past years, we experienced substantial de- of that, the Office of Compliance heads up a ality on employee rights cases, but it is required lays — or, in some instances, refusals — to sup- comprehensive workplace-safety inspection 1,715 by statute to provide OSHA inspection informa- ply information about hazardous conditions and program, and, when safety problems arise, Sen. 1,480

RAC 3 tion to Congress and to recommend workplace employer safety procedures. Employer plans for Lieberman believes they must be — and as far 610 rights laws that Congress should apply to itself. fixing hazards were likewise delayed substantial- as we know are — addressed promptly,” Home- 259 The office releases a biennial report on safety ly,” OOC General Counsel Peter A. Eveleth said in land Security Committee spokeswoman Leslie 293 issues to the five committees (two from the House a statement to POLITICO. “This both prevented Phillips said, referring to the panel’s chairman,

137 RAC 4 and three from the Senate) that oversee its work, early completion of an investigation and denied Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.).

2,314 Hazardous Buildings The largest buildings in the legislative branch are the most hazardous, with a combined 684 hazards projected for Rayburn and Longworth House offices alone. 109th Congress 110th Congress 111th Congress (actual) 111th Congress (projected)

1,747

1,197 1,235 1,239 1,081 903 917 831 757 731 768 619 620 638 679 528 537 575 426 428 381 341 317 390 277 303 288 102 102 78 29

Rayburn House Cannon House Longworth House Hart Senate Dirksen Senate Russell Senate Jefferson Office Adams Office U.S. Capitol Ford Office Madison Office Office Building Office Building Office Building Office Building Office Building Office Building Building Building Building Building Building tuesday, july 13, 2010 politico 19

411 Requests A look at the most popular reasons employees have initially contacted the OOC.

Assignments Benefits Compensation Demotion Discipline Harassment Hiring Leave Overtime Promotion Reasonable Selection Termination Terms & Conditions Other Pay Accommodation of Employment

