Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Who qualifies as a covered employee under the CAA and may request an inspection of an alleged OSHA violation?
Answer: Any covered employee may request an inspection. The term “covered employee” includes any employee of the following offices or one of its subunits (including all committees and state district offices): the House of Representatives; the 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; the Government Accountability Office; and the Library of Congress.
Question: Who is defined as an employer or employing office under the CAA and may be held responsible for correcting a substantiated OSHA violation?
Answer: The term “employer” as used in the CAA means an “employing office.” Employing offices include the Government Accountability Office and the Library of Congress, as well as the following offices if they are responsible for correcting a substantiated OSHA violation: all offices of the Senate, including committees and individual Senators; all offices of the House of Representatives, including committees and individual Members of the House; joint committees of Congress; 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; and the Office of Compliance.
Question: What may constitute a safety and health violation?
Answer: The following are a few examples of possible safety and health violations, ranging from the serious to the less serious: unprotected exposure to chemical or biological hazardous materials; insufficient or no fall protection during construction or maintenance; inadequate emergency action plans for the evacuation of employees; lack of back-up emergency lighting; overuse of electrical extension cords or power strips; and unsafe space heaters.
Question: What does filing a Request for Inspection involve on the part of the requesting employee, employee representative, or employing office?
Answer: Any Legislative Branch employing office, employee, or former employee who is/was covered by the CAA may file a Request for Inspection with the General Counsel of the Office of Compliance. If so desired, the request may be made anonymously. An employee representative, such as a recognized union, may also file on behalf of a group of employees.
Once the Request for Inspection has been filed, the Office of Compliance may hold an opening conference to outline the inspection process and to answer any questions the parties might have. The General Counsel will proceed with the inspection, which may include a physical survey of the place of the alleged violation, the taking and testing of samples, the obtaining of relevant documentation, and/or interviews with affected employees and management representatives.
Question: Assuming a safety and health violation is substantiated by an investigation, how will the Office of Compliance enforce correction of the violation?
Answer: If an investigation finds that there has indeed been a violation of OSHA regulations, the Office of Compliance may take a series of steps to enforce correction of the violation. The first step is for the General Counsel of the Office of Compliance to issue a written report describing the violation. The General Counsel may also issue a citation to the employing office, which places the employing office on notice that the violation must be corrected within a stated period of time. If the employing office still has not corrected the violation after the deadline for doing so has passed, the General Counsel may choose to file a complaint before a Hearing Officer with the Office of Compliance in order to request a hearing.