Trouble Topics Some Lawmakers Regard OOC Inspections as Intrusive Staffers’ Rights Largely Untold Employees looking to re- solve a dispute may request But the facts don’t always bear that out. For From harassment on Page 1 behavior for months, unaware that they could a counseling session with example, OOC issued a citation over the open seek counseling and mediation through the OOC, the OOC to help mitigate stairwell smoke issue in the Russell Senate Of- which was created to enforce the Congressional the problem. Terms of em- fice Building in 2000, warning that failure to fix not pay a dime for the settlements, while taxpay- Accountability Act in 1995. ployment, harassment and the problem could very likely result in tragedy. ers foot the bill for the lawyers. While the Massa case inspired House Majority hostile work environment were among the most popu- But the Senate and the Architect of the Capi- An unprecedented new report to be released Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) to begin working to lar issues for counseling. tol cited concerns over the cost and historically Tuesday by the OOC sheds light on the larger improve the OOC’s visibility, the majority of Hill The graphic below shows intrusive fixes OOC had offered and ordered the problem of harassment in the congressional workers still have little to no knowledge of their the breakdown of counsel- formation of the independent panel to search workplace — the OOC is often stymied by mem- rights — or the existence of the OOC — largely ing requests by topic. for more economical fixes. bers of Congress and at times left largely power- because of years of communication challenges, The panel still has not released its final report, less to inform employees about their workplace according to the OOC report. and a preliminary report last April showed that rights. Congress has exempted itself from having to the panel’s suggested fixes for the problem might When the OOC recently tried to make contact inform employees about their workplace rights Assignment not even begin until April 2016. The compliance with the Hill’s 30,000 employees to send them a by posting notices in offices — a practice re- office would not comment on the panel. survey gauging their knowledge of workplace quired by law in the public and private sectors. In general, say officials with knowledge of rights, the office was blocked from having ac- Congress is also not required to keep records the compliance office’s efforts, Congress has cess to congressional e-mail addresses; only 892 that would show a paper trail of lawmakers’ past Benefits become increasingly accommodating in fixing surveys were returned. misbehavior. smaller electrical and safety violations but re- Despite the efforts of a few vocal supporters “Being a Hill employee is different from oth- mains sluggish in responding to the most seri- of the OOC and its mission, including Rep. Deb- er places because the job is about your name. Compensation ous and costly hazards. bie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Sens. Joe Bringing a claim is like asserting you aren’t loyal “Congress faces a major challenge in trying Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Io- enough. Someone who is loyal wouldn’t bring to fund fire- and life-safety projects, historical wa), most workers do not realize the avenues of problems like this up,” said Alexis Rickher, an Demotion preservation and deferred maintenance cam- recourse that the OOC offers in cases of sexual employment discrimination lawyer with Katz, puswide, all within very limited resources,” harassment and other workplace disputes, while Marshall & Banks who is currently helping rep- said a congressional aide familiar with the blue- many members and chiefs of staff are not fully resent one of Massa’s accusers. “With the Massa ribbon panel. aware of their obligations as employers. mess, it’s clear that the younger staffers didn’t Discipline On the upside, a number of offices have be- “Educating employing offices about their obli- have a sense of when things cross the line.” come more proactive about protecting safety by gations is just as important as educating employ- The OOC is expected to gain access to at least voluntarily requesting inspections ahead of the ees about their rights. Employing offices who part of the House e-mail system soon and to hold Disparate Treatment compliance office’s regular schedule; 154 offices remain unaware of their legal obligations in the a forum during new member orientation. But no in the 111th Congress achieved hazard-free sta- workplace are unknowingly opening themselves such collaboration is happening on the Senate tus. “Over the years, we’ve found that working co- up to lawsuits, which are expensive, time-con- side, according to aides close to the House’s proj- operatively with employing offices to reduce haz- suming, distracting and bring unwanted public- ect. The Senate Rules Committee, which helps Equal Pay ardous conditions in the Capitol complex can be ity,” said OOC Executive Director Tamara Chris- oversee the OOC, did not respond to a request for more effective than a confrontational approach. ler. information from POLITICO. The statistics bear this out by showing remark- In a series of deep-background interviews In the meantime, the process of settling Harassment able progress in reducing hazards,” Eveleth said. done by POLITICO, aides and other Hill em- workplace complaints remains secretive and The office has also filed several citations that ployees have complained about everything from byzantine, allowing members of Congress to Hiring have pushed Congress to move on egregious unequal maternity leave policies to unwelcome quietly agree to cash payouts to settle cases problems. advances to hostile treatment from members of and to keep potentially career-ending scandals OOC’s general counsel made an unprecedent- Congress and other superiors. under wraps. ed political move in 2006 when it filed a com- “I wish I had known about the Office of Com- The OOC offers employees a four-step reso- Hostile Work Environment plaint against the Architect of the Capitol over pliance,” one former aide to a Texas House mem- lution process. It includes initial confidential life-threatening conditions in the Capitol Power ber told POLITICO. “When the whole Massa thing counseling, followed by mediation by a neutral Plant utility tunnels, including asbestos and fall- came out, we heard about his staff reporting him third-party mediator. If the employee is dissat- Leave ing concrete that threatened to crush workers. and were shocked they could report their mem- isfied with the mediation result, he or she can The move caught officials’ attention, and the ber. I feel bad for so many staffers who think seek to have the case decided by a third-party serious hazards must be abated by 2012. they can’t stand up for themselves.” hearing officer through the OOC or file a federal In the long run, labor experts argue that tax- Another Hill aide who is considering report- civil lawsuit. Overtime Pay payers would save money if Congress brought ing a harassment case said: “There are times I’ve “You could imagine the repercussions for a its sanctions fully up to speed. wanted to go over [to the OOC], but the general congressman if an allegation becomes public,” Sound workplace safety procedures “can feeling is ... you’ll be fired or blacklisted from the said employment lawyer George Chuzi, who Promotion help you identify problems before you have an- Hill.” represented Christine Niedermeier, a former other accident,” said Celeste Monforton, a for- The Massa scandal may be a case study in the aide who accused Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) mer special assistant at OSHA who is now an lack of awareness about the OOC and the inabil- of sexually harassing her several years ago. “It’s Reasonable Accommodation assistant professor at George Washington Uni- ity of Congress to effectively police workplace worth it to pay them, especially if it’s not their versity. “When you have protections in place for harassment rules. money, just to have the thing kept confidential. employees, they can alert you to a problem be- Massa staffers, according to their lawyers, It’s worth it to them just to keep inappropriate fore it becomes expensive.” suffered through sexual innuendo and similar allegations out of the public airwaves.” Reassignment

Cost of Settlement Retirement What Is the Taxpayers have paid an average of $1 million annually to settle workplace disputes of congressional 111th Congress (projected) Office of Compliance? employees with their employers, including cases of alleged sexual harassment or discrimination. Cases Cost The Office of Compliance was estab- 25 1997 $39,429 Selection lished by the Congressional Account- 1998 $103,180 ability Act in 1995 to administer a 1999 $72,350 dispute resolution program for claims 18 2000 $45,638 Termination 1,081 brought by congressional employees; to 16 15 15 2001 $121,400 inform members and other employing 14 2002 $3,974,077 offices of their obligations to employ- 13 11 2003 $720,071 ees; and to inspect congressional facili- 10 10 ties for safety and health violations. 2004 $388,209 7 2005 $909,872 Terms & Conditions Today’s report, “State of the Congres- 6 6 sional Workplace,” is an unprecedented 2006 $849,529 release of information and analysis 2007 $4,053,274 NA 2 from the office, which traditionally has 2008 $875,317 Other kept a very low profile. 2009 $831,360 NOTE: A single counseling Madison Office request could involve more 1997 2010 2007 2001

1998 1999 2010 Building 2000 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2008 2009 $25,300 Source: The Office of COmpliance than one issue.